One is hotter than the rest

[zimmerDN]

I just replaced all my rotors and pad on my 04 mazda3. I touched the rotors this morning after a 10 min drive to work and both rear motors are hotter than the fronts. Not a surprise because the mazda3 brakes is rear bias AFAIK.

But the on the driver side rear rotor it's hotter than the passenger side rear. This sucks if I have a sized caliper. How else can I confirm? Or did I to do something else?

I pulled the e-brake 10+ times to get it self adjusted to the new hardware. I didn't park with the e-brakes engaged this morning because the rotor was hot.

I bedded the new pads in as per the manufacturer's instruction and drove around a long time to cool them off (which it never really did).

Everything was lubed and cleaned.

 

[Lethal1ty17]

get a laser temp monitor and see what temp it really is. if everything is factory, under warranty, and it really does have a rear break bias, i wouldnt worry unless it is causing you to not be able to stop safely.

 

[SLCraig]

It definitely does not have rear brake bias. I am not sure what kind of car would unless its primarily driven backwards.

It sounds to me like you have a slightly seized caliper if you lubed the slide pins well and they are free. There is virtually nothing else it could be unless the ebrake release is sticking.

Mazda's basically turn to dust in our winters. My friend is about to have his 3rd set (3 in total) of rear calipers put on his '02 Protege5.

 

[The_Jeff]

Do you have solid rear rotors and vented fronts? I'd laser temp them after "regular" driving.

 

[zimmerDN]

I do have vented front. So that might be one reason for the difference in temp. between front and back.

I say the brakes are rear biased because on all 04-06 mazda3 the rear pads are usually the ones to go first and the brake dust on the wheels is much worse in the rear than it is on the front.
This is not just my opinion but opinions from many online discussions from different owners from all over. I can be wrong but it is not important. Why did mazda do that on a front wheel drive vehicle we have no idea.

My concern is the difference between the rear passenger and driver.

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: zimmerDN

My concern is the difference between the rear passenger and driver.



There shouldn't be any difference.
Something is hung up.. Either E-brake or sliders, or piston itself. Nothing more it can be.

 

[stranger706]

Pop the cup holders in the center console out. Check the cable slack for the e-brake. It is adjustable. A lot of early Mazda 3's do not have enough slack in this cable.

Not saying thats it, just check to make sure.

 

[jhMalibu]

Originally Posted By: zimmerDN
I touched the rotors this morning after a 10 min drive to work


Last time I did this I nearly lost my fingerprint...You're a lot braver than I am.

 

[Jim 5]

Something is causing a friction material (brake pad or parking brake shoe) to drag on that side.

My guess is that as was pointed out, either your E-brake is incorrectly adjusted and not fully releasing, or the caliper on that side is dragging and needs to be rebuilt.

 

[UNC197]

The stories about the factory rear pads wearing out fast is because the material they are made out of is soft not because there is more rear bias. I touch the rotors on my Mazda3 every once in a while to check for pads sticking and have found that the fronts are always hotter than the rear. If your rear rotors are hotter than the fronts then there may be a problem.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Many smaller cars have solid rotors on the rear. Very small pads and calipers added to this cause problems with heat dissipation.

It is entirely possible for the rear brakes to be hotter than the fronts after a spirited drive, and it does NOT indicate a bias to the rear! It simply means they require longer to cool down.

Get an infrared thermometer to confirm that everything is even from side to side to eliminate stuck calipers. You certainly don't want to touch the rotors!

 

[KrisZ]

There is no rear bias at all, the dust and faster wear is attributed to softer brake pads not braking force bias. I found Mazda 3 forums are not exactly useful for any maintenence info, as too many young kids post their opinions as facts. You wanna put a body kit or a spoiler, that's your place, maintenance and repair not so much.

I would not try to compare rotor temps by touch, you can burn yourself and it is not accurate. Do it using infrared tem gauge.

The only thing you can do by touch is compare wheel temps. Do it right after your commute and place your hand near the center, it should be warm/hottish but not hot enough to burn your hand.

If both rear brakes are noticeably hotter that front, it’s probably the parking brake cable not releasing. How far does you parking brake lever travel. Normal should be around 4-6 clicks.

 

[Steve S]

How much difference is there? If one is warm and one is red hot there may be an installation problem. If you did the brakes correctly drive the car for a while to run in the new pads. Then check .

 

[Kestas]

Is the car pulling to one side during braking? Next time hold the steering wheel very lightly during straight braking.

 

[mechtech2]

They are brand new, and have to be seated in for 1-500 miles.
I would not pass judgement until then.

It would be VERY odd to have a rear brake bias on any car.

Possible problems are sticky pistons, sticky calipers, brakes that need bleeding, and maybe really unmatched pad material front/back.

But really, it is too soon to tell.

 

[zimmerDN]

It's confirmed. The rear driver side wheel drags slightly more than the rear passenger side.

The rear passenger side I can spin it and it will turn 2-1/2 turns and the driver side can turn maybe 1-3/4.

I tried adjusting the cable's tension and even backed it off to no tension.

Bummer. What now?

 

[Jim 5]

Originally Posted By: zimmerDN
It's confirmed. The rear driver side wheel drags slightly more than the rear passenger side.

The rear passenger side I can spin it and it will turn 2-1/2 turns and the driver side can turn maybe 1-3/4.

I tried adjusting the cable's tension and even backed it off to no tension.

Bummer. What now?


Time to look at rebuilding the driver's side caliper. While you're at it you might as well do the passenger side.

 

[zimmerDN]

Both rear rotors is much warmer than then front. This morning the rear rotors were hot to the touch and the front ones were cold. Driver side is still hotter than the passenger.

I wonder if its the e-brake cable not completely releasing. How can I tell? The rear wheels did spin when I had the wheels off the ground but I am not sure how well they are suppose to spin.

 

[charbaby]

Zim,
Go back and relube the sliders on the rear side that you susspect is hanging up and also, make sure that the pads are in their slots loosly not tight as some new brake pads have a hard time sliding into the slot on the hold down bar. Sometimes I even have to lightly file or bench grind the tabs where the pad slide into the slots, just to make them fit. I only take of just enough so they fit nicely without any sticking.

I just replaced the caliper(stripped bleeder screw, pass side)on my daughtes 06 M-3i 2.0L auto which hepled me become familier with her brake system. I like the way the E-brake is designed.

 

[zimmerDN]

Do you remember if the spring for the e-brake was coiled uniformly with even spaces between each coil?

I noticed mine looks a little bit compressed and the spaces between the coils aren't uniform. I wonder if springs is damaged? Just a guess