[Biomed&Barolo]

Not a Spyder specific question, but pretty general and didn’t feel like going to Reddit or something. I did rotors and pads on our other car(2014 Hyundai Elantra GT). Brake setup is pretty similar to Spyder with parking brake in rear caliper. I’ve previously only done brakes on a Chrysler which had an internal drum type parking brake.

Did the job, rotors were really stuck on and had to use a sledgehammer to get them off. Car lived in MN for 7 years. I just used a wire brush on the hub faces, didn’t use a wire wheel or anything more serious. Is this likely to be a big problem? Didn’t realize till after I finished up that I should have been more aggressive. Pads were very worn but still had around 5/32” before the tab. Used anti-seize between hub and rotor and rotor and wheel. Cleaned rotors with brake cleaner as standard. Reused old hardware since new pads didn’t come with any, but used brake grease judiciously between the hardware and caliper and the hardware and pad.

The bigger issue/question I have run into is that now the parking brake has way more travel, and the brakes don’t feel nearly as responsive. Last brake job I did the new brakes had way more bite right away than the old ones. Doesn’t feel like air in the brake lines just have to push the pedal harder for the same brake force. And parking brake will hold when pulled all the way up but previously had been almost too tight for a normal person to release past 75%.

 

[rmeller]

The parking brake is operated by a ratchet, and adjusts by steps. I think that there is a drill you can do to force it to adjust. It may just be a matter of getting used to the new set point. As for the hard pedal, I don't know. Different pads would make a difference, and you could make sure that the booster is fully operational.

 

[Funkycheeze]

You'll need to do a few hard braking events (I suggest 3 from 40 to 5, then a couple from 60 or 70 to 5-10) to warm the pads and rotors enough to bed them in. Parking brake might need adjustment as well, usually done at the handle might need to take the trim off around it.

 

[FormInFunction]

Some cars need the parking brake adjusted at the center console as said above. 2 things:

Firs, was the wear on the brake pads even? Not just on a single pad but relatively between the inner & outer pads on each side?


Also...did you rotate the pistons back in or press them with brute force? Most cars need the rear pistons 'screwed' back in due to the parking brake mechanism. Forcing them causes damage & would likely need a new caliper.

 

[marsrock7]

Good advice all around here. And +1 for bedding new brakes before they function as intended. There are many recipes, personally I do 60mph-20mph, 10x in as quick succession as possible. Find an empty stretch of road to do this on safely. Brake as hard as possible without ABS getting involved. You should smell when the brakes have gotten hot enough.

 

[Biomed&Barolo]

Thanks for the tips. It was feeling a bit better on the ride home, or maybe I’m just getting used to it. It might be that the old brakes weren’t nearly as bad as those on the last job I did.

I did bed the brakes in, I did 35-5 4x and then 55-15 4x and then drove home using them sparingly and parked without the parking brake. Discs were pretty hot all around but only the fronts had an even very thin sheen of pad material on them. I think this car has a very strong front brake bias since it is a FWD hatchback.

Rear pistons were screwed in using a needle-nose pliers. No issues there although one video I saw said something about needing to align the notches with the pins on the pad? But that was after I finished the job and it doesn’t really make total sense to me. Really impossible to check without removing the calipers again.

 

[gmhndg]

Rear pistons were screwed in using a needle-nose pliers. No issues there although one video I saw said something about needing to align the notches with the pins on the pad? But that was after I finished the job and it doesn’t really make total sense to me. Really impossible to check without removing the calipers again.

Sounds like you are taking the calipers off again. The piston needs to be aligned with the pin on the pad. Watch some YT videos.

 

[gbravi]

The rear sounds like the MR2, you can see the pin on the bottom left pad here. That's what needs to go into that piston for the parking brake to be able to work without hydraulic pressure. This would explain why it's not working like it had before.

 

[Biomed&Barolo]

Sounds like you are taking the calipers off again. The piston needs to be aligned with the pin on the pad. Watch some YT videos.

Before doing the job I watched a thorough video on doing the front and back brakes, but apparently it wasn’t thorough enough.


However, after driving some more, maybe the pins seated themselves? Parking brake engagement feels normal now. I’ll take a look at the old pads tonight and see what they look like, before I do any disassembly.

 

[gbravi]

I think it's possible they can seat themselves, but personally I would still check. Last thing you ever want is a brake problem

 

[Funnyman]

If the pin is not centered with the caliper piston, the brake pad will be used from the side, not from the entire pad. The brake pad will wear out a lot quicker (less than 8k miles). It happend to me when I let my car at a Repair Car workshop". The mecanic guy was a young student. From my own experience, I always unscrew then screw the parking brake after a rear brake pad replacement.

 

[DaWaN]

The pin engages in the piston and prevents the piston from spinning.
If the piston spins, the handbrake would not self-adjust.
Given that your handbrake works, I would guess the pads are installed correctly.
Otherwise just shine a light on the pads to see if they sit square to the disc.

On the MR-2 it is pretty difficult to install the caliper incorrectly when using new pads and discs, as there is not enough space.

Pads can also make a huge difference to pedal feel.
Some OEM pads are pretty good these days, so chances of any random aftermarket pad being a downgrade is pretty big.