brake pads and rotors questions...

[Bijou-MP5]

I have ordered remanufactured one from rockauto.
when my car was in shop it was hard to turn the rear lef wheel where rear right wheel was turning smoothley.
it is def. dragging because temp was about 380F where all other three were about 90F.
somehow caliper won't release the brake.
I haven't changed the my rear pads until now at 75K miles, so It was probably hard to notice before since old pads were all used up and now with new thick pad and rotor I face the problem.
somehow even if I realease the ebrake, rear left caliper wasn't doing much to release the brake.
if anyone else have any idea then caliper problem then let me know.

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

Still blame it on Midas. It didn't do it before they worked on it right? Just the same as you being blamed for something that failed after you worked on it.

 

[71dsp]

The problem is probably the adjuster. If you back off it just a bit, the pads would probably stop dragging. Did you check that, or have them check that? No sense in spending money if the caliper is actually fine, just the pads were installed incorrectly.

I have ordered remanufactured one from rockauto.
when my car was in shop it was hard to turn the rear lef wheel where rear right wheel was turning smoothley.
it is def. dragging because temp was about 380F where all other three were about 90F.
somehow caliper won't release the brake.
I haven't changed the my rear pads until now at 75K miles, so It was probably hard to notice before since old pads were all used up and now with new thick pad and rotor I face the problem.
somehow even if I realease the ebrake, rear left caliper wasn't doing much to release the brake.
if anyone else have any idea then caliper problem then let me know.

 

[Bijou-MP5]

The problem is probably the adjuster. If you back off it just a bit, the pads would probably stop dragging. Did you check that, or have them check that? No sense in spending money if the caliper is actually fine, just the pads were installed incorrectly.

I actually showed mechanic post your wrote

....Mazda seems to use this funky adjuster on the rear calipers, and you're supposed to adjust the pads so that they make contact, then back off just a bit so the pads aren't dragging excessively on the rotors. This procedure is on page 04-11-22 of the Protege service manual. My guess is that the tech either didn't know what (s)he was doing, or just didn't do it right. The tech probably didn't back off the adjustment bolt enough and you're dragging that one set of pads bad enough that it's overheating the rotor causing the burning smell and the purplish color on the rotor.

he said he knows and keep telling me how brake is not releasing all the way, so it's caliper not acting right...

however, before I replaced to new rotor and pads, my rear left was always making scratching noise and it goes away when it gets warmed up, and when I was in midas before i replaced to new ones, they were showing me my rear left wasnt turing right, told me something was stuck between pads causing the noise.
I seriously don't know what to do, do I have to take it to different place to look at it? or should I take it to the dealer? :'(
btw, can you show me which one is the adjuster? I have looked service manual and didn't know which one was the adjuster.

 

[GhostLinker]

71dsp has a point (thumb)

Check on page 04-11-24, part #4 is the adjuster.
Maybe the adjusting bolt and gear are not set properly or jammed.

 

[Bijou-MP5]

71dsp has a point (thumb)

Check on page 04-11-24, part #4 is the adjuster.
Maybe the adjusting bolt and gear are not set properly or jammed.

thanks for the pic, btw do you know if adjuster is used with hex key? I will print out this pg 04-11-24 and give it to midas and tell them to adjust.
I just don't know how caliper works so I couldn't argue with them.
and if the adjusting bolt and gear are not set properly or jammed then do I need new caliper?

 

[GhostLinker]

Yep, it's an allen key but I do not remember the size.

They have to remove the adjuster gear and check in the hole to see if the adjusting bolt can move freely. They also have to add rubber grease to lube the assembly. If the adjusting bolt is stuck, it will be cheaper to replace the caliper then to have them rebuild it.

 

[aMaff]

I bet they tried to use a caliper compressor and messed up the caliper for the 1st one, and then figured out what they had 2 do for the 2nd 1, and that's y it's messed up....

 

[GhostLinker]

Bijou,

did you have problems with the brakes on this side before they touched them ?
If not, aMaff is right and they busted the adjuster bolt by forcing the piston in without losening the adjuster gear. They have to fix it.

 

[Bijou-MP5]

Bijou,

did you have problems with the brakes on this side before they touched them ?
If not, aMaff is right and they busted the adjuster bolt by forcing the piston in without losening the adjuster gear. They have to fix it.

besides my brake pads were worned out I didn't have any heat problem except of the noise. I saw mechanic using air tools to remove something but I'm not sure if they losen the adjust gear first or not.
if they didn't then I'm sure they will deny it.
so if adjust bolt is broken then caliper will not work meaning brake is not working?

 

[aMaff]

besides my brake pads were worned out I didn't have any heat problem except of the noise. I saw mechanic using air tools to remove something but I'm not sure if they losen the adjust gear first or not.
if they didn't then I'm sure they will deny it.
so if adjust bolt is broken then caliper will not work meaning brake is not working?

yep

 

[Bijou-MP5]

yep

ah...sh_t!!! how can I prove them they messed up my adjusting bolt. and I looked at my mazda parts catalog I don't think I can't just get adjusting bolt unless I replace whole caliper...
I think I should tell them to check if adjusting bolt is broken or not and it it did then I should fight with them to reimburse me for labor charge.

 

[GhostLinker]

The caliper piston cannot return completely in its socket and the pads stay pressed to the disk. 71dsp was right ... they used the BFH method.

Sending rep points to 71dsp ...

 

[Chilledboost]

i used to work for midas. they use a really hard friction matreal pad. that pad cooked your rotor. they probably didnt crosshatch the rotor before they installed it

 

[Bijou-MP5]

i used to work for midas. they use a really hard friction matreal pad. that pad cooked your rotor. they probably didnt crosshatch the rotor before they installed it

I installed posi quite ceramic pad not midas pad. I think they just messed up on installation because first brake job he was doing was my rear left...
sigh....

 

[GhostLinker]

Wish I was in your area ... I would help you fix this mess.

Where exactly is catchmeifyoucan (just joking)? We don't have a city by that name in Canada but we have the well known kuujjuaq (population 2055).

 

[Bijou-MP5]

Wish I was in your area ... I would help you fix this mess.

Where exactly is catchmeifyoucan (just joking)? We don't have a city by that name in Canada but we have the well known kuujjuaq (population 2055).

yeah..I'm at iowa...so it's pretty hard to meet any protege owner, most ppl with p5 here doesn't care about mods, they are just daily driver.
I think I can't trust midas anymore. If I get the new caliper, I would just take it to the dealer to get it installed even though labor is little high.
this way I feel more safe.

 

[71dsp]

GhostLinker is right, #4 in the diagram is the adjuster. You're supposed to turn it to compress the piston. Once the piston is compressed fully, you install the pads and the reinstall the caliper onto the car. Then turn the adjuster until the pads just touch the rotor. Back off 1/3 of a turn, and you're set. If the adjuster is turned to tightly and not backed off, the brake pads will drag.

One other thing, the adjuster should turn freely. DO NOT force it. You'll strip it for sure (ask me how I know, I learned this lesson on a Miata). I don't recall the exact size. It's metric, obviously. I'm thinking 6mm or so. Maybe 8mm, but I doubt it.

I'd help you too, but I'm in Texas. There's always something to be said about either doing your own work, or knowing enough to know when someone is BS'ing you. It sounds like Miadas is giving you a line of crap.

You know, I had a car come back to me once. A Toyota (I never work on Toyotas, only Mazdas and Hondas). I did a clutch, flywheel, LSD, and header install on it. I torqued the flywheel bolts to spec (I refuse to work on a car unless I have the factory service manual), but I thought the spec was very, very low. Nevertheless, I thought the manual must be right. So I torqued everything down. A few days later, he calls me up to tell me his car is making a horrible racket. It's so bad I can clearly hear it over the phone! I drive up to see him with a trailer, 1 hour each way. I pick up his car, bring it back to my place, remove the transmission again (which sucks on a Toyota Celica, let me tell you), and find that the damn flywheel bolts backed out. Fortunately, it didn't damage the flywheel, clutch, or crank, but it destroyed the bolts. The flywheel was a forged piece. If it had been aluminum, I would have bought a flywheel too. Anyway, $70 in flywheel bolts later, $20 for transmission fluid, and 6 hours of labor later, I gave him back his car. Of course I didn't charge an extra dime. No way, it was my fault, regardless of what the book told me, I should have known better and done some research. He gave me $100 anyway, which I appreciated very much. That was by far the cheapest clutch, flywheel, and LSD install I had ever done because of all the rework!! I would never have thought to deny my mistake or to charge him for something he didn't cause. After I found the correct spec (mistake in the manual, IIRC), he hasn't had a problem since. Fortunately, I've never had another car come back to me with a problem due to my work. (thumb)

 

[Bijou-MP5]

GhostLinker is right, #4 in the diagram is the adjuster. You're supposed to turn it to compress the piston. Once the piston is compressed fully, you install the pads and the reinstall the caliper onto the car. Then turn the adjuster until the pads just touch the rotor. Back off 1/3 of a turn, and you're set. If the adjuster is turned to tightly and not backed off, the brake pads will drag.

One other thing, the adjuster should turn freely. DO NOT force it. You'll strip it for sure (ask me how I know, I learned this lesson on a Miata). I don't recall the exact size. It's metric, obviously. I'm thinking 6mm or so. Maybe 8mm, but I doubt it.

now...I'm really afraid to take my car to midas..
I'm going to make a call to local mazda dealer if they can look at my car...I know computer diagonistic charge is about $85 here but I don't how much they will charge me for brake inspection and caliper installation though.
it's just too much hassle for me to deal with midas explainning stuff and taking my car back and forth.
I'm glad at least my other three brakes are working fine.
I just hope replacing caliper will solve the problem.
but I seriously thank you all of you for helping me out. really appreciated it.
btw, 71dsp do you own a shop or something??

 

[GhostLinker]

Call Midas and ask to speak with the manager. Explain your problem and that you think they busted your caliper. If the manager is OK, you will save money.
If they are not reasonable over the phone, go to the Mazda dealer. They should not charge you more then 1 hour of work and a bit of brake oil.