xxsn0blindxx
05-19-2010, 07:56 AM
This weekend on the way to Minneapolis we had problem with the brakes locking up and ended up having to take my Wife's 03 Mazda 6 into a Ford dealership for repairs. Since I haven't had to have work done at a shop in over 9 years I'm not really sure what I should be expecting for a fair price and would like the board's advice. I'm not looking to screw the repair guys (I've worked in computer service and repair for 9+ years so I sympathize with service techs), but this is an odd situation and I would like to know what is reasonable.
The car:
2003 Mazda 6
2.3L 4-cyl
4-wheel disc brakes, non-ABS
Here's the story:
About 4 weeks ago the right front caliper locked up and was smoking. By the time I got to where she was it had loosened up and I limped it home by downshifting and using the e-brake to stop. I rebuilt the caliper last week Tuesday and drove it all week with no problems. My wife drove it on Friday and she drives all over for work both city and freeway driving and it also had no problem. Friday night we started driving to Minneapolis.
Breakdown #1
Just south of the Camp Douglas exit on 94 there was bad stop and go traffic and the right front brake started locking up pretty good. By the time we got off the highway and into a gas station parking lot the rotor was glowing red. There just happened to be a couple mechanics there working on a truck and they stopped over to look at it. I told him about the problem and he looked at it and said the rotors were too worn and the piston was pushing too far out of the caliper and getting knocked out of alignment and sticking. WE stayed in a motel and he came back the next morning to replace the rotors. We headed back out on the road.
Breakdown #2
After driving along for about an hour we decided to stop in Eau Claire for lunch. The car had been driving fine, I thought I felt a little rotational vibrating for a while but it went away and I attributed it to the road we were on. In hindsight I think the brakes were dragging very lightly for that time. After stopping for lunch we left the restaurant and the brakes were full on locking up again. We called the guy who replaced the rotors and he told us that it probably needed a new caliper, but nobody in town had one (thanks for telling us after the fact), but that he thought the bleeder valve may need to be tightened. Since I didn't have tools I got the brakes cooled done and unstuck and limped my way over to a Ford dealer down the road. The dealer took the car and would order parts first thing Monday morning since they weren't available from the parts store on Saturday afternoon.
Monday morning the dealer calls and tells me the tech said the left side was dragging and they ordered a left side caliper and they were going to replace the front pads. I told them the problem was absolutely with the right side and not the left side, that smoke was pouring out that wheel and when jacked up and car in neutral the wheel could not be turned until it cooled off. He said they found nothing wrong with the right side at all. I told them to leave the left side alone and replace the right side caliper. Tuesday we came in to pick up the car drove it about 15 miles and the brakes locked up, this time on the left side. It should also be noted that the pedal felt rock hard which it hadn't felt like up until the dealer worked on it. After getting it freed up we limped back to the dealer. They put a left side caliper in and road tested it and they had the right side lock up on them. Now they are looking into the hydraulic system. They found it odd that the pedal has very little travel and is rock hard (they didn't say anything when we picked it up the first time) and think that the rod that pushes the master cylinder needs adjustment. They also noted that after the brakes locked up they released pressure from the bleeder valve and the piston went back in like normal. It would appear that pressure is building up in the system and causing the brakes to seize up.
So here's the deal, I already paid for them to replace the right side caliper and front pads and that's fine because I told them to. I don't feel like I should have to pay for the left side caliper because that isn't the problem and I haven't take nthe car back since they put it on. Any ideas on what the actual problem would be and what a reasonable amount of billable time to diagnose and repair should be?
The car:
2003 Mazda 6
2.3L 4-cyl
4-wheel disc brakes, non-ABS
Here's the story:
About 4 weeks ago the right front caliper locked up and was smoking. By the time I got to where she was it had loosened up and I limped it home by downshifting and using the e-brake to stop. I rebuilt the caliper last week Tuesday and drove it all week with no problems. My wife drove it on Friday and she drives all over for work both city and freeway driving and it also had no problem. Friday night we started driving to Minneapolis.
Breakdown #1
Just south of the Camp Douglas exit on 94 there was bad stop and go traffic and the right front brake started locking up pretty good. By the time we got off the highway and into a gas station parking lot the rotor was glowing red. There just happened to be a couple mechanics there working on a truck and they stopped over to look at it. I told him about the problem and he looked at it and said the rotors were too worn and the piston was pushing too far out of the caliper and getting knocked out of alignment and sticking. WE stayed in a motel and he came back the next morning to replace the rotors. We headed back out on the road.
Breakdown #2
After driving along for about an hour we decided to stop in Eau Claire for lunch. The car had been driving fine, I thought I felt a little rotational vibrating for a while but it went away and I attributed it to the road we were on. In hindsight I think the brakes were dragging very lightly for that time. After stopping for lunch we left the restaurant and the brakes were full on locking up again. We called the guy who replaced the rotors and he told us that it probably needed a new caliper, but nobody in town had one (thanks for telling us after the fact), but that he thought the bleeder valve may need to be tightened. Since I didn't have tools I got the brakes cooled done and unstuck and limped my way over to a Ford dealer down the road. The dealer took the car and would order parts first thing Monday morning since they weren't available from the parts store on Saturday afternoon.
Monday morning the dealer calls and tells me the tech said the left side was dragging and they ordered a left side caliper and they were going to replace the front pads. I told them the problem was absolutely with the right side and not the left side, that smoke was pouring out that wheel and when jacked up and car in neutral the wheel could not be turned until it cooled off. He said they found nothing wrong with the right side at all. I told them to leave the left side alone and replace the right side caliper. Tuesday we came in to pick up the car drove it about 15 miles and the brakes locked up, this time on the left side. It should also be noted that the pedal felt rock hard which it hadn't felt like up until the dealer worked on it. After getting it freed up we limped back to the dealer. They put a left side caliper in and road tested it and they had the right side lock up on them. Now they are looking into the hydraulic system. They found it odd that the pedal has very little travel and is rock hard (they didn't say anything when we picked it up the first time) and think that the rod that pushes the master cylinder needs adjustment. They also noted that after the brakes locked up they released pressure from the bleeder valve and the piston went back in like normal. It would appear that pressure is building up in the system and causing the brakes to seize up.
So here's the deal, I already paid for them to replace the right side caliper and front pads and that's fine because I told them to. I don't feel like I should have to pay for the left side caliper because that isn't the problem and I haven't take nthe car back since they put it on. Any ideas on what the actual problem would be and what a reasonable amount of billable time to diagnose and repair should be?