Hey all.

I've had the front wheel bearing changed at a local garage since it was making a right racket, and they stated 'it fell apart when we took it apart'..... but also mentioned that the flange was in a bit of a state but I've found that its not rumbling at all now.

Since I have had it back, I've suffered with a very strange issue with the brakes.

At speeds of between 5 and 25mph, the brake pedal is extremely stiff. Its almost like its not assisted anymore. When the car is at around 15 and under, the pedal will start to judder and its almost like you wont be able to stop the car.

Above 25mph, the pedal is absolutley fine, just as it was before it was repaired, and under 5mph again, all is well.

Anyone got any ideas?

Something I did notice, was that the mechanic had left the caliper hanging by the brake flexi (something I was always told not to do), would this cause an issue?

Thanks for any advice.

John

Just thinking aloud here, as I haven't heard of exactly this issue (but you haven't had another reply):

Something I did notice, was that the mechanic had left the caliper hanging by the brake flexi (something I was always told not to do), would this cause an issue?

In the longer term, this may cause a weakness in the brake hose, which I wouldn't see as causing this problem, unless the hose was ballooning out (which would be dangerous, if it was happening).

At speeds of between 5 and 25mph, the brake pedal is extremely stiff. Its almost like its not assisted anymore. When the car is at around 15 and under, the pedal will start to judder and its almost like you wont be able to stop the car.

Above 25mph, the pedal is absolutley fine, just as it was before it was repaired, and under 5mph again, all is well.

Anyone got any ideas?

It sounds as if the ABS could be coming on (incorrectly) in that speed range. I'd certainly check that the sensor and the 'toothed wheel' don't look as if they have been damaged, and they look to be fitted correctly. If the sensor has had a blow or the toothed disk is loose or damaged, it could happen. With the wheel jacked up, and the brakes off, spin the wheel and check that there don't seem to be any irregularities in the toothed part, because at those kind of speed, even a small fluctuation in output from the system can cause problems like this (assuming that you can see the toothed bit through the wheel...maybe try with spare, if you can't see through the normal road wheels). Check also that there is no sign of the calliper itself wobbling about, as that would cause the same kind of effect.

If the wheel bearing was in the kind of poor state that the garage implied it is possible that the sensor has taken a hit as everything wobbled about (assuming that they weren't exaggerating). If that has happened, there should be some kind of 'witness mark' on the sensor and if you do see that kind of evidence you'll end up replacing it.