Rear passenger side brake not wearing

[mazdamatt92]

My girlfriends car sits outside for most of the winter without moving. It is not unusual for rust to form on the rotors, usually it wears off quickly. I was changing the rear shocks and while the tires were off I noticed that the rear passenger side rotor was still coated in a little rust, while the drivers side was fine. It seems like the rear passenger brake is not working. Something else to note is that while the handbrake is engaged the drivers side tire will not move, but the passenger side will move no problem.
Does anyone know what could be causing this problem??
Any feedback will be helpful.
-Matt

[Flagrum_3]

Parking brake seized-up maybe?

Try soaking the PB mechanism and lines with penetrating oil.

_3

[stock3]

Not a parking brake problem. The slide pins are siezed and will not allow the outer pad to move.

[Booter22]

well if the passengerside will move with the handbrake engaged.. then theres a problem. possible pistion or pins not moving when the brakes are applied which would be why they are still rusted and the parking brake shoes / cable might not be working on that side which is why it will sping when the hand brake is up.

[mazdamatt92]

Not a parking brake problem. The slide pins are siezed and will not allow the outer pad to move.

Thanks for the reply!
I'm not great at brake work, that being said, what can I do about the slide pins being seized? I want to avoid buying any replacement parts.

Booter22, the parking brake cable does work on both sides, so it may very well be the slide pins.

-Matt

[peterm15]

Thanks for the reply!
I'm not great at brake work, that being said, what can I do about the slide pins being seized? I want to avoid buying any replacement parts.
-Matt

Depends.

If there able to be freed you can clean them up and grease them. They will be fine.

If they are VERY seized. As I've come across a few times. It will need to be replaced. Bracket and all.

Last brake job I did ( 07 Tahoe ) the pins were that seized that even a torch and a freezer wouldn't work.
The puns actually snapped after trying to hard to free them.

[stock3]

Depends.

If there able to be freed you can clean them up and grease them. They will be fine.

If they are VERY seized. As I've come across a few times. It will need to be replaced. Bracket and all.

Last brake job I did ( 07 Tahoe ) the pins were that seized that even a torch and a freezer wouldn't work.
The puns actually snapped after trying to hard to free them.

Yup, there is no other way of knowing without getting your hands dirty.
The good news is that in mazda 3 you don't need to replace the whole bracket if the pins are sized. This is because the pins do not go inside the bracket, but through it and are only supported by rubber bushings. If the pins are so seized that they cannot be removed, you can simply torch the bushings with any propane torch to melt the rubber and take everything out that way. Then all you need is new rubber bushings and pins which are easily available from Parts Source. I think a set of each is about 10 bucks.

[peterm15]

Yup, there is no other way of knowing without getting your hands dirty.
The good news is that in mazda 3 you don't need to replace the whole bracket if the pins are sized. This is because the pins do not go inside the bracket, but through it and are only supported by rubber bushings. If the pins are so seized that they cannot be removed, you can simply torch the bushings with any propane torch to melt the rubber and take everything out that way. Then all you need is new rubber bushings and pins which are easily available from Parts Source. I think a set of each is about 10 bucks.

That's a little more clarification. I haven't touched the brakes on my 3 yet so I didn't know about the 3.

With the Tahoe the pins were seized to the bracket. The whole assembly needed replacing.

[Flagrum_3]

Not a parking brake problem. The slide pins are siezed and will not allow the outer pad to move.

I agree the pins may be seized, but there may also be an issue with the parking brake!...I would suggest, if the OP is inclined, to totally dismantle the brakes, clean them well and lube the sliders and parking mechanism, and as much of the parking cables as possible, then see what happens.

_3

[mikey32235]

100% seized... pretty dangerous bro i would get that changed as soon as possible. canadian tire sells rebuilt ones, reallllllly cheap if ur on a budget.

[Flagrum_3]

100% seized... pretty dangerous bro i would get that changed as soon as possible. canadian tire sells rebuilt ones, reallllllly cheap if ur on a budget.

Dangerous? a cautionary maybe. Rebuilt? rebuilt what? He doesn't need anything rebuilt, lets not jump to conclusions. Removing the sliders, cleaning and lubing them and the calipers should surfice. He can also purchase new pins if the old ones are pitted or scored, they are very inexpensive.

_3

[Cab0oze]

The pins on our car are much better quality than some other cars (I have been told that is why we dont have rubber boots on them) so with some luck you wont have to replace anything. Jack it up, take the wheel off, pop the dust cap covers off the two pins (back of the caliper) and I believe you need something like a 7mm allen key (or maybe that was the front only? I forget) to take the pins out. If you can get them out you're in good shape, clean them off, lube them up, good to go.

No point jumping to conclusions. Could even be something as negligible as ice buildup - one of the days we had bad freezing rain my brake was frozen solid (with ebrake on) so i was just scrubbing my tire around the parking lot. Maybe yours is just frozen (due to moisture, not rust), but off.

Good luck!

[Flagrum_3]

The pins on our car are much better quality than some other cars (I have been told that is why we dont have rubber boots on them) so with some luck you wont have to replace anything. Jack it up, take the wheel off, pop the dust cap covers off the two pins (back of the caliper) and I believe you need something like a 7mm allen key (or maybe that was the front only? I forget) to take the pins out. If you can get them out you're in good shape, clean them off, lube them up, good to go.

No point jumping to conclusions. Could even be something as negligible as ice buildup - one of the days we had bad freezing rain my brake was frozen solid (with ebrake on) so i was just scrubbing my tire around the parking lot. Maybe yours is just frozen (due to moisture, not rust), but off.

Good luck!

I agree, but pins are very inexpensive. If I remember correctly it was like $8 a pair. I would also add that he (the OP) should check the rubber boots carefully for any cracking or damage, which could be the originating fault. This was the issue with mine when my right-rear seized up.

_3

[mazdamatt92]

Took out the slide pins, no corrosion but also no lubrication. Greased them up, still a very snug fit but parking brake now works. Thank you to everyone who gave advice!

[Cab0oze]

Good to hear it was an easy fix :)