St220 - Squealing brakes
Discussion
Hi all,
Occasionally, usually after I've been driving for a while, (and mostly when I'm sitting in traffic on the motorway!) I notice the front offside (from what I can tell) brake is squealing a bit when moving at lower speeds, say up to about 30-40mph. If I apply even the most feather-light of touches to the brake pedal, it disappears. There appears to be no noticeable sticking/grabbing to the brakes, and I can easily move the car back and forth by grabbing a front wheel and turning it, and I only hear the slightest of pad contact noise from the offending wheel when doing so.
I'm thinking/hoping that it's just 'normal' pad contact with a brake disk causing it to vibrate, and me whipping out the pad and liberally copper-greasing it will cure it, but am I accurate in thinking this?
I do hope it's not anything as sinister as a sticking caliper.. Is this common on the front brakes of the ST220?
Danke!
Occasionally, usually after I've been driving for a while, (and mostly when I'm sitting in traffic on the motorway!) I notice the front offside (from what I can tell) brake is squealing a bit when moving at lower speeds, say up to about 30-40mph. If I apply even the most feather-light of touches to the brake pedal, it disappears. There appears to be no noticeable sticking/grabbing to the brakes, and I can easily move the car back and forth by grabbing a front wheel and turning it, and I only hear the slightest of pad contact noise from the offending wheel when doing so.
I'm thinking/hoping that it's just 'normal' pad contact with a brake disk causing it to vibrate, and me whipping out the pad and liberally copper-greasing it will cure it, but am I accurate in thinking this?
I do hope it's not anything as sinister as a sticking caliper.. Is this common on the front brakes of the ST220?
Danke!
The caliper sliders get gunked up with dust and corrosion, if you strip it all done and grease up it should be ok, if it isnt, the pad material will be glazed and no amount of heavy braking will solve this, i had to replace my discs and pads in the end as i got fed up with it.
Focus ST brakes do make a massive difference from the moment you dab the pedal, the feel is much improved and the car will stand on its nose.
The standard brakes are fine in normal driving but they never inspire confidence when you start driving enthusiastically.
The disc is 20mm bigger but the caliper is the biggest difference, its a very sturdy design and really clamps onto that disc properly without flexing. I paid £80 for mine
Focus ST brakes do make a massive difference from the moment you dab the pedal, the feel is much improved and the car will stand on its nose.
The standard brakes are fine in normal driving but they never inspire confidence when you start driving enthusiastically.
The disc is 20mm bigger but the caliper is the biggest difference, its a very sturdy design and really clamps onto that disc properly without flexing. I paid £80 for mine
Well I had the brakes apart, cleaned them up, greased them up, the wheels spin nice and freely with only the slightest 'kissing' of pad/disk on the offside, not enough to cause hardly any resistance when I spin the wheel by hand let alone when driving, so I assume that, plus bone-dry rear of pad with peeling/disintegrated rear shim meant they'd vibrate a bit and cause noise. It seems OK from a quick road-test 
Dave, I think the problem stems from the fact they don't compare like with like... they compare tired standard brakes with new disks and pads with Focus ST calipers.
With new disks, pads, fluid and braided hoses the standard setup is very good - but repeated applications with hard driving left them wanting - IMO.
With new disks, pads, fluid and braided hoses the standard setup is very good - but repeated applications with hard driving left them wanting - IMO.
Ford press release said:
ST220 features 300 mm ventilated disc brakes at the front, each with single pot callipers equipped with large, 57 mm pistons to exert powerful pressure on the brake pads. At the rear, solid discs measuring 280 mm are fitted.
The brake system delivers 62 mph to zero braking distances of 37 metres
Amusingly, the standard ST220 calipers are the same as the rest of the range - although not sure on disk size?The brake system delivers 62 mph to zero braking distances of 37 metres
I can honestly say I prefer the feel of my Mk1 brakes(IIRC later cars then had smaller discs!!). They feel so much better than the 220's, whether they actually do stop the car better I do not know? On the last facelift (Mk3) Ford mentioned the pedal feel had been improved but to me they still feel a little wooden.
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