My front brake calipers need work. I have ordered a mazda trix caliper rebuild kit. Is there any tricks or problems that i need to address before i try and rebuild the calipers?

nope they are just like any caliper. the only thing is not to seperate the 2 halves

Why not? What if you need to hone the cylinders?

Check for cracks and uneven wear of course. I don't know what the tolerances are off the top of my head but you may want to measure the bores just to make sure you don't have one way bigger than the other. If you have glaze or a smooth surface inside the cylinder you will need to use a cylinder hone. Some people hone dry, I use a squirt bottle with alcohol and water just for consistency of surfacing. Dont forget to cross-hatch the pattern too. Make a few of passes clockwise then a few passes counter-clockwise. This should give you a nice crosshatched pattern. When you are done, rinse with mild soapy water. This gets out any metal dust that is left over. Don't use metal tools either. Tooth picks are a little too flemsy. It sounds weird but at wal-mart they sell bamboo skewers for like .98 for 50 skewers. These are perfect!



If your kit is the one that comes with the orange grease, use it instead of brake fluid, for assembly. Once you get it all together, put something with a smooth surface (to simulate a rotor) inside the caliper and use a little air pressure (just a few PSI) to make sure all your pistons extend and return properly. You may have to work them in and out a few times.



If you ar efeeling real froggy you can paint them too.