AndyHerrington Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Good evening all, Just after a little advice, I took my 58 plate Ford Smax into main dealership today. I told them I had a problem with my brakes, I told them at 60mph when I applied brakes I had severe steering wobble and that I may have a warped disk or brake binding. I had new discs and pads on the front last year, (genuine ford ones) they told me they would check them and get back to me. Went to pick car up and they have replaced back brake discs and pads. Receptionist went and asked the technician to confirm that everything was checked and the problem had been rectified. £240 lighter I took the car and drove home, took it upto 60mph and hey ho, steering wobble still there when I applied brake and now back brakes getting seriously hot and burning smell from pads. Rung dealership and they have told me to bring it back tomorrow. Where do I stand as they haven't fixed the problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyntdci Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 with you saying burning smell i would tend took look at the caliper for fault..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyHerrington Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Ahh ok, but both near side and off side rear brakes had burning smell. Didn't have burning smell before I took it in, would a caliper cause steering to wobble when brakes applied, Sorry not mechanically minded, Just a bit p***ed that they said they have checked everything and sorted the problem out and the problem persists and may have caused more problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wase16ll Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 any kind of steering wobble is unlikely to be caused by rear brakes but what kind of 'wobble' are you getting vibration through steering column or steering wheel shaking, ie.. moving left to right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyHerrington Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 If you had 2 hands on the wheel when you touched the brakes, you can see you hands judder left and right, sorry for the rubbish description. I would say it was similar to an unbalanced alloy wheel when driving at speed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mixmasterlooney Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 It's normal having a burning smell after brake disc and pads changed, its the oils being burnt off but that does not explain the wobbling Sent from my automated robot M1X-M4573R-700N3Y Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregers Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 silly,but have you checked your wheel bolts are tight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyHerrington Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 I haven't checked the wheel bolts, was assuming the highly trained Ford mechanic might have done this. But saying that, who knows, I will check now just in case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyHerrington Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Bolts are tight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btmaldon Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 You get this sometimes when the front pads have been overheated at some stage. Often if they haven't been bedded in properly before heavy braking. I have had three cars do this in the past. I changed the front pads, took it easy for a couple of hundred miles to allow these to bed in properly before any heavy braking. Things were fine after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wase16ll Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 what you describe will be front brake/steering/suspension related..nothing to do with rears tyre out of shape caliper problem play in suspension ball joint/bushes tracking tyre inflation distorted disc play in wheel bearing just a few examples Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wase16ll Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 btw, would complain with regards to rear brake work in order to cure a steering wobble???? though doesnt mean to say rear brakes didnt need doing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoney871 Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I'd say by the symptoms that the brakes are out of balance. One brake biting before the other would definitely cause a wobble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyHerrington Posted March 29, 2014 Author Share Posted March 29, 2014 Thanks everyone for the responses, Been to Ford this morning, technician took car and myself out on test drive. After 5 mins, steering started to wobble when brakes were getting hot. Technician said he was 99% sure it was front brakes and couldn't understand why the rears was replaced, told him that I had front discs and pads changed early last year, and he says that's probably why they thought it was the rears! but they should have checked all the discs. He says it could be one of a number of things. A warped disc due to over heating, or when I had the front discs changed if they didn't clean the hub properly the discs wouldn't sit correctly and cause misalignment. Or it could be the spindle and wheel bearing? Have to take it back next week so they can check which one is causing the problem. Why didn't they check in the first place? My rear brakes may have been ok and not the cause of the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOCA Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 When the discs are changed, the "run out" is supposed to be checked (that the discs are sitting square/ right on the hubs) and as the disc turns, the disc does not "wobble", it even has a tolerance, where a small amount is acceptable, and too much is not 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOCA Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 silly,but have you checked your wheel bolts are tight? An S-Max does not have wheel bolts, it has wheel nuts, that go onto studs that are fixed to the hubs, it may be a small point but it may be important 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyntdci Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 It's normal having a burning smell after brake disc and pads changed, its the oils being burnt off but that does not explain the wobbling Sent from my automated robot M1X-M4573R-700N3Y oils meant to be cleaned off for breaking... ive never had a experience with a burning smell after changing disks n pads.... if there was oil residue left on them then you would have no braking at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mixmasterlooney Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 oils meant to be cleaned off for breaking... ive never had a experience with a burning smell after changing disks n pads.... if there was oil residue left on them then you would have no braking at all It is meant to using brake cleaner but ford will never go through that much effort doing a good job the minimal is done... even then when done right it can still smell Sent from my automated robot M1X-M4573R-700N3Y Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregers Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 An S-Max does not have wheel bolts, it has wheel nuts, that go onto studs that are fixed to the hubs, it may be a small point but it may be important glad you feel better for that, :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Ford UK Shop
Sponsored Ad
Name: eBay
Ford Model: FordUK Shop
Ford Year: 2024
Latest Deals
Ford UK Shop for genuine Ford parts & accessoriesDisclaimer: As the club is an eBay Partner, The club may be compensated if you make a purchase via the club
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.