Replaced Brake Pads and Rotors on 2006 Mazda5 Sport...my experience (very long)

Thanks for posting. Only comment is that I wish you had taken pictures of the process :) My rears are in need of replacing. I've been trying to get the dealer to do it via the warranty since the rears are noisy as heck in the morning.
 
Lee MD said:
Thanks for posting. Only comment is that I wish you had taken pictures of the process :) My rears are in need of replacing. I've been trying to get the dealer to do it via the warranty since the rears are noisy as heck in the morning.
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You are experiencing an old issue that's been resolved. If you clean out the area where the pin is that you grease in the calipers, then re-grease, that sound will go away. If you take it to the dealer, make sure and tell them that we've all resolved that issue by this method so that they do it.
 
Robotaz said:
Wow, that is long. I just wanted to add a comment to this thread for those who are considering replacing rotors.

Twenty-something years ago I was a brand new driver with a very old car. I was 16 years old and restoring a house that my grandfather owned. He owned a shop next to the house that had a place called Redline Automotive that built Winston Cup motors for NASCAR race cars. The guy bled gasoline he was such a gearhead. I asked him one day if he could resurface my rotors because they shook violently, which was common on a 5.0 Fox body Capri/Mustang. He asked me, "do you race the hell out of that car"? I said no. He said, "then your f---ing rotors aren't warped". He told me to take 220 grit sandpaper and gently sand the rotors. Problem solved. The issue isn't deforming metal. It's crap from the pads caking on the rotors. It's a problem that is getting worse now that you can't buy asbestos pads. The plastics and crap in the pads sticks on the rotors. If you stop really quickly going down an off ramp from an Interstate or something you will leave a patch of crap on the rotors that is shaped exactly like the pad if you come to a stop and leave the brakes on. After that, the pads grab harder where that patch is, causing you to feel them vibrate. You should let off and pull the e-brake to keep the pads off of the scalding rotors when you have to stop quickly like that.

Anyway, moral is: try sanding rotors before you turn them or buy new ones. I have fixed every single vibrating rotor with $.50 of sand paper over the past 22 years. I'm actually getting ready to sand the rotors on our 5. I can feel a tiny bit of vibration if I brake at 70 MPH speeds. I looked at the rotors and sure enough, there's crud on there that needs to be sanded off.
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+1 for this. "warped" rotors is an urban myth that wont go away. pads will leave a glaze on the rotor surface. sandpaper or garnet paper is a popular application, just buff until the rotor becomes cloudy. dont forget to clean the dust off before reinstall.

another thing to look out for is lateral runout if you experience vibration under braking. it can be inspected with a dial gauge and corrected by either turning the rotor while on the vehicle or using special shims between the hub and rotor.
 
I've used sandpaper or a scotch brite pad to scuff up rotors, either one.

I'm thinking of doing my rear rotors soon; the pads have only about 3mm of meat left, and the rotors look worn pretty deep (judging from the ridge on the outer edge). real weird, car has only 31K miles, and I've NEVER had to replace rear brakes before the fronts on any car I've had.
 
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