i just got back from JustBrakes a little bit ago and they told me my brakes were contaminated. possibly the previous owner put in power steering fluid into the system and they told me i would have to replace EVERY rubber piece inside the brake system. along with new calipers, master cyliner, all the lines and even the ABS module. all in all be about $2,500 to $3,500.
i tried to call ray at malloy mazda but i think they closed already ago. anyone got any tips. ive already searched. thanks

 

What did they see in the system to conclude that someone put other fluid into the brake reservoir? I think they might be trying to rip you off...

If it looks dark, it's probably just dirty and needs to be flushed. I'd recommend you get some speedbleeders, some Motul 600, and flush the system. If you see no leaks, and your brakes work correctly, you should be fine.

 

Flush the entire system, then go from there. Is the car exibiting any braking problems?

 

These type of brake shops are terribly untrustworthy. Get a second opinion before spending any money.

I agree with Rotary Experiment Seven. Just flush the system and refill with proper fluid. Power steering fluid runs through plain rubber hoses; I don't see how it could harm anything in the brake system.

 

Why are you taking an FD to a JustBrakes? That is similar to taking the FD to Jiffy Lube.

Why did you go to them in the first place? Were you exhibiting braking problems? Or was it time for new brake pads?

I've never heard of a scenario where you have to replace every component. NEVER.

 

i just got new brakes last week. i went to Justbrakes for a second opinion. the rotors are clasping even tho im not pressing the brakes. the pedal feel is very still...it barely has any play at all. apply just a little, and the brakes engage. pads are aftermarket installed by the mazda dealer. im just trying to square everything away before i leave for iraq next week that why ive been asking around for second opinions.
thanks guys

 

I used to be stationed at Hood and I took my then daily driver (a crx si) to those guys. They did pretty good work, but definitely charged an arm and a leg. This was back before I worked on my own car. I would have never taken my FD there....Best of luck to you in Iraq, remember to obey convoy intervals, doing so can literally save your life

 

Sounds like your calipers might be sticking for whatever reason. Either have them rebuilt or get rebuilds (easier) I seriously doubt that every hose and seal would be damaged by power steering fluid. Brake lines are rubber as are most power steering lines. Flush the entire system and bleed either way.

 

Just Brakes may not be wrong. Putting a fluid other than brake fluid in the system can cause rubber seals to swell and produce the symptoms you're describing. Certainly you've got a serious problem. Do I need to tell you not to drive the car until you get it fixed?

The idiot who did this job in the first place and screwed things up should be responsible for the damage and pay for the repair. This kind of stuff has been known to happen. I could tell you similar horror stories. A responsible shop will bite the bullet and pay to correct the damage.

Get Just Brakes to put their diagnosis in writing. (You did the right thing going to them for a second opinion.) Take it to the original shop and throw it in their lap. "Are you going to fix this, or are we going to court?"

In most cases you're obliged to give the original shop the opportunity to fix their mistake. But if they balk, then take it to the best shop you can find, get it fixed properly, then send the original shop the bill. If they don't pay, take it to court.

A Mazda dealership may not be a bad place to go to get the problem fixed. They were often inept when it came to the 3rd Gen engine, but they should be able to handle a brake job quite well.

 

Yeah, thank god we don't have rotary brakes.

Dave

 

I'm confused. Did Mazda do the original job, or was it someone else? If Mazda is responsible for the screw up, then I take back what I said....although any repair shop should be able to do a brake job. It's one of the most common jobs there is.
And if Mazda did screw things up, then I'm afraid you'll have to give them, or whoever did it, first crack at correcting the mistake.

Don't minimize your problem. From the symptoms you describe, something is seriously wrong. It's probably not going to be a cheap and easy fix.

 

Hey, my calipers have pistons ! ;-)

 

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache...&cd=2&ie=UTF-8

This is what I fear happened to your car. The damage may not be limited to the caliper seals but could also affect the master cylinder and other components.

 

Is it occurring on more than one caliper?

 

the calipers are squeezing the front brakes and is difficult to turn by hand....after a few minutes however...it seemed easier for a different employee to turn it. maybe heat had alot to do with it?
the guy said it would cause the rubber componets to sieze up and the brake pedal can go all the way to the floor when pressed. but im having the complete opposite of that. should i just buy an assload of high quality brake fluid and flush the whole system out a few times?
oh yea...they also told me i should get a new abs module also...which doesnt sound cheap. sound kinda crazy to you guys?

 

that sounds nuts. i'd get a second opinion for sure. ask goodfellas for a shop recommendation by you.

 

Oun, this is a serious problem. The shop told you about you system being contaminate which is true. DO NO PUT ANYTHING ELSE OTHER THAN BRAKE FLUID IN YOUR BRAKE SYSTEM. Otherwise, it will cause ALL rubber pieces in the system to swollen like some forum member mentioned above. All linings, rubber seals, needs to be replaced. Which is approximately 2-3k including labor. Therefore, like many other forum members suggested, bring it back to the original shop, have them try to fix the problem. If they wont do it for you, you have 2 options:

1) Bring it to court like many others suggested 2)Complain to this union for automobiles which they will send pplz to inspect the shop for the incident. I dont have the number and the name of the union for you as of now, but if you need it, I am willing to find out for you becuz all my info is over @ my school and now I am home.

Also, I am ASE Certified for brakes, so I am pretty confident with what I am telling you. If you need more additional help or whatsoever, feel free to pm me. And good luck to you bro.
-Eric

p.s. I apologize, it was the PREVIOUS owner who fuked it up. So that leaves you to bring it to a well reputated shop and get things fixed. Not really a hard job, but just alot of work, thats why it cost an arm and a leg. By the way, what you need to buy is exactly what JUSTBRAKE mentioned. It might sound like they are trying to jack you but thats not really true. Because if you really know how the brake system works, then you would really wanna change every single rubber when theres a tiny bit of contamination in there. Therefore, I strongly suggested that you call Ray Crowe @ 1(888)533-3400, I just recently purchased some parts from him, I dont think they closed down. Unless it is just within this month. Let me know how this goes, I will try my best to help a fellow out =). Best of luck,
-Eric

 

I would try to flush the system with some decent brake fluid. Then make sure your brake pedal is adjusted so its not pushing in the plunger to the Master Cylinder too early (which will cause your brakes to drag as it sounds like they are doing).

This would be the cheapest way to start out trying to fix the problem.

 

No need for expensive brake fluid like Motul at this point. Valvoline's brake fluid is pretty good and not very expensive. I've been using it on the track with no problems so far. I bleed them before every event.

 

I wanna know if you really know ur brake system or not?... If you say putting the wrong fluids in the system might not do anything, why not you prove yourself right? Put some Power Steering fluid in ur system and see what happens? I've seen few people that did that on their cars, not FDs but they eventually seized up and will lock the system AUTOMATICALLY when it gets hot enought. Becuz Brake Fluid are DOTed and they can still flow freely over 500 degrees. Please, if you are not sure of what you are talking about, you might give wrong info misleading the forum members. I am not trying to flame you here, just want to let people know how important brake fluid is in the braking system. Brake fluid is like BLOOD in the human body, you cant put other's non matching blood type into urs, the same thing as brake fluids, if they state that you need DOT 3 , you can replace it with DOT 4 or DOT 5 (thats if its not abs for dot 5) Therefore, what you stated above is totally incorrect. So dont get me wrong here. Hope this helps Oun.
-Eric

 

Something else I've forgotten is what Mahjik mentioned above. Make sure the brake linkage cable is adjusted correctly, otherwise it can also cause the brake to have brake drag. Another thing is make sure you MASTER CYLINDER is functioning properly. How you diagnose this?
1) have some1 in the driver seat
2) you, pop open hood and have the assistant pump the brake slowly
3) observe
4) when push, there should be a fountain effect (then it is functioning)
5) when release brake, there should be a swirl effect (then it is also funcitioning)
6) When this process is reversed, then there is a leaking/bad seal.
7) if depressing the brake and had the fountain effect, but the brake will not go back to it's original position, 2 possibility can happen:
1) The spring in the secondary cylinder spring is bad.
2) The push-rod was adjusted incorrectly causing it to be stuck over the compensating port and which is supposed to be between the compensating port and the inlet.

Therefore, do those diagnostic steps and let me know whats happening, but if those steps doesnt solve the problem, it is really down to brake contaimination.
Hope this helps, and best of luck to you.
-Eric

 

AzEKnightz is right. There are some amateur opinions floating around in this thread, and in this case they could be dangerous. It should be obvious to anyone that the owner who started this thread has a serious problem. It is naive to think a simple brake fluid flush will fix it.

The only way to solve this problem is to have a competent professional inspect this owner's brake system. Nobody wants to hear bad news and be stuck with a big repair bill, but it happens sometimes. Brakes are one of the things you shouldn't cut corners on. The consequences can be catastrophic.

There are still some unanswered questions here. Who contaminated the brake fluid? I'm still not clear on that. A previous owner? Then wasn't the problem apparent when the forum member bought this car? If it was someone who did subsequent brake work on the car, then they're responsible. Documentation from JustBrakes and the shop that did the last brake work on the car will be crucial to getting this case resolved.

It's a bitch of a situation, I know. But it has to be faced squarely and not minimized. Driving around in a high speed car with a defective or inadequate brake system rates high on the Top 10 stupid list.

 

For those who didn't read it, let me repeat part of what is on the webpage to which I posted a link on page 1 of this thread.

"As you will see clearly, the contaminated seal has swollen dramatically. This contamination will cause all sorts of problems and could ulitmately lead to complete brake failure! A swollen master cylinder seal would cause a poor spongy pedal and probably brakes binding on. In addition, the rest of the hydraulic system will also have been affected and it is strongly recommended to replace all flexible hoses, caliper seals, wheel cylinders and regulator valves (if fitted)."

This is why I say the 2nd opinion from JustBrakes may not be wrong. You will find similar information if you do a Google search for contaminated brake fluid or swollen caliper seals.
The damage from contaminated fluid can affect everything in the hydraulic part of the brake system.

 

JConn2299,

I don't think anyone is saying that the situation isn't serious. However, I believe what people are saying is that the "contaminant" in this case may not be as severe as a degrease or some type of detergent for cleaning (which can be contained in some engine oils). While the Power Steering fluid may not hold the same heat as a brake fluid, it most likely didn't cause and deteriorations of the rubber seals/materials in the braking system.

Not to say it didn't, but in this case the contaminant "seems to be" relatively harmless as compared to what could have gotten into the system.

The main problem is that it is unknown what is in his braking system. Without an analysis of the fluid, all of this is really for not. I've seen some dirty brake fluid come out of cars which you would swear was contaminated but it was just old, used up fluid.

 

That doesn't follow at all. If his brake fluid is contaminated to the extent that his seals are swollen then the damage has been done and it doesn't matter what the contaminant was.