auxilary Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 I take everything good i said about the mazda3. calipers made by ford. so... both of my rear pads are worn down to bare metal. Fronts are that 50%. THese are factory pads by Galfer. So I got new pads, went to take calipers off to replace the pads.... the pistons won't go back in more than 3/4". I had to pound on the calipers to get them off the rotors (car is 4 years old, 55k miles), even after opening hte bleed screw, reservoir cap off, and ebrake line disconnected. I've never driven with ebrake on either, for clarification What are the chances of BOTH calipers going bad? Tomorrow I'm going to try picking up a different caliper tool kit that's not a cheapie POS from kragen/oreilly and see if it makes a difference. Also, the driver rear hub is clicking when I spin it... I probably have a bad wheel bearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted July 28, 2009 Author Share Posted July 28, 2009 so... update: installed new pads.. went to bed them in, got back. drove to work next day, drove home... I noticed the rotor on the driver side is blueish, and stupid hot. I spit on it, it sizzled like spitting on a hot coal. Brake pad is dragging.... what would cause this? I noticed it had a slight touch with old worn pads as well. I also found out that mid year through 05 mazda switched brakepads and design, and used thinner pads on newer models. I think the pads I got were for the older generation, and mine used newer thinner pads. However, rear left is dragging, rear right is not. In fact, it's perfect. My concern is whether the rotor on the dragged pad is toast or not. It was blueish color when I stopped (I left it in gear, no ebrake for that reason) and haven't seen it this morning yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Stupid question: You did turn the pistons ALL THE WAY back in with the caliper tool? Is it a one piston sliding caliper? Did you pull the pins, clean and lube them with synthetic brake grease so that the caliper can move freely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted July 28, 2009 Author Share Posted July 28, 2009 yep sliding caliper. didn't have brake grease, i'll admit to that. yes, i turned them all the way back with the tool until they were in the base. Now, the passenger side doesn't drag. The driver does (and did before I pulled the pads, I noticed). Coincidentally, that wheel bearing is clicking when I spin the hub/rotor without load, probably bad. I don't know how it is under load, or if it has any effect. Without load, rotor spins perfectly balanced and straight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Sounds like a stuck caliper to me. I'd disassemble, clean the pins and the holes in the caliper, use a synthetic brake grease on them that can handle high temps and not cook and make sure you can slide it easily back and forth and then reassemble. Not sure about the wheel bearing thing. I always listen for a grumble that changes pitch under load (swerving back and forth). If you don't have that I wouldn't worry about the bearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted July 28, 2009 Author Share Posted July 28, 2009 do you think the rotor's still usable? I don't think it was actually glowing, but it was hotter than any other brake, including fronts. Mind you, I was doing very light braking, no emergency conditions, and most of the trip was freeway over 50mph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 If it isn't warped I'd use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted July 28, 2009 Author Share Posted July 28, 2009 might be slight warpage, but nothing seriously bad... at least, I'll take a look at it and find out today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 pulled caliper off, regreased and cleaned sliders, made sure it was wound back all the way with the caliper tool. didn't have means/time to pull apart caliper and clean it, but i did notice that the anti rattle/retainer clip was binding on that side. I also 'modded' the pad by removing the extra backing plate (it's safe, I'm not that stupid ) so it's a little thinner. The rotor was still grinding a little bit against the pad, but I could easily turn and spin the wheel without any load. I took it out for a 1.5 mile test drive with some braking, and it seemed to be fine. Rotors on both sides were equally hot this time, but tomorrow's drive to work will tell. At least I have a cool blued rotor. hah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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