Changed my front brake pads yesterday and noticed a bit of "Grease" on the back side of the passenger side caliper; inspected the entire area, the boot on the joint, the area behind the drum and nothing; The only place this could have come from was the cv axel boot, but I inspected it and found no tears, cuts or anything else. Not sure where the "Grease" came from? Any ideas out there?
Passanger Side Rotor Grease
- Thread starter dfskinner
- Start date
Well finally figured out where the grease was coming from..... Took the car into the dealer for a special coupon oil change $24.95....... and service gave me a quote to replace the front struts $802.00...... This included all the parts and labor (shrug)... wow, that's expensive, so I did a little shopping around and found some interesting prices.....
Local service station - $ 499.00
Local Midas ---------- $ 450.00
Local Firestone ------ $ 480.00
Local Sears ---------- $ 420.00
Local Goodyear ------ $ 510.00
Looked up the parts online approx $250.00 replacing both struts and all the rubber parts, not sure how long it will take but I'll let you guys know...... I'm planning on doing it next weekend, probably on Saturday at the hobby shop on base ($ 3.00 per hour for a lift), I know they have all the right tools and will make it easier, I'll try and take some pic's to document the process.........
Local service station - $ 499.00
Local Midas ---------- $ 450.00
Local Firestone ------ $ 480.00
Local Sears ---------- $ 420.00
Local Goodyear ------ $ 510.00
Looked up the parts online approx $250.00 replacing both struts and all the rubber parts, not sure how long it will take but I'll let you guys know...... I'm planning on doing it next weekend, probably on Saturday at the hobby shop on base ($ 3.00 per hour for a lift), I know they have all the right tools and will make it easier, I'll try and take some pic's to document the process.........
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- 2008 Mazda5 Touring
Be careful with springs compressors, if those things aren't tightened uniformly and on securely, they can take just about take your head off.
Ditto. Not a bad job, but follow all the safety precautions carefully!
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- 2008 Mazda5 Touring
Unless it your only option, I wouldn't replace the rubber components individually, but as a whole. ie - replace the strut mounts. This would ensure you are also replacing the friction bearings or bearing plates also.
ALSO, I haven't noticed on the 5, but on other vehicles, if you can't get the rod nut off by holding the tip end of the strut rod with a crescent wrench, they may require an impact to remove.
ALSO, I haven't noticed on the 5, but on other vehicles, if you can't get the rod nut off by holding the tip end of the strut rod with a crescent wrench, they may require an impact to remove.
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That's true. Some struts are available as assemblies (new strut, spring, and top/mount/bearing - pre-assembled), and that makes the job much easier. If your 5 has higher milage, the upper strut mount bearings don't always survive the transfer without clunking, creaking, or clicking when you turn the wheel or over bumps. The upper strut mount bearings have their 'happy place', and disturbing them can change that. I have seen some where the mount literally falls apart when you remove it. Price out the difference if they are available for the 5 - definitely worth checking into.
replaced both struts; about 3 hours on Saturday to do the driver's side and about an hour and half on Sunday to do the passenger side........ little tricky getting the bottom of the strut out of the axel, stuck in there pretty good.... didn't replace any of the other stuff, just the strut itself..... everything else looked really good, the hobby shop personnel helped me with the coil compression machine, that thing is awesome. After we got the old strut out he looked and told me all the parts looked like they were in really good condition so I'm returning all the other parts........ other than that pretty straight forward....... next weekend I'll change out the backs....... didn't take any pic's, just followed the instructions that came with the repair manual..... used some grease before putting the old strut back in place....... having the car on the lift helped, once we put the strut in and got it lined up, we lowered that side down on a 2 ton jack stand to get the strut to go into the axel...... I wouldn't have known to do that, again the hobby shop guy said that was the easiest way, and it'll only took a second to do...... learned several new ways of using equipment in the auto hobby shop....... 
Total spent to change out the front struts was approx $230.00;
Struts $106.00 = $ 212.00
charge for using the hobby shop on base (lift and tools) approx $ 21.00
Coil compression machine made this possible, otherwise I'm not sure how you'd change this out.....
Total spent to change out the front struts was approx $230.00;
Struts $106.00 = $ 212.00
charge for using the hobby shop on base (lift and tools) approx $ 21.00
Coil compression machine made this possible, otherwise I'm not sure how you'd change this out.....
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Glad it went well. Better to have the other parts and not need them. Gotta love open return policies - the old days of re-stocking fees sucked. As for the spring compressor, there are basic, loan-a-tool (or cheap to buy at places like Harbour Freight, etc.) manual types out there that work fine - as long as you are careful to make sure they are secured properly. Shop equipment the way you did it is definitely faster though!
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- 2008 Mazda5 Touring
Glad it worked out for you. With the type I have, there are 4 hooks on a long threaded rod that you just attach on the top and bottom of the spring and crank the rod down with a 1/2" drive ratchet (as a pair). This method works great with the strut on the vehicle so you don't have to contend with wrestling it out of a tight fit like you probably had with the axles. Precompressing the spring to reassemble works just as well for reinstallation. Hopefully it will all work out for you, but I would have still replaced the friction assembly regardless of how it looked.
so where's the grease coming from?
