Focus 1.8tdci 2008 facelift brakes questions.

[gibbo1471]

Hi and morning all,

I changed the front discs and pads around march and I noticed that when I broke there was a little knock only there when pressing pedal down even lightly don't do it if not braking(did not notice this before the change and everything was put back secure.)

The size of the discs were 300mm as I measured the old ones but were they the wrong size that were on?

Any ideas on the knock and the disc and pad size are they correct 

I think they were from euro car parts eicher ones 

Thank you Simon 

[FatHead1979]

2 hours ago, gibbo1471 said:

Hi and morning all,

I changed the front discs and pads around march and I noticed that when I broke there was a little knock only there when pressing pedal down even lightly don't do it if not braking(did not notice this before the change and everything was put back secure.)

The size of the discs were 300mm as I measured the old ones but were they the wrong size that were on?

Any ideas on the knock and the disc and pad size are they correct 

I think they were from euro car parts eicher ones 

Thank you Simon 

I've got the same car (pre facelift), the front discs are supposed to be 300mm on the 1.8 TDCi, Eicher disc are dog ***** though.

[isetta]

it could be that the pads are very slightly smaller (not intentionally) so they are a bit looser in the caliper so that when you brake slightly they move to take up the play

[Albert27]

10 hours ago, 1979Damian said:

Eicher disc are dog ***** though.

Agree.  I don't touch Eicher, my piston made mince meat of the pads back plate when i tried them! Mintex are great value and OEM standard.

[FatHead1979]

13 hours ago, Albert27 said:

Agree.  I don't touch Eicher, my piston made mince meat of the pads back plate when i tried them! Mintex are great value and OEM standard.

+1

I've not personally used Mintex before but I've seen a few people on here recommend them.

Personally I've given the following pad sets a good hiding  over the years that I've had my MK2 saloon:

* Cheapo chinglish rebadged tat = 2 hard stops in close succession resulted in major brake fade, loads of dust, noisy and basically a bit (lot) sh1te! 

* Motorcraft = Cheap, solid performance, no match for either of the pads below in terms of performance stability when pushed hard and also coated my front wheels with loads of brake dust, still decent though if you can them at a good price.

* EBC Yellowstuff = Incredible performance, performed much better than I expected at low disc temperatures (not easy for a "performance" pad), lasted longer than I expected but VERY expensive compared to some of the other "premium" brands.  If money was no object I'd go for these everytime. 

* Brembo (Current set on the car) = Perform well, are able to do a few hard stops in close succession before starting to fade (I really have to drive like a helmet before I get any noticeable drop in braking performance, they also don't cover my front wheels with loads of dust like the Motorcraft pads did.

 

Discwise:

*Factory discs = Lasted 4 years (3 with the previous owner) before starting to warp and get a bit thin, solid performance though.

* Cheapo chinglish rebadged tat = Bent as a 9 bob note after 3 months.  (Just don't)

* Eicher (I didn't know any better at the time and I was skint) = Even after the set had bedded in they seemed to only have the stopping power of a plastic milk bottle top and quickly developed a judder which resulted in me binning them off as soon as I could afford to replace them. 

* Brembo = Only lasted 2 years before one of the fronts started to warp so that was a bit disappointing, prior to this I was very happy with the performance (possibly because they were paired with EBC Yellowstuff pads).

* Bosch (Rears only) = Fitted approximately 12 months ago, so far so good, no complaints other than they start to rust really easily/quickly, especially the centre hub.

* Pagid = (Fronts only) = Fitted approximately 6 months ago, so far so good, good reliable performance when matched with the Brembo pads, seem to be a lot more resistant to rusting than the Bosch discs on the rear and don't generate any unpleasant noises.

[Albert27]

13 hours ago, 1979Damian said:

+1

I've not personally used Mintex before but I've seen a few people on here recommend them.

Personally I've given the following pad sets a good hiding  over the years that I've had my MK2 saloon:

* Cheapo chinglish rebadged tat = 2 hard stops in close succession resulted in major brake fade, loads of dust, noisy and basically a bit (lot) sh1te! 

* Motorcraft = Cheap, solid performance, no match for either of the pads below in terms of performance stability when pushed hard and also coated my front wheels with loads of brake dust, still decent though if you can them at a good price.

* EBC Yellowstuff = Incredible performance, performed much better than I expected at low disc temperatures (not easy for a "performance" pad), lasted longer than I expected but VERY expensive compared to some of the other "premium" brands.  If money was no object I'd go for these everytime. 

* Brembo (Current set on the car) = Perform well, are able to do a few hard stops in close succession before starting to fade (I really have to drive like a helmet before I get any noticeable drop in braking performance, they also don't cover my front wheels with loads of dust like the Motorcraft pads did.

 

Discwise:

*Factory discs = Lasted 4 years (3 with the previous owner) before starting to warp and get a bit thin, solid performance though.

* Cheapo chinglish rebadged tat = Bent as a 9 bob note after 3 months.  (Just don't)

* Eicher (I didn't know any better at the time and I was skint) = Even after the set had bedded in they seemed to only have the stopping power of a plastic milk bottle top and quickly developed a judder which resulted in me binning them off as soon as I could afford to replace them. 

* Brembo = Only lasted 2 years before one of the fronts started to warp so that was a bit disappointing, prior to this I was very happy with the performance (possibly because they were paired with EBC Yellowstuff pads).

* Bosch (Rears only) = Fitted approximately 12 months ago, so far so good, no complaints other than they start to rust really easily/quickly, especially the centre hub.

* Pagid = (Fronts only) = Fitted approximately 6 months ago, so far so good, good reliable performance when matched with the Brembo pads, seem to be a lot more resistant to rusting than the Bosch discs on the rear and don't generate any unpleasant noises.

Good to know mate.  I've used Mintex discs and pads on 3 cars and all are still great after 18 months.  The only thing i'll add is i was forced to change my mintex pads early after a caliper leak, opted for Brembo as pagid were out of stock at ecp on the day i needed them .  After fitting them the squeak i  was getting went and never came back.  It could of course been a lack of grease when i fitted the mintex pads originally to be fair.  Anyway, it didn't really bother me and would fit them again without hesitation.

[gibbo1471]

Thank you all for your input my model is the 2.5 I think it had a facelift on it the noise is still there under breaking I definitely have 300mm discs on and the bigger pads out the 2 sizes available from euro car parts and they are eicher ones prob keep them in untill next MOT in Feb and change them to pagid or something thank you it's just knocks really do my head in 

[F0CUE]

If it's a metallic clack more noticeable in for example a multi story car park then yes get better pads it's irritating.