What's causing this very regular clicking when I brake?

[Muse]

Today I left my Mazda 626LX (1997 but with only about 23,000 miles on it) at 6AM for 4 hours and came back to a hot car, opened all the doors, rolled down all the windows, closed the doors and drove away. I was at ~800 feet elevation and I put the car in 2nd (it's an automatic) to save the brakes -- the grade was steep but not super steep, steep enough where in Drive it would use the brakes a lot more. Around 1/2 way down the hill I heard a sound I've never heard in a car. It seemed to be coming from inside the car (but I doubt it was), toward the right front wheel well. It was a sharp clicking, kind of like if someone was hitting a drum stick against another piece of wood. It was completely rhythmical, about one beat per second. It had the same period and loudness, seemingly, regardless of my speed. It only stopped when I raised my foot from the brake pedal. A time or two the sound continued for a few seconds even when my foot was off the brake, IIRC, and sometimes, if I didn't have the brake pressed hard, the sound wasn't there. What could this be? Can I make the same trip tomorrow or do I have to have this fixed now? :\

PS I just did a bit of googling and looks like I might have a lose component in the front right disc brake that needs attention pronto. I'm in Berkeley, CA, gonna look for a good shop...

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Sounds like you have it properly diagnosed! The real question is how in the hell do you only have 23k on a nearly 15 year old car ??? Thats like barely over 100 mi per month

 

[Muse]

Sounds like you have it properly diagnosed! The real question is how in the hell do you only have 23k on a nearly 15 year old car ??? Thats like barely over 100 mi per month

It's cause I prefer to roller skate (old style quads). When I can't skate, I bike if possible. If those aren't practical, it's usually the car. Lately I've been driving up and down the hill to play golf or hit balls, total 3x/week. I haven't filled my tank in around 2 months, but I'm due!

 

[Muse]

OMG, Big O inspected the car and couldn't find a problem (brakes, front end, test drive). Driving the car home I suddenly realized what had happened. It started clicking suddenly and I looked around and realized what was happening. Big O didn't hear clicking even when braking. I did usually when braking, at least braking with any real pressure. The thing is, I had a bike accident a week ago and my butt swelled up something fierce. The swelling is way down but it's even more sore and it hurts to sit in the driver's seat. So, I adjusted so I put less weight on the left side of my butt and as a result my left knee was inadvertently pressing against the control of my side mirrors. The control was set to do the right mirror, and when it had reached the end of its range, the mirror itself started clicking once a second or so. Problem solved! Sometimes I feel like a dumb ass!

 

[Eli]

LMAO

 

[RedRooster]

Haha! :thumbsup:

 

[Bartman39]

my butt swelled up something fierce.

You get the special award for this... LMAO...!

Glad though it wasnt a real brake issue...:thumbsup:

 

[Muse]

LMAO

Man, my left butt cheek has a black and blue mark the size of a volleyball. I have been treating it with ice/heat. I'll get over it. Nice to know my brakes are OK. Big O said there's 6mm on the front, 3mm on the back. Is that good?

 

[herm0016]

lol... good detective work.