focus mk1 brake problem

[coldrunning2002]

Brake problem

 

I bought a 2002 MK1 ford focus 10 months ago for £500 with 12 months MOT.

I drove the car from Lands End to John o’  groats and back again, starting and ending in Stratford-upon-avon.

The only problem I had was with the glove box light that stayed on all night and nearly gave me a flat battery, so in anger I pulled the switch and bulb out. My fault, I left the glove box open.

Towards the end of my journey, one of the front brake pads had worn right down more than the others because the brake disc was abrasive on the outer edge. I bought and fitted a new set of brake discs and pads for £45, and new brake slide pins for £20.

After fitting the new brakes and bedding them in 100 miles, I noticed that the brakes are binding on a little bit, I was stopped on a gentle incline, I was expecting the car to roll backwards with handbrake off in neutral and it did not because of the brakes.

The problem is getting worse, I drove the car about 10 miles without braking and both front wheels are getting very hot symmetrically, back wheels are cold as normal. As the front wheels heat up, the front brakes bind on more and more.

It was only possible to drive in up to 3^rd gear because so much brake drag.

It the problem the brake callipers?

Or the master cylinder is blocked up with debris from when I pushed the calliper pistons back in?

It looks difficult to change the master cylinder.

I tried driving with the brake header tank cap removed, did not fix problem.

I think I will try an easy bleed,and blow air and fluid through the brake master cylinder to unblock it  and change the brake fluid.

[Albert27]

1 hour ago, coldrunning2002 said:

Brake problem

 

I bought a 2002 MK1 ford focus 10 months ago for £500 with 12 months MOT.

I drove the car from Lands End to John o’  groats and back again, starting and ending in Stratford-upon-avon.

The only problem I had was with the glove box light that stayed on all night and nearly gave me a flat battery, so in anger I pulled the switch and bulb out. My fault, I left the glove box open.

Towards the end of my journey, one of the front brake pads had worn right down more than the others because the brake disc was abrasive on the outer edge. I bought and fitted a new set of brake discs and pads for £45, and new brake slide pins for £20.

After fitting the new brakes and bedding them in 100 miles, I noticed that the brakes are binding on a little bit, I was stopped on a gentle incline, I was expecting the car to roll backwards with handbrake off in neutral and it did not because of the brakes.

The problem is getting worse, I drove the car about 10 miles without braking and both front wheels are getting very hot symmetrically, back wheels are cold as normal. As the front wheels heat up, the front brakes bind on more and more.

It was only possible to drive in up to 3^rd gear because so much brake drag.

It the problem the brake callipers?

Or the master cylinder is blocked up with debris from when I pushed the calliper pistons back in?

It looks difficult to change the master cylinder.

I tried driving with the brake header tank cap removed, did not fix problem.

I think I will try an easy bleed,and blow air and fluid through the brake master cylinder to unblock it  and change the brake fluid.

Hi Gary.

When you fitted the new guide pins, did you grease them?  This helps movement as I'm you sure you know a sticking guide pin will cause one pad to be used up quicker than the other.  I would guess it's a sticking piston though.  It's a good idea when servicing the brakes to put some brake cleaner around the piston and clean it up a bit.  Failing that I would say you're probably in need of a new caliper.  I can't comment on the MC, as I've not had any experience on that so wait to see if anyone else chips in on that front. 

Hope you get it sorted and well done on the LE - JOG trip 

[mjt]

Hi Gary, your description does point to a sticking piston in one or both calipers. I had this with our old Mk1.5 and first noticed it because the mpg took a sudden dive. I took off the caliper and freed up the offending piston and thought I'd fixed the problem but it came back a few months later while we were on holiday and I had to have the caliper replaced.

The problem occurs because the part of the caliper cylinder wall outside the piston fluid seal rusts and swells up. From my experience you'd be best off just biting the bullet and fitting new calipers.

[isetta]

In case you were still thinking it might be master cylinder. It is dual circuit and as far as I know the circuits are diagonal. so a master cylinder blockage would affect all four brakes or affect one front brake and one rear brake on opposite side.  If the problem is only on front and not rear I would say you could rule out master cylinder problem. AS LONG AS the dual circuits are diagonal (and not one circuit for front and one for rear). I have not checked that to be 100% certain.

Do the discs have big lips on them due to major wear of the main braking surface? Are the lips working their way in to new brake pads and causing drag (although the drag you describe does sound a bit worse than that). sometimes you can chamfer the edge of the pads where the lips on the discs are but not a huge amount as you don't want to cause a brake imbalance side to side.

see first pic on this

https://www.renaultpartsdirect.co.uk/renault-brake-discs-genuine-renault-parts/

[coldrunning2002]

I'll try and rebuild the brake calipers next week when the weather is sunny. I bought a new pair of brake caliper pistons.

I try and follow this tutorial off youtube. larry grayson's generation game, haha.

I still don't think it is a good idea to push mucky brake fluid back up circuit through the abs system. My car does not have ABS. 

 

 

[coldrunning2002]

 

[coldrunning2002]

I had full breakdown cover with relay to my choice of destination in case of a car problem with hastings direct insurance. The problem was the emergency phone number and policy details were in my phone and not written down on paper as backup. When I hiked up mountain Ben Nevis my rucksack got full of water and my phone broke,  above 700 meters the weather is very wet and cold, absolutely soaked through.  Should of put my phone in a sandwich bag and inside my lunch box. So a lot of the journey I did not have a working phone if i needed one.

 

[Tdci-Peter]

5 hours ago, coldrunning2002 said:

When I hiked up mountain Ben Nevis my rucksack got full of water and my phone broke,  above 700 meters the weather is very wet and cold, absolutely soaked through.

The difference between a hill and a mountain is the weather. I remember Scafell Pike being like Mount Everest on a wet, stormy day, we failed to reach the summit. Then Langdale Pike was a beautiful walk up a hill with superb views just a few days later. Not much difference in height, big difference in conditions.

That round trip was a good test for a 16 year old car!

+1 for caliper piston sticking. But one other item to look for is any ridges on the caliper bracket, where the ends of the pad locate and slide. A touch with a fine file can cure these.