MK4/ND Handbrake Adjustment

Technical Area Wheels, Tyres & Brakes
2

Hi all, I’m a bit concerned with how high my handbrake comes up and want to tighten it up a bit but NO WHERE can I find how or where to adjust it? Has anyone adjusted theirs at all that can point me in the right direction?

3

Bit of a pain as you need to dismantle parts around the centre console to get at the adjuster. The Mk3 and earlier were easy to get at.

Have a look here

http://mazdaman.x10host.com/

4

awesome thank you! That whole page could be incredibly useful in general tbh! 

5

Thanks D, that is a serious piece of resource, now I wonder how long it would take to photocopy!!!

 

6

hi there, i know this is old but do you have an up to date link by any chance?

7

Have a look at this page and investigate further. I just put in “Parking Brake” as a starting point and it took me straight here.

There is so much detail it takes some digging in the various main sections to get to the adjustments though…

Happy exploring…
:grinning_face:

8

thanks

9

Quick question, i changed the rear pads and disks on the weekend, all appears to have gone well, however i find i need to pull the handbrake up further now than i did before to ensure the car doesn’t roll back (my drive is on a slope so not ideal) my intension was to adjust the handbrake from inside the car as per the instructions, is this normal to have to do this after a rear brake disk and pad job?

I have confused myself a little as i now see information about adjustment of the rear of the caliper piston although not sure if this applies to the ND or not?

10

Did you follow these instructions Manual pages - MX5 Manual | Mazda MX5 (Mk4) 2015+
Also Manual pages - MX5 Manual | Mazda MX5 (Mk4) 2015+ and then Manual pages - MX5 Manual | Mazda MX5 (Mk4) 2015+
:heart:

11

Im pretty sure ive installed the pads and discs correctly, i havent adjusted the handbrake inside the car yet, just wondering if its normal to have to do the adjustment when changing pad/discs?

12

I would have thought not.
Did you get the orientation of the piston as shown in the manual? Have you operated the hand brake and foot brake a good number of times to set the piston? Have you driven the car to ‘bed’ the brakes in a little?
Do the new pads have a ‘soft’ backing? Sometimes this can cause issues.
:heart:

13

Pretty sure the orientation of the piston is correct, i was certainly aware of its being required, and the car stops well, i have bedded them in maybe 20-30 miles, initially they were a little noisy which is to be expected but are silent already, not sure what you mean by soft backing? the pads are EBC greenstuff and their discs, i did uses their shims which have a almost fabric coating between the shim and the pads? is this soft backing? thanks for your help so far

14

Yes, the fabric is the ‘soft’ backing.
If you have operated the hand brake 20 or 30 times I would suggest a visual check of both sides to see that they are operating in exactly the same way and if you are happy, do the cable adjust as per the specification and see if this sorts it out. Fingers crosssed.
:heart:

15

ok, thanks i will get the back wheels off and check everything is as it should be, i did order a OEM consumables pack from MX5parts as i wanted to fit new guide clips, so i do have brand new mazda shims, i guess i could swap out the EBC ones for OEM? Either way i will check everything is OK at the wheels before i start removing trim and adjusting the hand brake.

16

just thought i would update this, took the back wheels off and double checked everything was good, so took the internal trim off and adjusted the handbrake, now operates as it should :+1: