Hi Folks,
Hoping that one of you knowledgeable forum members can shed some light (and advice on my predicament)?
Took my car into my usual garage that performs maintenance as they advised when servicing it last that it needed 2 new rear tyres and a rear brake caliper as the piston was sticking.
Garage encountered problems when the newly sourced caliper arrived (aftermarket type, not Mazda) as apparently they are slightly different on the MPS models and the unit supplied didn't have the normal bracket/mounting point required (sorry, that's as much information as the garage gave me).
Anyway as their aftermarket supplier could not source the correct type for the MPS the garage suggested that they get the original calipers re-built, so this is the route we took.
On picking the vehicle up from the garage after the fitment of the 2 new rear tyres and the refurbished calipers the mechanic told me that the DCS, ABS, and TCS lights might flash for a little while and then after a few hundred miles (once the discs, new pads and calipers had all settled down) I would need to pop the vehicle back in so that they could check and centralize things. Anyway once I got out on the road the car felt terrible, all of the above lights flashing intermittently and the vehicle feeling like it was tracking with each wheel seeming to be competing against the other from time to time. After approximately 8 miles driving all 3 lights (along with the handbrake light) came on and as soon as this occurred the vehicle once again felt fine.
I called the garage to let them know of my problems and they asked me to pop the vehicle back in to them whereupon following a quick inspection they 'held their hand up' and said that it was there problem as unfortunately whilst refitting the calipers they had positioned the ABS rear cabling loom too close to the rear drive/brakes and the cable loom had been unfortunately been severed due to friction.
The vehicle ran and performed fine for around a week during which time I covered around 300 miles without ABS, DCS, TCS operating due to the wiring failure.
I then returned the vehicle to the garage to have the damaged rear ABS loom wiring replaced. On leaving the garage all appeared fine (no lights flashing and all now off) although there was a very faint audible noise reminiscent of something rubbing but it was barely audible and although the vehicle didn’t seem as smooth as it had been before the loom had been replaced, it wasn’t really that bad.
The vehicle covered around 15 miles before being parked up for a couple of days. On the 3rd day I covered around 50 miles during which a drumming and vibration started and got progressively worse. It was particularly prevalent when travelling between 20 - 35 mph and was definitely attributable to the drive train (the noise was still there even when dipping the clutch and allowing the engine revs to decrease to tick over). There was no evidence of the brakes dragging, or the discs getting hot but when the vehicle was allowed to stand stationary you could smell burning rubber and what smelt like hot brake fluid.
As soon as this happened I returned the vehicle to the garage and on preliminary checking all they could find was that the inside tyre wall of the new rear tyres was warm, appreciably warmer than the outside edge of the tyres. As it was late in the day the garage asked that I leave the vehicle with them so that they could put the vehicle on the ramps and check it out fully the following day.
Following close inspection they identified and informed me that the reasoning for the temperature differential between the inner/outer sidewall temperature was purely down to the close proximity between the rear exhaust boxes and the inner tyrewall. They also said that they would need to perform more tests to identify whether the problems were due to a failed/failing torque gearbox, drive shaft/s or rear axle.
The vehicle has been with them now for approximately 2 weeks and whilst speaking to them today they advised that they have identified that the prop shaft bearing has failed and that they are trying to find a specialist repairer that can replace the centre bearing thus avoiding the £800 GBP cost of a new prop shaft (apparently they have been driving the vehicle without a prop shaft i.e. with only front wheel drive and everything seems fine, no noise, no lights etc. and have taken it to a specialist gearbox company who say that the problem is confined to the prop shaft bearing).
I now await confirmation from the garage of what can be done; refurbish, or replace, the prop shaft and at what cost, having spoken to a few friends I am concerned over what might have created the problem in the first place and whether once a new/refurbished prop shaft is fitted and all 4 wheels are under drive whether the earlier problems will once again re-occur!
It does seem strange that a car that was running and drove like a ''Swiss Watch'' has turned into a ''can or worms'' after the servicing/replacement of the rear calipers, pads and tyres.
Any technical information or guidance that members of the club can provide on the likely cause and remedy to the above problems would be gratefully received because from where I now find myself; the garage has the car and seems to be struggling to effect a fix whilst at the same time suggesting that the problems they are experiencing are down to coincidence and not the work already carried out - I am not in a good position.
Thanks,
Mark B