Hey everyone - long time lurker, first time poster.
I have a 1999 Mazda Protege, 1.6L engine, at about 110,000 miles. For the life of me I can't get this problem figured out: The front driver's side front brake rotor keeps warping. The warpage is so bad that you can hear "wonka, wonka, wonka" as the car goes down the road- the "wonka" being the sound the caliper makes as it travels in and out along the *entire* distance on the caliper pins. I've replaced the caliper, the pads, the rotor multiple times- including once with a HD Mazda OEM version, flushed the brake system, etc- nothing helps. When I replace the rotor, it only takes about 150 miles or so for it to warp again.
When I brake, the car does not appreciably pull to the left. And the caliper and rotor do not appear to be heat damaged- as I would expect them to be if there was too much braking force being applied to just that one caliper. There *is* pulsation in the brake pedal, but not much. The pads on the passenger side & the shoes in the rear appear to be wearing evenly, and the brake dust accumulation looks even as well.
I am thoroughly stumped, as is every mechanic I take it to. Any ideas?