Help me figure out my car issue

ghettoracingkid

Ask me about my Ipod
:
2002 Miata LS
Ok so here is the deal. I need help. I havent been able to track down the source of my problem as of yet but hoping while im here at work helpless maybe someone has some ideas.

here is the problem.

after driving for a while ill hit like 40 mph and it feels like the left front wheel is shaking and it horrible to the point it feels like its going to fall off if i drive on it any more.

Ill slow down and it will ease up but still be there but sometimes not as bad for a while.

I have checked the axel and they look and feel fine. nice and firm, no play etc....

now here is the problem while im slowing down or starting off it feels like the brakes are engaged slightly. Im fighting the brakes to get the car going.

Im thinking that the rotors are getting heated which by the exessive friction which is causing the wheel to go off balance.

I dont know im at a loss.

BTW I had just changed all 4 rotors, the mounts are good, jsut changed the side and the front and the tranny is good,

I have yet to rotate the wheels and check the front brakes.
 
Are the brakes at that wheel much hotter than the others on the car after a short drive? That could point to a brake problem.

Otherwise check to make sure no balancing weights fell off, and that your tires are still good.
 
Is the car pulling to the side at all when braking? A bad out of balance tire sounds like the best start. Make sure your rotors are wearing smoothly and aren't getting grooves in them. Also jack up the car and check for wobble that could be a bad wheel bearing.
 
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yeah i got to check the wheel balancing. I figure after i check the brakes im going to rotate the wheels and if it feels like it moved to the back i found the problem.

Im thinking the calipers are sticking for whatever reason.

all teh weights that were on are on and not broken.

im worried it might be the bearing especially becuase of the dragging effect im getting.
 
Jack up the car and try to rotate the (front) wheels when your car is in N. If you can only rotate one, then it's a break/bearing problem. Stuck calipers are quite common I gather.

When you take sharp left/right turns faster than usual, do you hear a left/right noise? that's typical for wheel bearings.

When you feel the bouncing at 40mph, do you have shaky steering wheel? or is just a vertical bounce?

If no bearing/breaking issues, prime candidates are wheel balancing or deformed rubber. Take it to a wheel shop and have them check the wheels for roundness and re-balance it. If you ever used that s**ty spray that you put in the wheel and automatically seals any punctures, that's the culprit.
 
Your wheel bearing might need to be changed.

That happened to me. Try to get an alignment and see what they say.
 
Ok so here is the vertict.


Checked it all out. The drivers side caliper was locked up. didnt cause any issues other then it didnt retract at all.

Went to Advance and ordered the part and they screwed up and ordered me the wrong side. had to wait another day and rush it when I woke up saturday morning. defintly the coldest and windiest day so far this winter.

So on the thursday before i had ordered the caliper the first time I had rotated the tires and see if there was any change.

took it for a test ride and it was bad. really bad.

so besides the caliper, Look like my tires were realyl low on air pressure, the side walls are stong and were holding up the car, and someone hit my front passenger side and throw off the alignment a tad.

so im all fixed and good to go. I am going to rebleed the brakes becuase the pedal doesnt feel 100% perfect but it could jsut be me.
 
I actually just had to replace the front driver caliper and rear passenger caliper rather recently. I wonder if this is a common issue.
 
so it was the calipers? if you still have that shaking go to your local mazda dealership and ask them to take a look at your wheel bearings, had the same problem and i thought it was something else only to find out it was a $240 + tax job and now runs like new, just check the wheel bearings
 
it was a combo of, frozen caliper, low tire pressure, slight alingment issue.

the wheel bearings are good. It was one of the many things i checked while i was under there
 

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