Brake discs need replacing - still driveable?

[martin84]

Recently I've noticed a squeaky grind from the back of the car whenever turning on full lock, specifically one turning I use often which involves turning back on myself on full lock. After finding it irritating I've discovered the rear discs are warped and it's visible to the naked eye which isn't always the case.

The car stops fine, I've tried a couple of emergency stops and theres a bit of a grind from the back but it doesn't spear off in another direction. Normal stopping is fine. The front discs are fine. I've ordered a new set which will get put on by the end of the week if all goes to plan.

Am I right in thinking if the fronts were warped then a) I'd have known about it long before now and b) They should be changed right away and the car shouldn't be used until they are?

I'm not a mechanic so any input appreciated. Thanks.

[martin84]

doogz said:

Rear brakes shouldn't squeak because you're turning. It sounds like you have more than one issue here. And tbh if you've let the brakes get that bad, I wonder what else might be up.

My guess was it squeaks when the weight of the car shifts to one side on full lock, or something like that. It only does it on a very tight turn, not the rest of the time. I narrowed it down to brakes when I kept doing it on purpose and found the faster I go the faster it squeaks, which led me to something circular - ergo, brake discs.

I've only had the car since about November and there were no advisories on it's MOT so I had no reason to suspect the brake discs were bad until recently. Interestingly the fronts are A+, so they may have been replaced shortly before I bought it.

[J4CKO]

Simple answer is to get them changed rather than speculate on whether it is safe to drive, there is obviously something amiss.

the way to do it is to whip the wheels off and possibly the caliper and examine the brakes, actually seeing the friction surfaces will give you an idea as to why it is making a noise, can be somethign simple like a backplate rubbing on the disk due to close tolerances and an old disk having some corosion which expands and tyouches the backplate, can be down to a stone lodged or similar, or utterly knackered pads and disks.

Dont look for affirmation on here, go and crack the tools out and have a look, brakes are cheap to do if you can change them yourself, they are usually self explanatory, they are generally very easy if you use good parts, common sense, a guide off a reputable website, have the right tools etc.

I will alays be drivable, its the stopping that can be interesting, also depends whether you mean a short journey to a garage at low speed bearing it in mind or are you looking to do serious mileage ?

[mad4amanda]

some cars have a small tang that acts as a wear sensor on the rear when its wearing down you get a bit of a squeeling grinding noise especially if the inner caliper is sticking , can you not check the pad depths ?

[martin84]

mad4amanda said:

some cars have a small tang that acts as a wear sensor on the rear when its wearing down you get a bit of a squeeling grinding noise especially if the inner caliper is sticking , can you not check the pad depths ?

It's a 1999 Rover 75 V6, I doubt it's that sophisticated The pad depth is ok, nowhere near finished but lower than the fronts. It's looking very much like front discs and pads have been replaced much more recently than the rear, maybe just to get it through an MOT at some point?

J4CKO said:

Simple answer is to get them changed rather than speculate on whether it is safe to drive, there is obviously something amiss

Yes they will be changed, I'm not asking whether they should be changed I'm asking if its ok to drive it in the meantime. These discs have probably been like this for a while anyway so I reckon it's fine for another few days.

Even if its not the cause of the grind they still need replacing.

[samdale]

My car was making an odd noise when turning right. This is the condition I found the pads in.



It didn't pull in either direction while braking. Pad obviously not moving correctly within the caliper.

[martin84]

Cute kitchen paper

[J4CKO]

martin84 said:

mad4amanda said:

some cars have a small tang that acts as a wear sensor on the rear when its wearing down you get a bit of a squeeling grinding noise especially if the inner caliper is sticking , can you not check the pad depths ?

It's a 1999 Rover 75 V6, I doubt it's that sophisticated The pad depth is ok, nowhere near finished but lower than the fronts. It's looking very much like front discs and pads have been replaced much more recently than the rear, maybe just to get it through an MOT at some point?

J4CKO said:

Simple answer is to get them changed rather than speculate on whether it is safe to drive, there is obviously something amiss

Yes they will be changed, I'm not asking whether they should be changed I'm asking if its ok to drive it in the meantime. These discs have probably been like this for a while anyway so I reckon it's fine for another few days.

Even if its not the cause of the grind they still need replacing.

Dont think it will kill you in a couple of days driving, just take it easy, after all the brakes on a modern car with tired brakes are still probably and ordere of magnitude better than say a brand new cat from the sixties.

[martin84]

J4CKO said:

Dont think it will kill you in a couple of days driving, just take it easy, after all the brakes on a modern car with tired brakes are still probably and ordere of magnitude better than say a brand new cat from the sixties.

If anything about the car will kill anybody it's the fact the front pillars can obscure an entire cyclist at the right angle. I'm not sitting here fretting about death, lawsuits maybe in the case of flat children but not death.

As for getting tools out - no. Changing wheels and gaining basic information such as if there's any pad left at all are about the limit of my mechanic expertise.