Brakes (rotors) Question!

rekognize · Post by **rekognize** » May 9th, 2007, 1:20 am

I hear a pulsating sound whenever I'm braking..

My friend told me to change the rotors and get new pads;

Just wondering if the cross-drilled ones are better then the slotted ones? Or am I better off buying OEM rotors?

And where could I purchase new rotors, are the ones on eBay any good?

Thanks in advance!

J

Aston Wards · Post by **Aston Wards** » May 9th, 2007, 1:41 am

whether you need to change the rotors or not could depend on how the car is pulsating
feedback through the brake pedal could just be your abs working
feedback through the steering column could be your rotors warped or something as simple as worn rubber bushes

if the rotors are warped but still have plenty of life left you can get them skimmed

however, if you want new rotors then all you NEED is OEM style ones, for the most part drilled and slotted are for looks and wear out your pads faster (and can squeal too!)
They do look cool though!

neutral · Post by **neutral** » May 9th, 2007, 3:54 am

Worn wheel bearing(s) can also cause brake pulsating sensation, esp if noticeable mostly when applying the brakes at highway speeds.

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » May 9th, 2007, 11:38 am

Funny, I would swear that I replyed to this post... I did, but it is not here...
Anyway, short version of what I posted:
Get blank rotors, they will stop better than slotted or CD'd. AutoZone ones work just fine. Spend more money on nice pads. It will pay off. Take the calipers and clean them well, especially the sliders and the slider slots. Then regrease with caliper grease. A worped rotor is usually caused by a sticking caliper. The constant drag of the pad on the rotor will cause a lot of heat, the excessive heat will warp the rotor. Flush all old brake fluid for some nice synthetic fluid. Note: you cannot ever use regular brake fluid once you use synthetic so make sure you remember.

rekognize · Post by **rekognize** » May 9th, 2007, 11:59 pm

Thanks!

What brand of pads would you recommend?

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » May 10th, 2007, 12:53 pm

What do you do with the car? There are many good sport pads for the MX-3, but which you would use would be determined on what you want. The more sporty the pad the more quickly the rotor will wear out. The more sporty the pad the more brake dust you will have. The Hawk pads are awesome if you race much, but are SUPER dirty. Like clean your wheels twice a week dirty. I use cermaic pads that are super clean, almost no brake dust at all. They perform ok on the track and very well on the road. I think they are made by Akebono, not sure if that spelling is 100% correct. Duralast Gold are good street pads too. A bit moe bite than the cermaic pads, but tend to squeel if you don't use "brake quite" on the back side of the pads.

DimaK · Post by **DimaK** » June 13th, 2007, 10:38 am

sinthetic fluid???????? can you do that? cuz i was dumb and stupid and put synthetic fluid on top ofmy regular fluid. so they are mixed. so are you saing that you can flush the DOT fuid out and fill it up with synthetic one?
cuz techs at mazda told me to never do that, if the car wasn't designed to synthetic don't ever come near to the car with it

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » June 13th, 2007, 11:47 pm

BS, I've used synthetic for years now without any issues. As a matter of fact the braking is better with synthetic. You cannot mix the two and you cannot let someone else put the other in (like an oil change shop topping off your brake fluid with the wrong kind). You have to fully flush the regular out when you put in the synthetic, but it works just fine. To flush, just buy a big bottle of synthetic and keep flushing until it is 100% new fluid. I usually do a gravity bleed to get things going, which is just hooking a hose to the opened bleeder valve on the caliper and pumping the brakes while watching that the brake fluid level doesn't get low. Then when it is pumping out clear, new fluid close the valve and do the other wheels. Start with the rear passanger side, then rear drivers side, then passanger front and drivers front. After gravity bleeding you need to bleed them the normal way to remove any air.

rekognize · Post by **rekognize** » July 27th, 2007, 1:03 pm

I bought a set of PBR Deluxe pads, are they any good?

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » July 27th, 2007, 2:10 pm

About the same as any other stock like pad. They are decent unless you have an emergency brake situation, in which they will overheat, warp the rotor and fade b/c the pad acutally starts to melt or gloss over. This is typical of almost all OEM replacement pads.

Meanie · Post by **Meanie** » July 27th, 2007, 6:04 pm

PATDIESEL wrote:A worped rotor is usually caused by a sticking caliper. The constant drag of the pad on the rotor will cause a lot of heat, the excessive heat will warp the rotor.

Warped rotors can also be caused by constant pressure on the brakes (left foot resting on pedal while driving) and riding the brakes when coming to a stop and not releasing the pedal right away. In other words, provide a quick release of the brake when coming to a stop. When pressing the brake pedal, heat is being applied. When you make a complete stop, many people maintain that pressure on the brakes. That heat is concentrated on the area within the pads, which then results in warpage over time. Releasing the brakes allows them to cool even briefly. Then reapply.

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » July 28th, 2007, 12:46 am

Meanie, this might be the first post I've seen of you. Good explination and thanks for clarifing for me. I was just about to come back and explain a bit more myself, but you've taken care of that. You seem pretty knowledgable. I hope that you will continue to please post and help these youngsters learn about how their car works and how to work on it.
Thanks again.

rekognize · Post by **rekognize** » July 28th, 2007, 1:41 am

thanks for the replies

Changing rotors and pads is easy but I also need to change my brake shoes and drums for the rear but I cannot find a decent tutorial site on the net, any tips?

thanks

Meanie · Post by **Meanie** » July 28th, 2007, 7:27 am

rekognize wrote:thanks for the replies

Changing rotors and pads is easy but I also need to change my brake shoes and drums for the rear but I cannot find a decent tutorial site on the net, any tips?

thanks

Go to the home page of this forum, look on the left side of the screen and find the category of "Technical Info". Click on the "Online Shop Manual" which is the first heading. When this opens up, search for the "braking system" and go to page 42. This is where the rear brakes start. Follow the steps and it'll be simple.

The rear drums are not as simple as the front pads but also not that difficult, at least not for me, but I've done many. Just make sure you remember where all the springs and clips go. If your drum is difficult to remove when you start, you will need to release the tension from behind.

I suggest you purchase a brake adjusting tool which looks like this http://www.drivewerks.com/catalog/shopc ... 5_pg11.htm

a brake retaining tool http://www.drivewerks.com/catalog/shopc ... 65_pg5.htm

and a spring tool http://www.drivewerks.com/catalog/shopc ... 65_pg9.htm

They aren't expensive and if you plan to do your drums often, they are good to have. Of course, conventional pliers can do the trick, but not nearly as easy.

Just remember, EVERY spring and clip MUST not be forgotten and in it's proper place. Also do not forget the emergency brake cable. Just put everything together as it was and you'll be fine.

Good luck

Meanie · Post by **Meanie** » July 28th, 2007, 7:30 am

PATDIESEL wrote:Meanie, this might be the first post I've seen of you. Good explination and thanks for clarifing for me. I was just about to come back and explain a bit more myself, but you've taken care of that. You seem pretty knowledgable. I hope that you will continue to please post and help these youngsters learn about how their car works and how to work on it.
Thanks again.

Thank you Pat. I'll try to get here more often. This is a great forum to learn about our awesome MX3.