feels like the abs is on all the time
Discussion
which would be fine apart from the fact my 99 1.8s doesnt have abs fitted .
nevertheless when i brake i get that pulsating feeling under my foot from the brake pedal .
the discs are covered in surface rust so i'm guessing the calipers are to blame
or is it the master cylinder ?
it will be an expensive process of elimination if i get things wrong
can anybody else shed light on it or has experienced the same problem ?
nevertheless when i brake i get that pulsating feeling under my foot from the brake pedal .
the discs are covered in surface rust so i'm guessing the calipers are to blame
or is it the master cylinder ?
it will be an expensive process of elimination if i get things wrong
can anybody else shed light on it or has experienced the same problem ?
New to MX5s so don't know if this is a common problem but it sounds like yours may have been parked up a while if the discs are rusty?
There's a good chance that it may sort itself as the rust clears but if not you could be looking at seized calipers which you need to sort pretty sharpish. If the calipers stick on they can generate enough heat to warp the disc which will give the pulsating you refer to. Try rolling the car in neutral with the handbrake off, if it's difficult to move chances are that the pistons/calipers need freeing off.
There's a good chance that it may sort itself as the rust clears but if not you could be looking at seized calipers which you need to sort pretty sharpish. If the calipers stick on they can generate enough heat to warp the disc which will give the pulsating you refer to. Try rolling the car in neutral with the handbrake off, if it's difficult to move chances are that the pistons/calipers need freeing off.
cosmo smallpiece said:
thanks for the replies
i'll probably dismantle the calipers and spray the sliding pins with UB40 .
LOL, I assume you mean WD40 i'll probably dismantle the calipers and spray the sliding pins with UB40 .

Anyway, no, don't use that. WD40 is a water dispersal fluid that also does a job as a penetrating fluid. It doesn't lubricate at all and dries out quickly so all it would do is remove any existing grease. What you need is calliper grease or red rubber grease. Failing that, copper grease will do the job but isn't ideal.
thanks for the replies
as far as releasing oil is concerned i call it UB40 because i buy it from morrisons and its 99p a can as opposed to genuine WD40 which is more like £3.99 a can .
its like the being on the dole option !
hence the term UB40
mind you whatever your exact fiscal standing is the morrisons thing does the same job so why throw £3 down the drain ?
as far as the brakes are concerened none of the wheels are hot after a run so i'm guessing my calipers have seized in the off position and are only making partial contact with the disc whenever i brake
bring on my next day off and that that red robbo grease !
as far as releasing oil is concerned i call it UB40 because i buy it from morrisons and its 99p a can as opposed to genuine WD40 which is more like £3.99 a can .
its like the being on the dole option !
hence the term UB40
mind you whatever your exact fiscal standing is the morrisons thing does the same job so why throw £3 down the drain ?
as far as the brakes are concerened none of the wheels are hot after a run so i'm guessing my calipers have seized in the off position and are only making partial contact with the disc whenever i brake
bring on my next day off and that that red robbo grease !
Edited by cosmo smallpiece on Thursday 1st August 05:34
looking around the infranet it seems theres some bargains out there in the mx5 brake dept
i guess because its such a worldwide popular car
you can get front and rear discs and all the pads for about £80
i may as well buy a set and a couple of front calipers and set about replacing things till the problem disappears .
if i end up with a rear set of discs and pads as spare then they can just stay like that
as spares
i guess because its such a worldwide popular car
you can get front and rear discs and all the pads for about £80
i may as well buy a set and a couple of front calipers and set about replacing things till the problem disappears .
if i end up with a rear set of discs and pads as spare then they can just stay like that
as spares
it was the front discs
when you remove the road wheel and the brake pads the disc is then just loose on the hub .
i thought mine had broken free of whatever flush fitting bolts was holding it in place but no this is how its meant to be !
its simply the disc on the hub with the pads kind of holding it in place and then the torque of the wheel nuts keeping it clamped down .
no wonder i experienced run out proplems which eventually manifested themselvse as a pulsating pedal !
you would expect better from the japanese but then again mazda has ties with ford doesnt it ?
that i think would really explain some parts of the car being really iffy
when you remove the road wheel and the brake pads the disc is then just loose on the hub .
i thought mine had broken free of whatever flush fitting bolts was holding it in place but no this is how its meant to be !
its simply the disc on the hub with the pads kind of holding it in place and then the torque of the wheel nuts keeping it clamped down .
no wonder i experienced run out proplems which eventually manifested themselvse as a pulsating pedal !
you would expect better from the japanese but then again mazda has ties with ford doesnt it ?
that i think would really explain some parts of the car being really iffy
Edited by cosmo smallpiece on Friday 16th August 13:48
Edited by cosmo smallpiece on Friday 16th August 13:50
Nice mini-rant but you are way off the mark. Disc brakes are almost always just held on by the wheel being clamped to it by the wheel nuts. It's the same on pretty much every disc brake car ever made. If the discs were fitted properly and the wheels fitted and torques correctly there is no way they could get out of alignment through normal use.
What can happen is that the disc gets warped. This can happen for a number of reasons - over heating due to heavy use (track use for instance), overheating due to a brake fault (such as a seized calliper or slide-pins) or possibly even a faulty disc.
Is your car fixed now?
What can happen is that the disc gets warped. This can happen for a number of reasons - over heating due to heavy use (track use for instance), overheating due to a brake fault (such as a seized calliper or slide-pins) or possibly even a faulty disc.
Is your car fixed now?
The calipers are fine .
They moved freely and there's no heat build up on the wheel after a short run.
It's just a long term run out problem because of a design weakness after Mazda have spent too long hanging about with ford and picked up their bad habits .
Other cars I've had have always been a struggle changing discs .
In the case of a mk1 Hyundai coupe with captive discs the amateur mechanic can forget it .
They moved freely and there's no heat build up on the wheel after a short run.
It's just a long term run out problem because of a design weakness after Mazda have spent too long hanging about with ford and picked up their bad habits .
Other cars I've had have always been a struggle changing discs .
In the case of a mk1 Hyundai coupe with captive discs the amateur mechanic can forget it .
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