Mk1 focus, 1.8 petrol, drum rear brakes.

As the title says really, the handbrake warning light flickers sometimes when going around right hand bends at a certain speed, roughly 15-20 mph round a roundabout or turning right into another road.

Have tried pushing handbrake button and pushing it down and it had no effect. Light goes out once I start going in a straight line.

Brake resevoir could be low I guess, in any case the fluid hasn't been changed in at least 2 years. But being a cable handbrake, that wouldn't be to do with brake fluid levels surly?

Have done a search on here and found this thread: http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/49396-focus-18tdci-grinding-noise-and-power-loss/?hl=%2Bflickering+%2Bhandbrake+%2Blight#entry305056 I've not done anything under the bonnet beyond adding washer fluid in 3-4 months, wouldn't have been fiddling around near the brake resevoir in the past 8, so I highly doubt I have dislodged a pipe!

Thanks in advance!

check your fluid levels you may have s leak look at each brake to see if its wet

The light is also a low level fluid light so most likely that. Check the level before anything else.

Really hoped it wouldn't be that. Bit nervous about using the car if brakes are problematic :(

best to get them checked out

It's really not hard to check the fluid level before you get unecesarily worried about brake system faults... The level might be full and just a dodgy sensor lol. :)

You would notice if there was a real fault, the brakes would feel spongy with air in there.

Looks like its not far above the minimum mark from what I could see just now. Cap wasn't very tight, no signs of it having spilt out from there though. No spongy feeling on the way home.

Anyone have an idea of what it costs to replace fluid at kwikfit/formula1 autocentre? Although just replacing the fluid might not be much use if there could be a leak.

top it up and see if it goes down again

As above, just top it up for now. Low fluid doesn't necessarily mean a leak anyway, the level will drop a bit as pads and shoes wear down.

Fluid change costs £37 at Halfords Autocentre to answer your question though, presumably roughly the same at the others but beware of them doing a 'free brake check' at the same time...as you'll probably end up needing a full set of brakes all round if so...

Check for any signs of wetness around the clutch pedal.

21 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

As above, just top it up for now. Low fluid doesn't necessarily mean a leak anyway, the level will drop a bit as pads and shoes wear down.

Fluid change costs £37 at Halfords Autocentre to answer your question though, presumably roughly the same at the others but beware of them doing a 'free brake check' at the same time...as you'll probably end up needing a full set of brakes all round if so...

Formula1 autocentres quoted £37.98 on the phone inc VAT and labour. I won't be going for a freee brake check, thanks for the price and the warning! 

 

With fluid costing £8-£10 already I think I will just get it replaced and bled, then I know the fluid is ok for as long as I'm likely to have the car at the very least!

It's a job easy enough to do yourself if you know how.. it's really not that difficult :)

Save yourself a fortune

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22 hours ago, GingerFlame said:

It's a job easy enough to do yourself if you know how.. it's really not that difficult :)

Save yourself a fortune

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I don't know how though, and while my dad does, he hasn't done it in about 20-25 years, thekit he has sounds rather crude (uses pressure from the spare tyre some how), I really don't fancy crawling under the car in this temperature in any case.

No need to crawl under the car! Just take the wheels off and reach In front of you.

The kit your dad has will bleed the system automatically without needing two people. Nothing particularly crude :)

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For £38 I'd let someone else do it with a vacuum bleeder tbh...  The spare wheel bleeders don't really work, unless I'm just using mine wrong lol.

I use a small pipe with a one-way valve on my own, seems to work ok but vacuum bleeding is far easier and quicker if you've got the equipment.  The main issue here is potentially snapping bleed nipples though, particularly in this weather when they're brittle!  I've snapped loads over the years, hate bleeding brakes, and making brake lines...guess what I've been doing this week haha.  

I recently replaced all 4 of my bleed nipples for the grand total of £6

Bled it the good old fashioned way with a friend. Total cost including mintex brake pads (already had discs from the old car) £25

My car has braided brake lines too which cost me £35 to prevent any cracking. You save an absolute fortune doing work yourself.. if you're unsure of something ,get instructions from the forum or use YouTube!

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Got a brake check at Formula 1 auto centre this morning. Right rear drum is leaking (albeit lightly). New shoes, seals and piston and potentially a new wheel bearing if it breaks when they take the drum apart is £130-£200 if both sides need doing (left rear isn't leaking but who knows the state of it). Pads on the front are only contacting the middle half of the disc and are scouring, outside of that but on the braking surface is very rusty and dodgy. Another £130 or so for that.

All in maybe £320-£400 for them to do it  They did top up the brake fluid for free though which was nice of them. 

 

The car is only worth £400-£500 if I were to sell it so not sure its worth it? Parts to do it all myself might be £200 from what I can see on eurocarparts. And I don't know how to do it all even if we have the right tools.

Sure I warned you about these 'free' brake checks...

Did they actually show you the leaking rear cylinder?

Where abouts are you in Essex?  I might be able to give you a hand depending on location.

5 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Sure I warned you about these 'free' brake checks...

Did they actually show you the leaking rear cylinder?

Where abouts are you in Essex?  I might be able to give you a hand depending on location.

Yep I went and looked at it myself and there was fluid/dampness around the inside at the bottom third of the right rear drum where I guess the two parts of the drum join, but not the left side. Looked at the front brakes myself too.

 

Haven't got a bearing puller talking to my dad so if that needs removing to get the drum away and fixed then I'm stuck anyway.

 

Near chelmsford. 

Fair enough then, I don't trust any of them after a similar incident haha. :P

Chelmsford is a bit too much of a trek for me unfortunately. :(

I don't have a bearing puller either, brute force and ignorance removes drums lol, crowbars and chisels ftw...  I'm sure you could do the fronts yourself, even if you don't want to tackle the rears.  Might also be worth trying a local independent for a quote on changing rears. 

27 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Fair enough then, I don't trust any of them after a similar incident haha. :P

Chelmsford is a bit too much of a trek for me unfortunately. :(

I don't have a bearing puller either, brute force and ignorance removes drums lol, crowbars and chisels ftw...  I'm sure you could do the fronts yourself, even if you don't want to tackle the rears.  Might also be worth trying a local independent for a quote on changing rears. 

Completely understand that. I instructed them not to do any work without my approval and asked to look at it too. I trust no-one! 

Not to worry, I wouldn't be very interested in doing it in this temperature anyway. 

Was thinking of ringing around and quoting people down for the rears at least. Then research how to do fronts myself when its warmer and drier outside