I posted a while back about sticky brakes. Well the problem still persists.
It started 3 months ago when I drove through a deep puddle on the first proper cold day we had. After that, the NSF wheel started squeaking and there was noticable drag up hills.
I had it in the garage, they said yes caliper was seized and they freed it off and for a few days all was fine.
Then the OSF brake started squeaking too so in it went again and they freed that caliper off and for a couple of weeks all was fine again.
Then yet again I detected a certain amount of drag, plus economy wasnt what it usually was. This time it went into a Daihatsu dealer who checked all the brakes and discovered that the handbrake linkage was seized. They sorted that and for a week all was fine.
Then I started to get an squeak again from one of the front wheels which doesnt happen everytime and seems to happen especially when the brakes have been on for more than a few seconds, such as waiting at traffic lights. There is also the tell tale feeling of extra drag up hills and economy is well down on the usual.
So, is there likely to be something causing the brakes to stick or is it a case of something needs replacing? Ive spent £130 so far on this problem and if Im to spend anymore, Id rather have an idea about whats likely the cause and best way to fix it as it is getting a bit annoying now!
Thanks in advance for any pointers folks :-)
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Seems all the brakes have been sticking at some point Stu, the fronts and the rears (handbrake linkage), but are the rears not drums?
I'll have a bash, i didn't follow the previous thread so humour me, are the front brakes sliding calipers with single pistons either side?
Assuming they are, then either the pistons could be sticking (and that applies if they are twin piston fixed callipers too) or more likely the sliders are bunged up with corrosion aided and abetted by salt and muck.
Take off the wheels, jack the car up first..;), then insert a screwdriver/lever at the most ideal place and try to lever the slides back along their channel (or is that the perfume?), remove the pads and clean the slides up with a wire brush and coat with copaslip.
Sometimes the slides are 2 steel pins usually greased and protected by rubber bellows at each end to keep out the gunge.
These often get gunged up to, so take em out, clean and grease em up.
By now they should be free moving.
Then check for free movement of the pistons, do one side at a time...important.
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If you remove the pads from one side, get swmbo to give the pedal a couple of gentle pumps to push the piston out about 3 mm or so from where it is normally (you'll be able to see the likely length of the piston by the depth of the piston camber, so you'll be safely not likely to pump it out, but be careful).
carefully clean the surface of the piston, lubricate with special brake grease, which you will make swmbo walk to Sheltune's for..;) (Northants joke for non Northamptonians), then press the piston fully home probably with a light G clamp, or if still in situ, by levering back as you would when changing pads.
You will have to pump the piston out a little to examine the top lip of the pistons, which is probably where the muck and bullets are, you may have to peel the potective rubber back to examine, and may even be that the seal is tron and useless and may need overhaul/renewal.
You could undo the bleed nipple to let the fluid out as you push the pistons back, but it might be just as well to bleed the system when you've finished anyway. Keep your 3rd eye on the brake reservoir to make sure it don't drop below the min level, during all the above tinkering.
Thats roughly the gist of it, if i've left something important out, a proper mechanic will be along in a minute to tell me all about it..;)
Its just one of those things really, salt and brakes don't go together terribly well, if the callipers are aluminium they seem to suffer worse than cast iron ones.
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To be honest, I dont want to start poking around too much as I have a habit of making a bad problem worse!
When I had the front brakes done, twice by different people, they dismantled them and cleaned them up which is why Im wondering if there is something more than just dirt causing the problem as once cleaned up, they work for a little while and then its back to sticking again.
The rears are drums yes and they seem to be the only thing that has no issues. Im fairly sure that the handbrake linkage was an isolated thing and not connected to the woes at the front.
If cleaning fails, is it replacing the calipers before my pads wear out aswell?
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Far too many modern mechanics seem to just clean those moving parts Stu, often by a quick blast over with brake cleaning fluid and not by stripping, cleaning properly and then applying some good lubricant.
I'd hazard a guess that you have sliding calipers and its corrosion by salt getting into the sliding parts that is causing them to stick.
It could be the pistons, but somehow i think its the other.
If you replace the calipers, unless the moving parts are copaslipped it will only be the second winter if that before the same problem emerges, its got to be a clean and lubricate properly for a long term solution.
I assume that the problem was cured after the previous cleaning, is so then that proves the problem is just sticking, it just needs a bit of common sense to help prevent the recurrence.
I'll be glad to have a look at it with you, you know where i am, i've got everyting we'd need apart from i havent a clue where the brake grease is.
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Wish id checked online before I booked the car in at Daihatsu now, doh! Thanks for the offer though. Its going in on Monday but this time, Im getting to talk to the technician before they work on it so id like to direct him in the most efficient direction.
I jacked it up and found that neither front wheel will spin more than one rotation before stopping, which given that when I knew them to be free they would spin nearly 3 rotations with a good tug, suggests something isnt right.
The NSF wheel especially though as half the rotation it gets very tight and then releases - is that due to the disc perhaps?
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I had a weird brake problem I had on my E-type a few years ago when a front brake flexi-pipe had deteriorated
The flexi was expanding under pressure when braking, but when the brakes were off, the pressure from the expanded pipe was pushing the caliper out and causing a slight braking effect - worth replacing if not too expensive
MVP
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>>on my E-type <<
I bet saying that never gets old :-)
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:)
I just got it back after being off the road for 14 months, so it's :) :)
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The NSF wheel especially though as half the rotation it gets very tight and then releases - is that due to the disc perhaps?
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Unless a disc is brand spanking you will always find a spot or two on the rotation that feels a little 'tighter' than the rest, it doesn't necessarily mean that the disc is not perfectly good.
I note you haven't booked the car into a certain fast fit centre Stu, don't you think a new set of discs, pads, dampers, ball joints, wipers and possibly a clutch may be desperately needed..;))
Hope they sort it for you anyway, and that offer stands anytime.
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Ah right, I guess it would be accentuated by the brakes being stuck on abit.
I havent used a fast-fit centre for many years - last time I did, which was for a free brake check, they came back and said brakes were fine but needed four new shocks - well I didnt have the shocks replaced and shockingly ( if you pardon the pun ) it passed its MOT anyway :-)
Thanks for the offer chap, i would have taken you up on it but in this case, since they have already had one stab at it, Im going to try and wrangle some money off the bill, they do under the right circumstances respond to that if you have good reason.
Offer is same for you if you ever have some leather that needs cleaning, never know what colour it might be :-)
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if you ever have some leather that needs cleaning neverknow what colour it might be :-)
oooohh, nice one, hang on whilst i get swmbo to remove the twisted knife, for those who are not aware Stu performed his excellent magic on my ageing MB's mushroom leather interior, as well as the rest of the car, he appears to have not forgotten the difference in colour between the before and after, from which he seemed to gain far too much pleasure from pointing out to me;)
don't bite your tongue you'll poison yourself..:);)
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:-) it was actually a pleasure to clean a 'proper' quality car and its always nice to make a visable difference, makes the job worthwhile.
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Had the work done today. I spoke to the guy who worked on it before and after, explained exactly what was happening and when, he responded in a way that made me think he knew what it might be which was reassuring!
Got my loan car, 3 hours later got a call, all done and no charge as they had worked on the brakes before, even though last time they had worked on a seized handbrake mechanism so I felt they had done something worth paying for and was prepared to pay again, but they didnt want any money.
I didnt understand all that he said but he did say he had dismantled everything, cleaned stuff up and something about copper grease? He also said that on the side that was squeaking, the disc was corrosed slightly so he also cleaned that up and the pads.
Verdict? All fixed, the car has its urgency and verve back uphill and in the higher gears, so hopefully it is now fixed permanantly. They said if it reoccurs, pop back immediately.
Thanks GB for your words of wisdom, I did atleast have a basic understanding of what they did thanks to yourself!
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