right rear brake is dragging hard!

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jason5151
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Joined: November 16th, 2007, 2:39 am

right rear brake is dragging hard!

Post by jason5151 »

the temperature outside dropped from 10 degrees to -10 degrees my brakes were working fine until i pulled e-brake then i pulled out of a sloped drive way at my relatives place ,normally my car would slowly roll!
but not today,so have come to the conclusion that my brakes are stuck on .....
anyway so i drove off home a few kms away to see if it would release the pads off the rotor and it did a little but when i got out of my car i went around to see where the heat radiated from stuck caliper ,and found it to be the right rear ....
so my question to any knowledgeble members here is do you think its the e -brake cable that is sticking or the caliper is not returning to off the rotor position?and if either how do i go about fixing this problem any trouble shooting tips appreciated. I hope to keep this thread going till problem is resolved. :?
1996 mx-3 black 1.8 v6
Whisper
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Post by Whisper »

Did your e-brake get frozen shut due to the temperature drop?

Although if it's just one of the wheels, and not both, I'm guessing a stuck caliper.
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94mx3precidia
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Post by 94mx3precidia »

well seeing as how our back e brake cables break from one cable to 2 seprate cables for each of the back brakes. I would say that your e brake cable is seazed beacuse of moisture in the cable. Its pretty obvious, you said that when it went from 10 to -10 and your problem started from there. I dont think its a seized caliper because really the only factor that would have caused it to randomly seize would be the fact that it went down to -10. If it did seize because of the cold, the caliper should have let go already because a dragging brake causes alot of heat and that head would dicipate into the caliper its self.

I would try parking your car somewhere warm and see if that helps your problem. While your somewhere warm spray some wd-40 down the e brake line, wd-40 is a very good water repelliant and it will keep water out of the ebrake cable.

All the water is really doing is getting between the tiny strands of metal that make up your ebrake cable. When the cable swells due to the water freezing the cable becomes the same diameter and the outside wall of the e brake cable housing and thus it seizes in place. If your lucky, you may not have broken the outside housing.

Thats just my .02 Cents.
1994 MX-3 GS KLZE, Probinator, Bully stage 1 (probe GT), B&M Short Shifter, 2 1/4" Custom headders back.
wytbishop
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Post by wytbishop »

Brake fluid is agroscopic. That means it attracts water from the atmosphere. Although the brake's hydraulic system is a closed system, mosture does collect in the brake fluid over time. Especially if it has ever been overheated.

Bleed your brakes, lube your cables and you should be fine.
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mx3autozam
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Post by mx3autozam »

Its probably the cables are old and the ebrake will sticking. Maybe get some new cables. and really grease up the lever for it on the back of the caliper. I had a similar problem with my car last year but it was the caliper itself was sticking it was actually the slider pin was screwed. I bought new ones and greased them up. You may want to do that as well.
wytbishop
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Post by wytbishop »

The point about the floating pin on the rear calipers is a good one. Mine were seized and the calipers had to be replaced. If it's gotten to the point where the pins are seized, there's probably lots of other possible reasons for your brake problem.

My entire rear brake recon cost me about $400.
94' RS/GS/MS/CF Monster Turbo...coming soon.
93' GS SE, the Black Beast, the former love of my life...soon to be gutted and crushed.
94' GS, black on black, now in several small pieces...and one large crushed piece.
2007 Mazda3 GT Sport --- super fun
2004 Honda RC51 --- Lost forever to some theavin' bastard
My Worklog
My feedback thread
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
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jason5151
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Post by jason5151 »

going to take 94s advice and try to spray wd-40 down the cables the best i can and spray the cantilever on caliper before the winter goes into deep freeze,hope that this works! will report back in afew days ,or when weather gets cold...
1996 mx-3 black 1.8 v6
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94mx3precidia
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Post by 94mx3precidia »

like i said before. Park it somewhere warm for the night. Above freezing and take it for a drive and see if its still dragging.
1994 MX-3 GS KLZE, Probinator, Bully stage 1 (probe GT), B&M Short Shifter, 2 1/4" Custom headders back.
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jason5151
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Post by jason5151 »

not dragging any more,found boot at end cable broken on right rear cable
sprayed wd40 right in there and no more sticking e-brake so far but now my rotor is warped from heat!next!
1996 mx-3 black 1.8 v6
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jason5151
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Post by jason5151 »

problem came back,just my luck it turned out to be the right cable needed replacing, $100 for this part! now snow drifting is possible yea!
1996 mx-3 black 1.8 v6
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