Hello, I have a 2007 Ford fiesta 1.6 petrol and have noticed that the passe ger side wheel is hotter than the drivers side. I have installed a new caliper and regreased all the parts that need greasing and the wheel is still hotter than the other side. The temperature difference is around 10c degrees. The only thing that hasn't been replaced is the brake hose.

 

I have jacked it up and spun the wheel and it is definetely harder than the other side, however when the engine is on and I spin the wheel its easier? Could this be a brake hose problem, because when the engine is on the servo is releasing some pressure from the hose? Or is that a load of rubbis? Also, the wheel gets a bit stiffer at a certain point. Could this be pad deposits or because the hose isn't fully releasing the piston?

 

Cheers

Have you checked to see if everything runs true ? Wheel off - Spinning disc - Gradually applying the brake.

Being a new calliper maybe a piston is not free, so binding ? Was cheap or high quality ?

 

If it's getting tight at the same point in the rotation then it won't be the caliper.

Either a warped disc, deposits on disc, disc not sitting flat on hub due to rust/dirt underneath or the wheel bearing.

The wheel is easier to spin with the engine running because there are rotational forces moving through the gearbox even without a gear selected.  If you try to spin it backwards, you'll probably find there's a bit more resistance.

1 hour ago, Ian Lanc said:

Have you checked to see if everything runs true ? Wheel off - Spinning disc - Gradually applying the brake.

Being a new calliper maybe a piston is not free, so binding ? Was cheap or high quality ?

 

Everything looks too be alright, it was happening before I changed the caliper aswell so I don't think it's that. 

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

If it's getting tight at the same point in the rotation then it won't be the caliper.

Either a warped disc, deposits on disc, disc not sitting flat on hub due to rust/dirt underneath or the wheel bearing.

The wheel is easier to spin with the engine running because there are rotational forces moving through the gearbox even without a gear selected.  If you try to spin it backwards, you'll probably find there's a bit more resistance.

Its stiffer than the other side all the way but there is a certain point where it needs a bit more force too turn. The discs and pads are only 1 year old so would be annoyed if they need doing again. 

Just been out and measured the temperatures of each side after a short 10 minute drive with some fairly hard braking and the drivers side is showing around 38 degrees and the passe ger side is showing around 44 degrees. There is no pulling or vibration or anything. 

Everything else being equal, it sounds like the wheel bearing.

2 minutes ago, Bobr said:

Everything else being equal, it sounds like the wheel bearing.

Would that make the disc slightly hotter than the other side? I spun the wheel when I had the caliper off and there was a good amount of resistance but no roughness or noise. 

Just a thought, maybe the Brakes on the other side are not working as efficiently as they should be and that side is colder rather than the other side being too hot.

13 minutes ago, Tizer said:

Just a thought, maybe the Brakes on the other side are not working as efficiently as they should be and that side is colder rather than the other side being too hot.

Yeah I was thinking that but the brakes work really well and there isn't any pulling or vibration or anything and they stop the car quickly so I'm not sure, some people are saying that a small difference in temperature is normal. I have had a stuck caliper before and the temperature was around 150 degrees celsius whereas the other side was around 40. Should I just leave it all alone and just carry on driving or does it need looking at properly. 

18 minutes ago, Arkhangelsk1989 said:

Should I just leave it all alone and just carry on driving or does it need looking at properly.

I would strip the other side down, clean the disc, work the piston back and lubricate the sliders. The temperatures you are quoting are not excessive, I have also had seized brakes and my experience is that you would burn your fingers if you touched the discs. 38 degrees is only body temperature.  

10 minutes ago, Tizer said:

I would strip the other side down, clean the disc, work the piston back and lubricate the sliders. The temperatures you are quoting are not excessive, I have also had seized brakes and my experience is that you would burn your fingers if you touched the discs. 38 degrees is only body temperature.  

Well when I touch the disc it stings after a second or so but the thermometer is showing those temperatures. Both discs sting my fi gers if I touch them after braking hard, if I drive without braking then they stay fairly cold. 

11 minutes ago, Tizer said:

I would strip the other side down, clean the disc, work the piston back and lubricate the sliders. The temperatures you are quoting are not excessive, I have also had seized brakes and my experience is that you would burn your fingers if you touched the discs. 38 degrees is only body temperature.  

I also Regreased everything around 2 months ago on all 4 corners and nothing seemed out of place. 

What grease did you put on the caliper sliders ?

I cannot remember what it is called, but designed for the rubber.  The wrong grease causes the rubber to swell.

Just now, Paulkp said:

What grease did you put on the caliper sliders ?

I cannot remember what it is called, but designed for the rubber.  The wrong grease causes the rubber to swell.

I used bremtech silicone grease for the fronts and red rubber for the rears because I didn't have enough all round 

Just been on another drive and this time tried too brake as little as possible and pulled up in a car park and the passenger side brake disc is hotter than the drivers side. I can touch the disc without burning myself but it is warmer than the other side. I also used the infrared thermometer on the hub behind the wheel on full lock and both sides were around the same at about 20 degrees so I doubt it's the wheel bearings. The only thing I haven't replaced is the flexi rubber hose and was wonder g could this cause the brakes too drag slightly? 

Any garage with a Brake Testing machine will be able to tell instantly whether there is any drag on one side and whether one side is not working as good as the other. If you have a MOT coming up soon then you might be able to see for yourself for free rather than replacing parts that might not need replaced. 

10 minutes ago, Tizer said:

Any garage with a Brake Testing machine will be able to tell instantly whether there is any drag on one side and whether one side is not working as good as the other. If you have a MOT coming up soon then you might be able to see for yourself for free rather than replacing parts that might not need replaced. 

Fair enough, my mot is up in October snjoyo got a while yet and I'm going too be doing some long distance driving in the next few months so want too get this sorted. I dont mind taking it too a garage but i want too see if it's an easy fix first before spending money to get a garage too look at it when I can look for free. Cheers for your help anyway pal, I appreciate it 👍🏻

No problem. Once a year I normally strip my Brakes as a preventative measure and that includes clamping the Hose, putting my non-return Bleeding Tube on and opening the valve and forcing the Pistons right back to keep them free. Pistons can stick as well as Sliders. For anyone reading this that is not experienced with Brakes, you need to pump the Brakes afterwards to take up the slack.

I don't think a hose problem would cause a sticking issue, a year of little activity is more likely to cause an issue.

  

8 minutes ago, Tizer said:

No problem. Once a year I normally strip my Brakes as a preventative measure and that includes clamping the Hose, putting my non-return Bleeding Tube on and opening the valve and forcing the Pistons right back to keep them free. Pistons can stick as well as Sliders. For anyone reading this that is not experienced with Brakes, you need to pump the Brakes afterwards to take up the slack.

I don't think a hose problem would cause a sticking issue, a year of little activity is more likely to cause an issue.

  

Yeah I agree mate, I Regrease brakes every year aswell. Just can't seem to get my head around why that wheel is hotter. Going too have a good look at it tomorrow and I have got a new hose for £10 so will swap it over anyway. Will let you know if that solves it, if not then will probably let a garage have a look like you said 👍🏻

Just been out and disassembled the brakes and made sure everything is working good. I spun the wheel with the caliper off and the wheel spins nice and freely with slight resistance from the wheel bearing but that's normal. I reconnected all of it and pumped the brakes and the wheel got slightly harder too turn. The piston moves in and out easily, the slider pins are moving freely, the pads move in the bracket easily and I filed the pad arms down too make sure they move and used copper grease. 

I opened the bleeder screw on the caliper and the wheel didn't get easier too turn so it probably not the hose. If I spin the wheel with 1 hand I can get around 1 - 1.5 spin before it stops. 

Everything looks good but I will have too see how it goes. 

If it's still doing it then I will get it into a garage 

On 5/28/2021 at 10:01 PM, Tizer said:

No problem. Once a year I normally strip my Brakes as a preventative measure and that includes clamping the Hose, putting my non-return Bleeding Tube on and opening the valve and forcing the Pistons right back to keep them free. Pistons can stick as well as Sliders. For anyone reading this that is not experienced with Brakes, you need to pump the Brakes afterwards to take up the slack.

I don't think a hose problem would cause a sticking issue, a year of little activity is more likely to cause an issue.

  

Just an update, I replaced the rubber flexi hose and noticed that the metal part the screw into the caliper was bent. I wonder if that was causing a restriction and keeping the pads in contact slightly. Will go for a good drive tonight and see how it is with the new hose.

Just to update, the new hose didn't fix the problem. The rotor is still getting hot even after a short drive with rarely using the brakes while the other ones are warm. If I hold my finger on it it stings whereas the other ones I can keep my hand on all day. The only other thing I can think of is that the pads aren't sliding freely in the carrier bracket and remaining in slight contact while driving. There is a constant scrape from the brakes when I spin the wheel by hand and definite resistance so I'm going to file the pad tabs down tomorrow so they fit better and Regrease it all again. Really hope that sorts it 😂

1 hour ago, Arkhangelsk1989 said:

Just to update, the new hose didn't fix the problem. The rotor is still getting hot even after a short drive with rarely using the brakes while the other ones are warm. If I hold my finger on it it stings whereas the other ones I can keep my hand on all day. The only other thing I can think of is that the pads aren't sliding freely in the carrier bracket and remaining in slight contact while driving. There is a constant scrape from the brakes when I spin the wheel by hand and definite resistance so I'm going to file the pad tabs down tomorrow so they fit better and Regrease it all again. Really hope that sorts it 😂

well you said that you removed the caliper and spun the disc and there is a slight resistance from the bearing, as far as I know there shouldn't be any detectable resistance in a good working wheel bearing, do you hear any whine while on the road that increases with increasing speed ? and also you can test the bearing by jacking up that side of the car and spin the wheel as fast as you can while putting the other hand on the coil spring, if the bearing is bad you should feel some kind of Buzz/ vibration on the coil spring, I highly suspect the wheel bearing to be causing all this as @Bobr mentioned.

8 hours ago, Eng_Ahmad1986 said:

well you said that you removed the caliper and spun the disc and there is a slight resistance from the bearing, as far as I know there shouldn't be any detectable resistance in a good working wheel bearing, do you hear any whine while on the road that increases with increasing speed ? and also you can test the bearing by jacking up that side of the car and spin the wheel as fast as you can while putting the other hand on the coil spring, if the bearing is bad you should feel some kind of Buzz/ vibration on the coil spring, I highly suspect the wheel bearing to be causing all this as @Bobr mentioned.

The wheel is a lot easier to spin when the caliper has been removed. The bearing feels smooth and i have tried putting my hand on the spring but there was no vibration or anything. My front right wheel bearing is whining so I'm getting that replaced tomorrow but the passenger side seems alright. Going to have another look later and see if I can finally figure out what is causing it