Mada Protege & warped front brake rotor....

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?

Reply to
vzmjsmlrlikn
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Did you insect the hub surfaces that the rotor contacts? I had a similar problem and found a deep layer of rust causing the surface of the hub to lift up enough to prevent any rotor from running true. I used a grinder to carefully remove the rust without going to far down and ruining the hub. It seemed to solve the problem. You may have a warped or damaged hub, bearing, etc Also make sure you are not overtorquing your lug nuts? Usually about 80 ft lbs is right but check it out for that model. Some people impact the nuts on to the max, bending the crap out of everything they hold together. Hope this helps.

Reply to
Big Al

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