This is the only video I have found that explained the left to right adjustment. Everything else I have found just said "you don't need to touch this". Thanks!!
This was super helpful. I've always had problems with my parking brake, just always parked in gear and put it on the "to do" list that i never got around to. This video gave me all the lil tid bits and overall knowledge i needed. Will get out this week and fix it right!! Thank you
I just wanted to say, you did a great job explaining every step you need to adjust your parking brake. It made my life a lot easier.This coming from a old guy with a bad back… Thanks.
yo this was incredibly helpful, the video turned a piece of star wheel adjusting voodoo into a straightforward 20 min job. Thank you for this and all your Miata and MS videos.
I just had the rear calipers and pads replaced on my 1992 Miata. The guy does brakes all day long, but was totally stumped as to why the E-Brake no longer worked. Apparently, this is unique to Miatas, and not common knowledge. I'll update when we look into the adjustment.
Yeah it's pretty unusual. Not a great system to be honest since 99% of cars don't require anything extra. But it's pretty simple to fix once you know the trick.
My Mazda 323, the handbrake adjuster inside the calipers, the grease had gone hard/off. Which was not allowing the Handbrake to return or release the adjuster inside the Calipers pistons. Solutions Fully strip & rebuild & Meticulously clear all components, resolves the adjustment. To remove the Handbrake seized adjuster, unscrew piston to the left. Remove central Handbrake adjuster bolt after removing circlip at bottom of piston borehole. Then you can carefully push out handbrake adjuster 4mm hex head easily and without damage
My problem is a sticking e-brake, which I hope are the caliper pins. Very informative video, thanks! One cautionary note though, I thought I saw the car supported only by the jack; please always use jack stands.
Oh, is OG Ped. I was communicating with you alot when I was trying to tune my PS2. I ended up pulling it out and reinstalled factory. I couldn't figure it out, tried and tried and tried to no avail.
Sure, so the end of the cable has this threaded section. You have a little adjustment possible by moving the two nuts farther out or back in which will sandwich that part of the caliper bracket in a slight different position. You can get maybe 10 mm of length to the cable which can help balance it out in that middle junction where the main cable gets proportioned to both sides.
@@OGPedXing thank you for your fast answer! do you mean those to nuts under the booth after the bracket or do you adjust it by those two nuts holding it onto the bracket?
@@OGPedXing sorry for asking so stupidly again, but i think my head is a bit smoking from this subject by now - just to be sure, the nuts holding to the brackets adjust the clabe? that's what you are saying?
@@christophers.8112 the two nuts holding it on to the bracket. Check out 13:30 in the video. I'm talking about one side of mine which is jammed on there but usually you can adjust it either way.
I’ve been struggling for days with my E brake. One side brakes fully one side brakes only some. Replaced both cables from the spring backward. Replaced calipers and brake pads. Passenger side works perfectly. Driver’s side either doesn’t work, or if I adjust it tighter it will lock up and not release. So frustrating! What am I missing ?
Try to pull out the adjustment pin to inspect the splines. It should come out with a little wiggling and maybe some thin tape wrapped around the end of your hex key. If that looks ok then it may be necessary to rebuild one or both calipers. What happens is the internal mechanism wears/loosens over time allowing it to rotate and lose the correct setting. Another thing that can help is to make sure to do both sides at the same time even if only one side is not holding the calipers.
@@OGPedXing thanks for the reply man! I remember pulling one of the adjustment gears and inspecting the teeth. Iirc, it was fine. Fairly sure one caliper was replaced by the prev owner. I've replaced the parking brake cables and replaced pads and rotors. Doesn't hold the car at any incline even after a fresh adjustment. Then after a while, it stops holding on level ground.
@@ohitsaijie866 OK cool, you got the cable already. If it stretches a mm it will affect the holding power. The other thing that can help is to put the lugs back on the rotor so they are held tightly against the pads. Also give the brake pedal a few pumps before the adjustment to make sure everything is in the right place. A tiny amount of float between the piston and the pads can be the difference of holding vs not holding. Finally try to adjust to very tight (can barely turn the rotor even with a pry bar) and then turn back only a quarter turn rather than a third. Do that process on both sides. If it doesn't hold after all that then the screw part that goes into the piston itself is coming loose. Unfortunately this can be caused when someone uses the normal c-clamp method a few times to change pads.
@@OGPedXing thanks for the advice, I'll trying these out next time I'm under the car. I just did a diff fluid and oil change yesterday and didn't think to open up the brakes again. It's just way too cold to be working on cars right now.
I just found out that the brake light comes on my 91 when the reservoir needs fluid. Those emergency brake cables, are they suppose to be switched under the hand brake i.e. right becomes left etc? I can't get the cables to even out where they hook up to hand brake under the car. Cable nut is extended in opposite directions at calipers This is my 91 Miata.
Very good video, the best I've seen very detail. I have a question please...The console that holds the stick is pretty durable right? Because 1 time I sat in the car, I usually use the arm rest to move myself and sit properly but I accidentally hold on to the stick instead .. so my apply little pressure in the hand brake stick ... Will I do any damage to it? It is very solid .. thanks and support
Yes, I'd say the brake lever itself is quite strong. The plastic around the center console can usually take a good amount of pressure also, but it can crack especially if it's had a lot of sun exposure.
@@OGPedXing thanks so much for your reply .. so like you said it is quite strong and I don't have to worry about it .. but I won't do that again .. thanks
Thanks for the in depth video. I just put 1999 NB brakes on my 91 and I messed up somewhere with the parking brake. About to go in the garage and mess with it. I'll post a reply if I get it figured out haha. I've never messed with rear calipers like these.
What do you do if you strip the hole for the allen key and you cannot turn the key? The other key will adjust but will not come out and I am not forcing it!
Sometimes you can get the other adjuster out by using something that won't tear easily like electrical tape and put one end over the Allen key to make it a snug fit and hold the other end so you don't lose it. Then give it a tap or two and it may loosen up to take out.
hey i know this is an old video, but i’m having such a strange issue. my ebrake just refused to grab, i could roll with it with just the clutch. So i tightened the cable by the handle until the car wouldn’t roll with it disengaged, and then turned it back. The handbrake engages much better now, but it still feels a bit weak. Not to mention i get 13 (!!!) clicks from the handle before it stops. If i turn the adjustment on the handle all the way to 7 clicks, the car sits with its handle down but the brakes very much engaged
should also add ive not been under it yet. Don’t have wheel chocks or time at the moment. But i’ve also just realised with the ebrake up only the back left is grabbing, the right almost spins freely. Allegedly this car only had its rear callipers and ebrake cable replaced a few years ago, so i’m stumped as to why. I’ll get under it soon for the allen adjustment but those 13 clicks are gonna piss me off
Yeah I like to do the caliper end adjustment first and then adjust the brake lever to be shorter as needed second. It's good to adjust both calipers at the same time because as you said, one can be fine while the other spins.
my driver side ebrake sometimes sticks (doesn't release when handbrake lever is lowered) but when i push the bracket on the caliper with the return spring on it, it "snaps" back open. i'm assuming its just dirty and sticky but can you open this mechanism up to give it a clean or...?
Yes, I'd start with cleaning and lubricating the caliper guide pins. You take the caliper off, remove the pins and wipe them down, even sand lightly any rough spots and then give them a nice coat of high temp brake grease and reinstall. Can make a huge difference.
Nope, should be dry. It looks like a caliper rebuild is needed. There are internal seals between the geared spindle that's turned by the allen key. If that is leaking then it won't keep the adjustment.
The rear calipers are more complicated to rebuild than the fronts but the kit is cheaper than a new one for sure. It's doable if you have the time. Truly new ones may not be available, you're mostly looking at factory remanufactured used ones. Which can be hit or miss but at least come with a warranty.
It's a bit challenging, you have to work against the spring and then get it in the slot. I just powered it on with some effort but another approach is to use a large pair of channel lock pliers to hold it closed enough.
Is it missing (there's hole there) or is the area blank like it's a different type of caliper than the other side? I there's a hole, clean it out well with some brake cleaner and use the hex head key from the other side. (You can usually get it to come out with some wiggling).
@@OGPedXing there’s is a hole and there was a hex key in there but it’s missing I tried to take it out of my right side but I couldn’t so just that side isn’t clamping my question is can I buy the piece and stick it in there or is it completely broken and I need a new caliper, because my foot brake is fine
You can typically buy it, even used is fine. There's a shop on eBay I use all the time - miatamecca. Search on Miata brake adjuster and you'll find it.
That's too many. For this case you can tighten the brake cable at the handle by popping off the plastic cover and, looking down from above, tighten with a flat head screwdriver the cable end.
This is the only video I have found that explained the left to right adjustment. Everything else I have found just said "you don't need to touch this". Thanks!!
This was super helpful. I've always had problems with my parking brake, just always parked in gear and put it on the "to do" list that i never got around to. This video gave me all the lil tid bits and overall knowledge i needed. Will get out this week and fix it right!! Thank you
Its perfect now!!
As someone who bought his Miata 3 days ago this allowed me to fix the problem in about an hour love it and thank you for the help
Nice! Welcome to the community!
I just wanted to say, you did a great job explaining every step you need to adjust your parking brake. It made my life a lot easier.This coming from a old guy with a bad back… Thanks.
Just replaced all my cables and was disappointed to have the same issue... thank you for this video, I never would have found this hidden adjustment.
A few minutes with an allen key and I've got a functional parking brake! Thanks for the video!
Thanks for making this video. I got my e-brake squared away and adjusted perfectly with help from this video.
Glad it helped you out!
yo this was incredibly helpful, the video turned a piece of star wheel adjusting voodoo into a straightforward 20 min job. Thank you for this and all your Miata and MS videos.
Mate! Thanks, saves a lot of money! The garage wanted to change the entire caliper... Good I found this guide! Works like a charm now!
Loving the content man, you and Greg from the car passion channel have been giving me the tools I need to help with my turbo Miata. Appreciate it!
That's a really high compliment to be included with Greg, he's one of the people that got me started. Thank you!
I just had the rear calipers and pads replaced on my 1992 Miata. The guy does brakes all day long, but was totally stumped as to why the E-Brake no longer worked. Apparently, this is unique to Miatas, and not common knowledge. I'll update when we look into the adjustment.
Yeah it's pretty unusual. Not a great system to be honest since 99% of cars don't require anything extra. But it's pretty simple to fix once you know the trick.
same system in the protege as well.
Really helped with the handbrake lines, now I gotta go back and balance those. Thanks so much!
Loved the overview! Really helped me to know what is, or isn't going on. Will get a coffee and go play with the car ... Thanks!
Truly an ultimate guide
Super helpful, it’s the first fix I’ve gotten to do on my new car, definitely appreciate the tip!
My Mazda 323, the handbrake adjuster inside the calipers, the grease had gone hard/off. Which was not allowing the Handbrake to return or release the adjuster inside the Calipers pistons.
Solutions
Fully strip & rebuild & Meticulously clear all components, resolves the adjustment.
To remove the Handbrake seized adjuster, unscrew piston to the left. Remove central Handbrake adjuster bolt after removing circlip at bottom of piston borehole. Then you can carefully push out handbrake adjuster 4mm hex head easily and without damage
Thank you so much man I finally fixed my handbrake thanks to you
Nice! Glad it helped
You can also use a 10mm socket on tge adjusting sleeve.
Thanks for the help. Now I have a lot more confidence in my car.
great video the best e brake adjustment video i have watched
Great video, visually and verbally well detailed
Thanks, very much appreciate the feedback!
My problem is a sticking e-brake, which I hope are the caliper pins. Very informative video, thanks! One cautionary note though, I thought I saw the car supported only by the jack; please always use jack stands.
Excellent video! Lots of good details. Looking forward to more from you.
Thanks for the kind feedback!
Awesome video, you helped me solve my problem thanks!
Cheers fantastic video but I didn’t need to remove my console to adjust the parking brake cable other than that it was good
Great help!. I presume the adjuster at the handbrake itself is clockwise to increase tension?
Yes, a regular pull is about 7 clicks. If you're out of that range, you can tighten it.
Oh, is OG Ped. I was communicating with you alot when I was trying to tune my PS2. I ended up pulling it out and reinstalled factory. I couldn't figure it out, tried and tried and tried to no avail.
OGPedXing: ‘Ya’ll DO torque your lug nuts… right?’ Me: *glances fervently at my air gun*
Lol
for brakes, 3.5 ugga duggas will be enough i think.
Awesome video. Can’t wait to try
Thank you for this now my car doesn't move when the brake is set.
i didn't quite catch the part @10:40, where you adjusted the caliper cables, could you elaborate on how you adjusted those?
Sure, so the end of the cable has this threaded section. You have a little adjustment possible by moving the two nuts farther out or back in which will sandwich that part of the caliper bracket in a slight different position. You can get maybe 10 mm of length to the cable which can help balance it out in that middle junction where the main cable gets proportioned to both sides.
@@OGPedXing thank you for your fast answer! do you mean those to nuts under the booth after the bracket or do you adjust it by those two nuts holding it onto the bracket?
The second one, the two nuts holding to the bracket can move and then you tighten down again once it's in the right position.
@@OGPedXing sorry for asking so stupidly again, but i think my head is a bit smoking from this subject by now - just to be sure, the nuts holding to the brackets adjust the clabe? that's what you are saying?
@@christophers.8112 the two nuts holding it on to the bracket. Check out 13:30 in the video. I'm talking about one side of mine which is jammed on there but usually you can adjust it either way.
Thanks man!
Awesome video with great info. Thank you
My car failed on mot because of handbrake efficiency, I’ve followed your steps so let’s see if it passes!!
It passed mot, you are a legend!!!
Haha, congrats!
I’ve been struggling for days with my E brake. One side brakes fully one side brakes only some.
Replaced both cables from the spring backward. Replaced calipers and brake pads.
Passenger side works perfectly. Driver’s side either doesn’t work, or if I adjust it tighter it will lock up and not release. So frustrating! What am I missing ?
Outstanding video on the subject :-)
Well, which way do we turn the adjustment screw at the E-brake handle to tighten the cable? You never mentioned that.
I think it's the standard righty-tighty (clockwise) to tighten the cable.
I've done this adjustment so many times but it just doesn't stick. Would appreciate any insight on this.
Try to pull out the adjustment pin to inspect the splines. It should come out with a little wiggling and maybe some thin tape wrapped around the end of your hex key. If that looks ok then it may be necessary to rebuild one or both calipers. What happens is the internal mechanism wears/loosens over time allowing it to rotate and lose the correct setting. Another thing that can help is to make sure to do both sides at the same time even if only one side is not holding the calipers.
@@OGPedXing thanks for the reply man! I remember pulling one of the adjustment gears and inspecting the teeth. Iirc, it was fine. Fairly sure one caliper was replaced by the prev owner.
I've replaced the parking brake cables and replaced pads and rotors. Doesn't hold the car at any incline even after a fresh adjustment. Then after a while, it stops holding on level ground.
@@ohitsaijie866 OK cool, you got the cable already. If it stretches a mm it will affect the holding power. The other thing that can help is to put the lugs back on the rotor so they are held tightly against the pads. Also give the brake pedal a few pumps before the adjustment to make sure everything is in the right place. A tiny amount of float between the piston and the pads can be the difference of holding vs not holding. Finally try to adjust to very tight (can barely turn the rotor even with a pry bar) and then turn back only a quarter turn rather than a third. Do that process on both sides. If it doesn't hold after all that then the screw part that goes into the piston itself is coming loose. Unfortunately this can be caused when someone uses the normal c-clamp method a few times to change pads.
@@OGPedXing thanks for the advice, I'll trying these out next time I'm under the car. I just did a diff fluid and oil change yesterday and didn't think to open up the brakes again. It's just way too cold to be working on cars right now.
I just found out that the brake light comes on my 91 when the reservoir needs fluid.
Those emergency brake cables, are they suppose to be switched under the hand brake i.e. right becomes left etc? I can't get the cables to even out where they hook up to hand brake under the car. Cable nut is extended in opposite directions at calipers This is my 91 Miata.
Is something wrong with my callipers? I’ve seen many vids on adjusting them but I don’t have the 14mm bolt there, there’s just nothing there at all
Very good video, the best I've seen very detail. I have a question please...The console that holds the stick is pretty durable right? Because 1 time I sat in the car, I usually use the arm rest to move myself and sit properly but I accidentally hold on to the stick instead .. so my apply little pressure in the hand brake stick ... Will I do any damage to it? It is very solid .. thanks and support
Yes, I'd say the brake lever itself is quite strong. The plastic around the center console can usually take a good amount of pressure also, but it can crack especially if it's had a lot of sun exposure.
@@OGPedXing thanks so much for your reply .. so like you said it is quite strong and I don't have to worry about it .. but I won't do that again .. thanks
Do the piston retraction hex keys follow the lefty loosey righty tighty rule? Might change my rear brakes soon if my spare parts arrive...
Yes although with the head facing away, it's flipped 😃
Thanks for the in depth video. I just put 1999 NB brakes on my 91 and I messed up somewhere with the parking brake. About to go in the garage and mess with it. I'll post a reply if I get it figured out haha. I've never messed with rear calipers like these.
Yeah it's crazy. Most things on a miata are super easy but these brakes cause problems for lots of people.
@@OGPedXing btw, I readjusted that screw and everything is fine. I did it with the wheel on. Thanks again.
Do not apply power to the parking brake warning light wire at the switch. Grounding this wire should activate the warning light.
What do you do if you strip the hole for the allen key and you cannot turn the key? The other key will adjust but will not come out and I am not forcing it!
Sometimes you can get the other adjuster out by using something that won't tear easily like electrical tape and put one end over the Allen key to make it a snug fit and hold the other end so you don't lose it. Then give it a tap or two and it may loosen up to take out.
What size is the parking adjuster Allen?
Pretty sure it's 4mm
Great job and I have learnt something very useful today :)
hey i know this is an old video, but i’m having such a strange issue. my ebrake just refused to grab, i could roll with it with just the clutch. So i tightened the cable by the handle until the car wouldn’t roll with it disengaged, and then turned it back. The handbrake engages much better now, but it still feels a bit weak. Not to mention i get 13 (!!!) clicks from the handle before it stops. If i turn the adjustment on the handle all the way to 7 clicks, the car sits with its handle down but the brakes very much engaged
should also add ive not been under it yet. Don’t have wheel chocks or time at the moment. But i’ve also just realised with the ebrake up only the back left is grabbing, the right almost spins freely.
Allegedly this car only had its rear callipers and ebrake cable replaced a few years ago, so i’m stumped as to why.
I’ll get under it soon for the allen adjustment but those 13 clicks are gonna piss me off
Yeah I like to do the caliper end adjustment first and then adjust the brake lever to be shorter as needed second. It's good to adjust both calipers at the same time because as you said, one can be fine while the other spins.
Thanks!
my driver side ebrake sometimes sticks (doesn't release when handbrake lever is lowered) but when i push the bracket on the caliper with the return spring on it, it "snaps" back open.
i'm assuming its just dirty and sticky but can you open this mechanism up to give it a clean or...?
Yes, I'd start with cleaning and lubricating the caliper guide pins. You take the caliper off, remove the pins and wipe them down, even sand lightly any rough spots and then give them a nice coat of high temp brake grease and reinstall. Can make a huge difference.
Did this still didn't work. Is it supposed to be leaking break fluid out of that hole w the allen key adjustment?
Nope, should be dry. It looks like a caliper rebuild is needed. There are internal seals between the geared spindle that's turned by the allen key. If that is leaking then it won't keep the adjustment.
@@OGPedXing thx for letting me know, new caliper or try rebuilding it?
The rear calipers are more complicated to rebuild than the fronts but the kit is cheaper than a new one for sure. It's doable if you have the time. Truly new ones may not be available, you're mostly looking at factory remanufactured used ones. Which can be hit or miss but at least come with a warranty.
How do you put the line at 13:00 back
It's a bit challenging, you have to work against the spring and then get it in the slot. I just powered it on with some effort but another approach is to use a large pair of channel lock pliers to hold it closed enough.
Can I ask what size the Allen key?
It's a 4 mm key.
I adjust one side and the e brake but my left side caliper does not have a bolt or the Allen head or hex head in it what do I do? please let me know
Is it missing (there's hole there) or is the area blank like it's a different type of caliper than the other side? I there's a hole, clean it out well with some brake cleaner and use the hex head key from the other side. (You can usually get it to come out with some wiggling).
@@OGPedXing there’s is a hole and there was a hex key in there but it’s missing I tried to take it out of my right side but I couldn’t so just that side isn’t clamping my question is can I buy the piece and stick it in there or is it completely broken and I need a new caliper, because my foot brake is fine
You can typically buy it, even used is fine. There's a shop on eBay I use all the time - miatamecca. Search on Miata brake adjuster and you'll find it.
@@OGPedXing the bolt that goes on it too?
Because maybe that’s y it fell out it didn’t have a bolt on it
What size hex?
Pretty small, I think it's 4mm.
"Home people doing parking brake adjustments in there garage" you mean the HPDPBAITG's...? 🤣
Great video. Thanks. But get some real lug nuts; those slotted things are a joke. Cheers!
The amount of times I’ve had to press skip is rediculous
Torquing lug nuts is for goofballs
Do you actually have a shop or is that just a handle?
@@OGPedXing heck no I do not have a shop
Ok, "torquing lug nuts is for pros" ftfy 😁
My e brake clicked like 12-13 times
That's too many. For this case you can tighten the brake cable at the handle by popping off the plastic cover and, looking down from above, tighten with a flat head screwdriver the cable end.