MR2 front wheel getting hot

Viper²

Viper²

Viper²

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3 Apr 2007
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The drivers' side front wheel on my Mk2 MR2 is getting stupidly hot to the point that you can smell burning standing near it after it's been driven a while. Any ideas what could be causing it? I've been told it may be the caliper sticking, wheel bearing siezing, or a warped disc. Hopefully not all 3 though. :)

The car has only done around 200 miles in the last 10 months so I expected some issues, not extremely costly ones though. :D

Thanks.
 
See my mr2 thread i had the same issue...Was a stuck caliper. Clean your alloys got for a quick run where you do 30-50mph but brake hardly at all. Then stop, feel the temperature of each disc with your fingers to see if one is hot than the other. Also there may be brake dust build up on the hot alloy side where the dust has been collecting.

My piston in the caliper was siezed and could not be freed. I bought a remanufactured one from Brakes Int'l for 90 quid and a 60 core change fee. Also replaced brake hoses with Do-Luck from SUmopower website. Hot wheel fixed.

Dont run too far on it like that you could warp the disc.
 
Will probably be a piston sticking in the caliper. Get the wheel off and have a quick look, if you keep driving you might end up with a warped/damaged disc and it will just get more expensive.

All it probably needs is a clean
 
Dogbreath said:
Sticking callipers are simply part of the ownership experience for the Mk2 MR2, it's an extremely common problem.
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Yep, extremely common, if your callipers are original then they will all stick eventually. Just get a refurbed calliper from camskill/brakes international/fensport, there are refurb kits you can buy but they won't last as long as a professionally done job.
 
Thanks guys.

It's completely standard, and I don't think they've been changed in the past so they will be the original calipers. I'll look into getting refurbed ones.
 
I just got a refurbished caliper from camskill for £90, cheapest place I could find. You have to send them your old caliper though.
 
Thats why i used brakes international they were close enough for me to drive to them, so i can just drive back and drop the old one back off.

Also, most motorfactors can get them as well for similar price usually on next day with the same 2 year/24000 mile warranty.
 
Took it to the garage today and they want to replace the hoses first. Apparently they need replacing anyway as they're sticking and new hoses might free up the caliper. Does that sound right? I'm no mechanic. :p
 
Well i was told to replace the hose at the same time and indeed did so with some do-luck number from sumopwer. However it doesn't sound like they removed the caliber to test the pistons. Otherwise they would just have said that the caliber was knocked or not. so you'll perhaps end up doing the job twice if the just replace the hose and it doesn't fix it.

ultimately it sounds like guesswork to me not a.proper diagnosis. ideally you need someone with mr2 experience to look. Luckily my guy used to work at Toyota dealership and has loads of hands on time with mr2, celica etc so knew what the problem might be and diagnosed it very quickly. These calibers are notorious for piston sticking so that's where my money is.
 
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Viper² said:
Took it to the garage today and they want to replace the hoses first. Apparently they need replacing anyway as they're sticking and new hoses might free up the caliper. Does that sound right? I'm no mechanic. :p
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No, this is a load of crap. I'd advise you to find a different garage where the mechanics don't have arse/elbow identification problems. The callipers are sticking due to corrosion; it's a very well known and common problem. Changing the hoses will not stop the calliper sticking unless the hose has collapsed internally which is a much less likely problem. Change them by all means if they are looking perished, but you will need to sort the caliper.
 
I don't see how a hose could cause the calliper to stick, unless it was blocked but that's got to be pretty unlikely. Also if you do replace them then aftermarket braided hoses are probably cheaper than Toyota, on my mr2 turbo the Toyota hoses are £40+ each!
 
As I suspected with the hoses then. I have a family member who is a mechanic, so it's going to him on Wednesday.. I just wanted someone to take a look at it at the weekend, but yeah, it didn't sound like they even looked at the calipers despite me telling them that I thought it was a stuck caliper. :rolleyes:

Thanks again for the replies.
 
They really need to remove the caliper and see if the pistons move freely..If they do move totally freely, then start looking at the sliders and slider pins. After that if you are sure its the brake (did you check for brake dust like i said?), it could be the hose.. i guess.

Other culprits are the wheel bearing which can get hot when knackered.
 
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