Hey guys.

Since I had my car I have put 8k on the clock, when I bought it the brakes were good however 8k later and now, not so good.

When I press the brake pedal there is pressure there but man the car feels like its just running on and not slowing down fast enough.

Car just passed the MOT with no advisories at all.

Not too sure what could cause this running on issue when I give the brakes a good stab, there doesn't feel more travel than normal just it isn't stopping as it should.

I didn't want to buy discs if it were pads and vice versa so I thought I would ask the guys in the know first :D

If this is a common thing and it's say pads or discs, any advice on where to buy them would also be great.

Thanks in advance

Yr n spec of car? Have u been had a wheel off to inspect the condition ofnthe pads discs? Brake fluid level correct and not contaminated with water as that can affect it.

replace brake fluid if you havent already done so whilst you've owned the car , its recommended to have it replaced every couple of years and contaminated brake fluid wont be noticed during an MOT anyway.

other than than i might change the front pads regardless , as again the friction material can become contaminated.

both can be done by a garage for no more than £100 if you dont want to do the work yourself........

 

I agree but before u change the front pads check the front discs. Pointless replacing the pads only if the discs r knackered or at the limit of thickness

whilst not all that likely, could the servo be not working as good as it should?

we don't know what fuel or engine size you have.  Diesel would have a vaccuum pump for the servo

If you do change discs & pads, Mintex are good (just changed all round on mine) and are on ebay for under £50 (for a set of discs and pads). 

11 hours ago, isetta said:

we don't know what fuel or engine size you have.

If i remember right from a previous post he's 2009, diesel, 1.6tdci........

Hey guys thanks for the replies, for some reason I am not getting email notifications to let me know anyone has replied to this post :(

Car is 2009 1.6 TDCi 110bhp DPF model.

That's great news Albert about the mintex discs and pads, I will have a look at that now :)

I guess it is going to be a process of elimination, I will start with looking at the pads and take some pics of the state of what its like up front and then check the brake fluid res out and maybe go for a bleed.

Cheers fellas I will let you know what the culprit was

4 hours ago, ThePowster said:

brake fluid res out and maybe go for a bleed

If you do go for the bleed just be aware the front nipples need a 9mm spanner and rear 10mm i think.  No idea why they were different sizes but nearly caught me out.  And plus gas comes in useful if they're a bit seized and rusty!

Cheers Albert that's great info to know in advance. Appreciate it :)

Ok buddy,as Albert says the bleed nipples are different sizes,the larger nipple size is at the front ( presumably because the discs are larger and bare most of the braking ) and the smaller ones are at the rear.

 

31 minutes ago, williamweb said:

Ok buddy,as Albert says the bleed nipples are different sizes,the larger nipple size is at the front ( presumably because the discs are larger and bare most of the braking ) and the smaller ones are at the rear.

 

Are you sure?  I could have sworn the 9mm was the fronts.......  on second thoughts maybe the rear is 8mm and not 10 like i first thought.......! #confusion

Good morning Albert,yeah I checked in my little black book lol,I replaced mine last year with stainless steel.If I'm wrong I do apologise at least we can agree front and rear are different sizes lol.

 

I'll make sure I have an array of tool with me when I do this :)

I really wanted to buy a metal detector with the last of me paper but man my brakes are no good, hate being sensible

So I've scrapped the idea of toys and gonna blow another wad on the car again

Filled her up this morning with Shell V-Power Nitro+ (cool names) and a shot of millers, did the tyre pressures, 36 all round, was 29 fronts and 30 rears, feels a lot livelier and nicer to drive, just need to be able to stop now.

Quick look under the bonnet and checked the brake fluid res and the fluid level is bang on min or maybe a mm under, maybe what's happened in the 8k miles I have done in my ownership is pads have gone down and therefore fluid gone down with it.

So it looks like its discs n pads n bleed time. I do hope its straight forward.

Gonna go with Alberts advice for the mintex discs n pads then I will bleed n report back cap'n

Yeah check the brake lines for corrosion and the unions on the flexi hoses buddy as well.

Cheers William will do mate :)

I just ordered these, I do hope its right one for my car

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172095155661

 

Hey guys.. am confused

When it comes to bleeding the brakes, I have these nasty old fashioned brake shoes business at the rear, I have never messed with these before and the prospect of doing so with all this clips and springs is rather daunting.

I thought brake shoes were just cable operated handbrake? I mean where would a brake caliper sit in a shoe set up, so how can I bleed the rear shoes

If someone can explain to me with me having shoes on this model if the rears need bleeding too that would be great.

Thanks again

 

Ok so the rear uses pistons in the drum instead of a piston housed in a caliper and also needs to be bled.Have a search on YouTube it might point you in the right direction.

 

2 hours ago, williamweb said:

Ok so the rear uses pistons in the drum instead of a piston housed in a caliper and also needs to be bled.Have a search on YouTube it might point you in the right direction.

 

A-Ha! I wondered how they did it. OK thanks for that William, I'll put the web to good use.

 

Cheers

on rear drum brakes the bleed screw is usually next to where the brake hose/pipe join to the hydraulic cylinder is. on the back of the brake plate. the brake plate is the fixed plate behind the spinning drum

i'm never keen on bleeding the brakes unless it is really neccessary eg. a brake pipe , hose, cylinder, caliper is changed. Because it's sods law that something will go wrong like a bleed screw snapping or a bleed screw thread stripping. you can usually tell if it needs bleeding due to pedal going long way down &/or soggy feel on pedal.   If the pedal travel is not too much and it feels firm pressure then does it need bleeding? If you are changing the brake pads/discs anyway I would do that first and see how it goes. Bleeding can turn into one of those jobs you wished you never started.  Don't get me wrong, if my brakes need bleeding I will bleed them . 

Kinda agree. Did my fluid few mth ago as didnt have any record when it was last done. N obviously the front nipples sheared whuch resulted in 2 new calipers being fitted. But its gd practice to change it every 2 yrs as water can and will contaminate the fluid which as we all know is bad.. 

I agree with Isetta,  never been one for bleeding brakes if not necessary. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

But its a necessary part of a gd owners schedule as its gotta be done every 2 yr or there abouts. Makes me laugh when ppl say they dont change it as it can be a pain.. less of a pain than realising your brakes rnt working properly and potentially causing an accident surely? 

having done every 2 years means the bleed screws are opened/closed therefore reducing the likley hood of siezing up and snapping when replacing components. its suprising how hygroscopic brake fluid becomes over time