[blackSGT]

I am planning on doing some maintenance on my mazda 3 and the service manual says you have to turn the piston either clockwise or counter clockwise depending on what you are doing, pads or bleeding, but why is that necessary? what does that do? Also what is the thread pitch on the caliper bleeder valves? Would a standard dorman check valve bleeder work?

 

[LiX]

Turn the piston?? Huh.. haven't done that on any of my cars.

 

[TomU]

Not sure what brake "maintenance" you are doing, but if you install new brake pads on floating caliper brakes you have to depress the piston in the piston cylindar by turning them (basically screwing them in) because new pads are thicker and you need a wider gap between the pads for them to clear the brake disks.

If you are just bleeding your brakes, this is not necessary. Just crack the brake fluid bleeder with a tube inserted in a container with brake fluid

Search on-line on how to do either/both depending on what you plan to do

 

[arathol]

Many newer cars are like this. Its not at all uncommon. There are tools made for just this application, easily available at Harbor Freight.

 

[SlayZombi]

Yes, you have to turn the piston instead of compressing it. Only the rear ones though. I have done brakes on my 2014 Mazda3 and the tool is necessary to do it right. I will link you the one I bought. It attaches to a 3/8ths rachet!

[ame]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002KO3F6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1[/ame]

 

[blackSGT]

Yes, I was referring to the rear calipers. So the pistons themselves thread in?

The manual says to turn them counter clockwise and then press them in all the way when doing a fluid flush but clockwise when changing the pads. This I don't understand.

 

[oldfartwithamazda3]

You might need this Caliper kit

https://www.ebay.com/itm/22pc-Unive...383328&hash=item1ca07d1daa:g:fQwAAOSwFnxaeC9i

The tool on Amazon is good but some rear brake calipers have a stronger spring inside and the Amazon type tool would be very hard to screw in the piston. This was the case on my 2014 Mazda 3

 

[zero_gravity]

Regular brake maintenance isn't a bad idea guys. I go over mine twice a year, mostly because I live in Canada and our roads are very salty in the winter.

What I generally do is a good cleaning (debris can cause pads to stick), inspection so I don't get caught with my pants down, clean and lube slide pins, and then push pistons down to ensure freedom of movement.

This means that I don't get stuck calipers. Grinding metal from stuck pads doesn't happen. Pads unexpectedly wear down? I don't care, I get to pick my time to fix it.

So to answer the OP question, the rear brake require the pistons to be tired a few times. Line them up as per the maintenance manual in the diy section on this site. You only have to turn them a couple of rotations and the pistons can then be pressed down safely.

Sometimes the piston boots twist a bit, take your time and back off as necessary.

 

[DortA]

Hi All, I've had my 2015 Mazda 3 2.0L since new. It is the first time changing the rear brake pads and was successful on the passenger side. However, when attempting on the driver side after turning it right forever couldn't compress it. My worse decision was to turn it left and the piston came out, which also leaked brake fluid.

I've cleaned it, put it back in and will only turn right on one full turn and now wont turn at all as if its tight where as the otherside it will continuously turn until its compressed.

Yes I have the hand brakes down, although could it be possible because the piston came off and all the brake fluid inside leaked out and that now putting the piston back on has airlocked it?

I haven't open the valve or brake cylinder top. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[redskull35]

Hi All, I've had my 2015 Mazda 3 2.0L since new. It is the first time changing the rear brake pads and was successful on the passenger side. However, when attempting on the driver side after turning it right forever couldn't compress it. My worse decision was to turn it left and the piston came out, which also leaked brake fluid.

I've cleaned it, put it back in and will only turn right on one full turn and now wont turn at all as if its tight where as the otherside it will continuously turn until its compressed.

Yes I have the hand brakes down, although could it be possible because the piston came off and all the brake fluid inside leaked out and that now putting the piston back on has airlocked it?

I haven't open the valve or brake cylinder top. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Hey DortA,

I've never had this happen before but maybe looking at the schematics from the repair manual will be of help. The rear brake caliper assembly is available on page 2,591 - 2,593. I posted the repair manual and it is also stickied in the DIY section in those forums. I hope this helps a bit.