Front right brake issue!!

stivine6

Member
:
2001 Mazda Protege ES
Hey guys,

I've been having quite a bit of issue with my front right brake. I just had both calipers replaced, new rotors and pads installed a month ago. Over the past week i've noticed that my front right brake gets a lot hotter than the other side -- i've also jacked up the car and found that it was hard to spin the right front wheel.

At that point i figured maybe faulty right caliper, so i went to my local auto store and picked up another brand new caliper -- installed that today and it's still doing the exact same thing. Everything has been greased and brakes bled but i am running out of ideas on what the problem could be. Seems like the piston isn't retracting properly and grabbing onto the rotors. It has already warped my right front rotor which is really frustrating.

What do you guys think the issue could be? Flex hose?

Photo2014-11-15101649AM_zps0a19f68d.jpg
 
check the hub bearing it maybe starting to lock up and need replacement also check the cv axle as well while your under it. a flex hose could be at fault as well is it leaking any fluid?

on a side note nice looking car is that the p5 front bumper? i did not think the speed proteges had that front end
 
check the hub bearing it maybe starting to lock up and need replacement also check the cv axle as well while your under it. a flex hose could be at fault as well is it leaking any fluid?

on a side note nice looking car is that the p5 front bumper? i did not think the speed proteges had that front end

CV axles look fine.. i'll get my mechanic to take a look at the hub. But i have a feeling its more brake related because when i jacked up the car and spun the wheel slowly i can see the pads catching the rotor.

And thanks! Its a MP3 protege but both mp3 and mazdaspeed proteges did come with the same bumpers as P5 without the side marker
 
i agree with maroon if the brakes are touching the rotor then its a hydraulic issue you replaced the caliper and the pads and its only happening on the one side, i would say flex hose
 
Thanks for the suggestion guys. I just got my flex hose and rotor replaced. Jacked up the car again just to double check everything.

There is still a bit of drag on it but nowhere near as bad as before but still not as smooth as the left side.

Is a bit of caliper drag normal?

The car still rolls no problem and I don't feel and resistant. Only when I jack up the car and check the right wheel there's a bit of drag
 
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It's hard to define what a "bit of drag" is. If I jacked up my car right now, I would hear the pads rubbing on the rotor.

Did you push back the piston when you replaced the rotor/flex hose? Have you driven since? I'd just check it every day and see if it changes.
 
It's hard to define what a "bit of drag" is. If I jacked up my car right now, I would hear the pads rubbing on the rotor.

Did you push back the piston when you replaced the rotor/flex hose? Have you driven since? I'd just check it every day and see if it changes.

Yeah did that and bled the caliper as well.. So can't be the flex hose anymore. I have driven a bit there's no rolling resistant that I can feel. I'm just a little concerned because when I jacked it up it wasn't as smooth as the left side.

But I heard a little bit of caliper drag is normal
 
They should be equal side to side. I would run it for a few days and see if it changes.
 
now i suspect your hub bearing is locking up as well, the car is over 10 years old would not surprise me. if you do one do both just to be sure
 
now i suspect your hub bearing is locking up as well, the car is over 10 years old would not surprise me. if you do one do both just to be sure

I was thinking as well but I checked it over it spins freely without the caliper on. When the caliper is on with the bad that's when it drags. It's definitely a lot better than before but I thought it would be completely better after changing both the caliper and brake flex hose
 
Was just thinking: Did you replace the guide pins? Did you grease them? They should slide easily, but if they were like mine, I required a hammer to remove the caliper. I wire wheel them and grease them well. If they don't slide properly, you will definitely drag.

Other than that, maybe there's a master cylinder issue. I don't know how the master cylinder splits the brake system: Whether it's cross split (where your RF would be linked to the LR) or whether it's split front to rear (so the RF is linked to the LF). If the master cylinder were to blame, then you ought to have the same issue on whatever other caliper your RF is split with. You could follow the lines to determine the split.

I wouldn't think there's anything wrong with the steel line. Given all the changes you have done, your system should be well flushed.
 
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So now when you drive it - is the right side wheel and brake caliper hotter than the other side? If not - you are good-to-go now! ;)
 
Right side is warmer then the left for sure but not burning hot like it was before. The left side barely ever heats up..

How would I check the master cylinder? Pins are all new with the caliper
 
"is it possible" the left side hose is worn and not transmitting all the power to the left brake caliper? This could cause the front right to be warmer - because the left side is colder (not working as hard to stop the car)...

Did you change the hose to the left/front?
Did you bleed both front calipers?

Master cylinder only breaks out to front and rear pressures. Check the metal lines from the MC inspecting for a crimped line somewhere...

Lastly, you may need a brake tester kit - to hook up gauges to the fronts and see what pressures on (and off) are at the calipers.
 
"is it possible" the left side hose is worn and not transmitting all the power to the left brake caliper? This could cause the front right to be warmer - because the left side is colder (not working as hard to stop the car)...

Did you change the hose to the left/front?
Did you bleed both front calipers?

Master cylinder only breaks out to front and rear pressures. Check the metal lines from the MC inspecting for a crimped line somewhere...

Lastly, you may need a brake tester kit - to hook up gauges to the fronts and see what pressures on (and off) are at the calipers.

he covered about everything else i can think of.
 
Okay guys so this is what I've done so far

Replaced right caliper (left caliper was replaced month)
Both calipers bled
Right rotor replaced (1 month old)
Right flex hose replaced and bled

I jacked up the front again today and it actually feels the same as before.. I checked the hub as well by taking the pads off and spinning the hub. Everything spun easily until I put the caliper back on and pumped the brakes.

Video # 1 - pads are off to see of the hub is binding
http://youtu.be/Q9lpzL-rF7c

Video # 2 - calipers and pads back on but I have NOT pumped the brakes yet to push the piston back into place.
http://youtu.be/ZPGmRox1ZvU

After I pumped the brakes a few time it'll go back to seizing/dragging

This is annoyong
 
and the pins are not seized...

Huh! [scratches head]

Nope definitely not they are brand new and I was able to slide it no proble. I'm pretty stumped on this and so is my mechanic..

Seems like the piston is retracting all the way, it's hard to pinpoint the source of problem. It's going to ruin my rotor again at this rate
 
Did you replace the bracket and abutment clips. Do your pads slide freely? Compare each side. Mine get a lot of build up of dirt/friction material.

I would remove both front calipers from the bracket individually. Have a friend apply the brakes a couple times while you hold the caliper with the pads onto the rotor. Then compare the difficulty to slide the caliper and pads off the rotor. Does the right caliper have more resistance the left? If so, you have a hydraulic problem. This will prove/disprove that the issue has anything to do with bearings, rotor, guide pins, or pads.
 
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