dtulip8 Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Hi all, The car has started pulling when braking to the left. I've been advised that is because my brake pads need changing as one is applying more force than the other. This would make sense, as on the MOT back in October it was advised that the pads and discs would need changing in 5-6 months. I've been quoted £326 for the work at ATS here in Leicester, which for a uni student sounded quite steep! Would just like to get a second opinion on whether you think this diagnosis is correct, and whether I can get it done more cheaply at my preferred indy garage when I go back home for Easter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmole Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 They are dead easy to do yourself with a little care and an 7mm Allen key. look on you tube how to do it and see if you can attempt it yourself 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stef123 Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 The diagnosis could be correct, but without access to your car to assess it then I'll need to take their word for it. An Indy should be cheaper than that, £326 is pretty steep! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isetta Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 I would have thought you could find a garage that would do it cheaper than that price. The price might depend on quality of parts they use. It is possible that it could be caused by a faulty caliper and not the discs/pads. If there are no unexpected problems (and calipers are fine)I would have thought a proper garage with a ramp/lifting table could do it in less than one hour. And I reckon you could get the discs/pads for well under one hundred quid. Perhaps even £50 - of dubious quality? It is an easy job to replace pads/discs but of course the consequences can be disasterous if done wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtulip8 Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 I wouldn't be confident doing it myself, obviously being such a safety critical system. I think its probably a correct diagnosis, they were saying they were well worn on the MOT. When going along normally its straight and true, although it does like to follow camber (theres a part of the A50 thats dreadful for it lol). @isetta how would I know whether its a faulty caliper or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Focus discs are quite expensive (odd considering how common they are!) bit even so that quite is ridiculous. If you've got the basic tools to do it, I really world recommend doing them yourself. You really can't get pads and discs wrong! The only difficult thing with brakes is bleeding the fluid so just don't open the bleed nipples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isetta Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 "how would I know whether its a faulty caliper or not?". Not really any way of telling without some dismantling. Even if it is the caliper sticking it might not need a new one, it might just need cleaning up the stiff rusty bits (eg. sliders) and putting some copper grease on. (and cleaning up the pad holders so the pads can move properly. ) All of which should really be done anyway when pads are replaced - but I doubt it always is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isetta Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 here's example of price of discs/pads. £38 including postage https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-C-Max-Focus-Kuga-Volvo-C30-S40-QH-Front-Brake-Discs-Pads-Set-Grease/283334265836?fits=Model%3AFocus|Plat_Gen%3AMK+II&epid=1846902863&hash=item41f809cbec:g:f9cAAOSwVAtcPa76 I can't comment on quality but you can see why £326 sounds a lot. I suggested it would not take more then one hour (if no problems occur). I am not in the trade - can anyone in the trade confirm my view on that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Criot Posted March 20, 2019 Share Posted March 20, 2019 Discs can be more expensive but definitely not in that price range... Go to a smaller independent local garage, it'll cost you much less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtulip8 Posted March 20, 2019 Author Share Posted March 20, 2019 Going off to trusty indy garage, will confirm if its discs and pads or just a sticky caliper. Sadly as I'm at uni, I can't perform maintenance on the car in the car park as its expressly forbidden in the contract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ktmpedro220 Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 If you went to Ford's and used Motorparts it'll be only around the £200 mark!Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtulip8 Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 Was just a sticky calliper, paid the nice mechanic (who knows my Dad very well so is trustworthy) £15 and he greased up both sides for me and all is good. Happy days! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Who doesn't love a happy ending! Great outcome...😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isetta Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 but how many people do just pay ATS etc those sort of prices when it's a simpler fix. Customer: Will it be ok for me to drive home while I think about it, because I have a friend who might be able to look at it for me. Garage: I don't think you should be doing that love, anything could happen, and I see you have a child car seat in there, think of your children . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 11 minutes ago, isetta said: Garage: I don't think you should be doing that love, anything could happen, and I see you have a child car seat in there, think of your children . Have you been reading their training manual? LOL 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 It's not just chain stores either... A major main dealer told my Mum two of her tyres were dangerous and that they couldn't let her drive out on them after a service...despite them having 3.5mm of tread and passing MOT there! I do wonder how many non car people get fleeced every day by garages tbh. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtulip8 Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 I've been dead with flu the past week so couldn't do it myself, though I would've had a crack at it myself if I could. Had to get my Dad to drive it up for me! I don't really bother with the chains, though ATS were very good when I needed an alignment doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Nothing inherently wrong with 'chains', apart from you need to realise that they are totally sales driven. KwikFit's AirCon service for £59.95 and the offer of a full refund if it doesn't work is particularly good and I've used it on a couple of cars... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtulip8 Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 Sadly the news doesn't seem to be all good, just driven the car 120 miles and now it seems to have a lack of acceleration and the brake pedal is feeling spongy! Always love it when it comes back worse than it was! Looks like yet another trip to the garage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 The brake is probably seized on now...new caliper time! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtulip8 Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 I love owning a 13 year old car! Just curious as to what the mechanics are behind this happening? EDIT- I wouldn’t say either side felt particularly hotter than the other after I stopped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 I have numerous experience of seized calipers on my 1995 GT4 over the years! The symptom usually manifests itself as a skewing to one side or another on braking as obviously if that caliper ceases to work, there is no grip applied to the disc to slow it down so the other side working caliper is doing all the work. Obviously, it will also show up as an MOT failure. The good news is that a GT4 caliper is about £280! (Imagine how that feels if you have more than one that need doing) Your Ford one will be considerably cheaper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 13 hours ago, dtulip8 said: I love owning a 13 year old car! Just curious as to what the mechanics are behind this happening? EDIT- I wouldn’t say either side felt particularly hotter than the other after I stopped? Corrosion and rubber deterioration over the years, accelerated by salt and grit from the road. The caliper piston has to be perfectly smooth to seal to the rubber O ring. The O ring twists as the piston is pushed forward by the fluid pressure and the rubber tension in that twist is used to pull the piston back when you release the brake pedal. A rough corroded piston or weak rubber O ring stops the piston retracting as it should. Rusty, bent or dry slide pins can also stop the caliper being able to retract as it should. It only takes a slight bind on the brake to noticeably reduce acceleration, especially on a lower powered car. The extra heat produced by the bind over a long period of time will overheat the brake fluid at the caliper end, cause it to boil and create air bubbles which is what causes the spongy pedal. I would expect the disc to feel hotter on one side though...unless both are sticking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtulip8 Posted March 30, 2019 Author Share Posted March 30, 2019 I'll be getting it checked out again, as it would seem all the other symptoms are there, reduced braking, lowered acceleration etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenFord Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 I'm just curious - because oif the expense of my 'GT4' calipers, you could buy a refurb kit for it with all new seals and all the other bits to bring functionality back. Of course, it meant if it was your daily driver which mine was, was a huge inconvenience if you weren't skilled enough to do it yourself. Do Ford do a refurb kit for the caliper or is it so cheap, you just get new ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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