QuestionQUESTION: my 1999 maita brakes seem to '' at times'' drag.. i noticed this one day while driving when my car seemed to come to a quicker than normal stop while coasting , later when i parked i noticed that all four of my brake disc were very hot to the touch....any ideals on the problem ???
ANSWER: The front brakes self adjust, the rear brake have an internal adjuster screw, they need to be adjusted upon install so they are backed off rotor contact by one third, this needs to be done with the parking brake off.
Other than that all of the calipers are of the free floating design, the floater pins on each caliper needs to be greased so the caliper will float from side to side as the brakes are applied. Some Joe Blow technicians can't equate brakes and grease so these pins often go un-lubricated which leads to pin seizure and dragging of the outboard pad on the affected caliper.
Miata brakes are long term simple and reliable, suspect whoever did brake work on the car as the most likely cause.
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QUESTION: unfortunately i have not had any brake work done recently , the car has 56,000 miles on it and the problem just started. i took it to a repair shop and they could only guess it might be the brake booster , before i spend $600 buying a new booster i thought i might scout around for other ideals ... thanks ... mt
AnswerNo to the brake booster, In 19 years I have never replaced one. That is a fishing expedition that will not fill the boat.
Pull the wheels, change the pads, grease the pin, adjust the rears, clean the pad mount surfaces, even flush the brake lines and add new fluid. Along the way you may find your problem to get resolved and these measures are normal maintenance. In 19 years I have seen one or two rare cases that I have had a master cylinder fail, though rare. A brake booster is even more so rare.
