Peugeot 307 - Issues with brakes after new rear discs and pads

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Thu 13 Jun 2019 21:58
Peugeot 307 - Issues with brakes after new rear discs and pads - NIMBLE_JIM

Hi all,

I recently had my MOT where I had both my rear brake discs and pads replaced (Peugeot 307).

Since I have had the car back I've noticed the braking feels quite different to how it did before.

The brakes feel fine if I gently ease on the brake pedal to stop, however if I attempt to brake sharply/quickly, it feels as though there is a bit of a delay between pressing the pedal all the way down and that pressure being felt in the braking.

For example, if I sharply press the brake pedal all the way down, I don't come to an immediate stop (unless I'm going very slowly), instead it feels more like a gentle controlled stop with a tight finish.

This makes for nice smooth braking and I can always successfully stop, but the rate at which I am slowing down doesn't feel relative to how far down/fast the pedal is pressed.

I know new brakes can feel different after fitting and can take some time to bed in, so I have driven about 250 miles since the MOT but it still feels the same.

The pedal doesn't feel soft/too low, the brake fluid is full, the vacuum hose seems fine (the pedal drops when engine starts after pressing it several times with the engine off) and the booster appears to hold the pressure fine (pedal doesn't push back up when holding it down, turning the engine off and leaving it pressed for 30 secs). Unless I'm braking hard, the braking feels otherwise normal.

Can anyone advise why the new brakes may feel this way?

The front brakes were recently fitted (by another garage) and this issue did not occur with them.

Thanks in advance!

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Thu 13 Jun 2019 22:05
Peugeot 307 - Issues with brakes after new rear discs and pads - FP

Maybe the brakes haven't bedded in yet, but if you've driven 250 miles that's probably not the reason.

Edited by FP on 13/06/2019 at 22:07

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Fri 14 Jun 2019 21:21
Peugeot 307 - Issues with brakes after new rear discs and pads - gordonbennet

New pads mated to new discs take very little time to bed in because the whole pad is, or should be, in contact, unlike new pads on a worn disc where sometimes only a small section of the pad is in contact until they wear down to the shape of the disc.

Similarly i would not expect much difference at all in the braking, because the front brakes we must assume have been undisturbed and in comparison with the front brakes the rears do very little, and as said by FP for new pads on new discs 250 miles is plenty of bedding in mileage.

What you are describing doesn't sound right to me at all, particularly concerning is that a panic stop type application isn't producing a hard immediate stop, it should.

Hard to say what's wrong here, could be air has somehow entered the system and its needs bleeding out.

Does the parking brake feel right, not sure on these whether its the parking brake applications which self adjust the rear calipers (they are auto adjuster calipers i assume?) or the footbrake, if its the former i wonder if the parking brake cable was adjusted up before the calipers had adjusted themselves up, if so i wonder if the cable isn't going back enough to allow the self adjusters to work....i'm assuming here the parking brake operates on the rear pads and its not the (better IMHO) drum inside disc parking brake design which almost never gives any trouble.

Calipers are working properly? pistons free to move and any sliding pins all hunky dory, and the pads are not loose exactly but not too tight a fit either.

Just a few thoughts there, its not a car or braking system i've worked on myself so these are general pointers only.

Generally, if the rear brakes arn't adjusted up correctly, too much hydraulic fluid movement will be used in filling the pistons or pushing the pads near the discs before any actual braking pressure is applied, if that makes any sense...if you can pump the brakes up several times and it makes the pedal higher or more solid then that to me points to adjustment or air in system issues.

Edited by gordonbennet on 14/06/2019 at 21:25

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