Brakes on Ford Fiesta MK6

[klaudmjj]

I have a Ford Fiesta MK6 Zetec. After a long motorway drive, I decided to check my brakes just out of curiosity. I noticed that at the front wheels I have 1 brake pad in each caliper. Should I have 2?
The car has 60k miles if that matters.

[Baldchap]

There'll be one either side of the disc, but you possibly can't see the inside one for the brake disk.

ETA: If it's like the Focus and Ka that I have, one pad will be inserted into the piston inside the caliper and one will be interference fit in the housing. There's a bit of wire holds the whole thing under tension.

Edited by Baldchap on Wednesday 17th June 22:09

[klaudmjj]

Baldchap said:

There'll be one either side of the disc, but you possibly can't see the inside one for the brake disk.

ETA: If it's like the Focus and Ka that I have, one pad will be inserted into the piston inside the caliper and one will be interference fit in the housing. There's a bit of wire holds the whole thing under tension.

Edited by Baldchap on Wednesday 17th June 22:09

I think there is only one, on one side of the disc, I got my phone and took a video and didn't see a second brake pad on the other side of the disc.

[Haltamer]

klaudmjj said:

I think there is only one, on one side of the disc, I got my phone and took a video and didn't see a second brake pad on the other side of the disc.

Assuming they're a sliding calliper, that means either the bracket or the piston are in direct contact with the disc:- Both are bad for stopping, and, I imagine would be making an absolutely dreadful noise.

[klaudmjj]

Haltamer said:

Assuming they're a sliding calliper, that means either the bracket or the piston are in direct contact with the disc:- Both are bad for stopping, and, I imagine would be making an absolutely dreadful noise.

They don't make any noise, and I don't know if it's bad for stopping as I am a new driver and this is my first car. So I have nothing to compare to if that makes sense.

[Haltamer]

Hmm, Sounds like the pads are either very low or there's just not enough light to see the pads fully:- This cutaway shows what you should see through the gap at the top of the caliper:



May be worth popping a wheel off and taking a proper look both for peace of mind and so you can gain an understanding of the system

[klaudmjj]

Haltamer said:

Hmm, Sounds like the pads are either very low or there's just not enough light to see the pads fully:- This cutaway shows what you should see through the gap at the top of the calliper:



May be worth popping a wheel off and taking a proper look both for peace of mind and so you can gain an understanding of the system

I'll take the wheel off tomorrow and have a better look, I'll probably order some new brake pads and discs. Any recommendations? I'm not looking to spend a lot I just want them to, well work for everyday driving.
I was looking at these:
https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/bosch-brake-pad-101...
https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/pagid-brake-disc-10...

[Haltamer]

Both are decent suppliers; I can't see any issues with those for regular driving

[underwhelmist]

klaudmjj said:

I'll take the wheel off tomorrow and have a better look, I'll probably order some new brake pads and discs. Any recommendations? I'm not looking to spend a lot I just want them to, well work for everyday driving.
I was looking at these:
https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/bosch-brake-pad-101...
https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/pagid-brake-disc-10...

You don't know there's anything wrong with your brakes yet, why are you planning on replacing them? Have a look at how much pad material is left, measure the discs to make sure they're within the wear limit first. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

While you've got the wheel off the car you could whip the pads out and give any sliding surfaces and the caliper piston a clean. Make sure you put the pads back in the correct way round. Never ever, I mean NEVER, get under a car that's only supported by a jack.

[gusm2]

I'd get someone who knows what they're looking at to check it even to remove and replace the wheel.
I thought this may be a wind up to start with

[Evercross]

klaudmjj said:

They don't make any noise, and I don't know if it's bad for stopping as I am a new driver and this is my first car. So I have nothing to compare to if that makes sense.

Trust me you would know. If one pad is missing the noise would be very noticeable and stopping force would be drastically reduced compared to what you were used to (assuming you were once a learner in a fully working car!)

[gazza285]

klaudmjj said:

I got my phone and took a video and didn't see a second brake pad on the other side of the disc.

Lets see it then.

[The Wookie]

OP don’t take a wheel off and don’t take anything apart, you’re clearly inexperienced.

Get someone you know who knows what they’re doing to help you.

There’s almost certainly nothing wrong with your car and you’re more likely to make it unsafe yourself by messing around with it without a clue what you’re doing.

[Baldchap]

gazza285 said:

klaudmjj said:

I got my phone and took a video and didn't see a second brake pad on the other side of the disc.

Lets see it then.

This. I personally don't believe for an instant that there's only a pad on one side, I think OP is mistaken.

[GreenV8S]

klaudmjj said:

I'll take the wheel off tomorrow and have a better look,

No, don't mess with it.

If the car has been serviced according to its schedule it is highly unlikely the brakes need any attention. If it hasn't, plan to get that done but don't worry about the brakes in the meantime - there is no reason to think there is any problem with them.

[klaudmjj]

Okay, I didn't take the wheel off as it was raining today and just didn't want to deal with that. I did get a micrometre and a digital calliper and measured everything so here is what I measured.
From lip to lip on the brake disc, I got 21.76mm so I'm assuming the disc was 22mm thick brand new.
Then I measured the distance from the disc to the lip which was 1.36mm.
I then measured the overall thickness of the brake disc which was 19.8mm with a micrometre.
I have also made a video, here it is I did end up seeing the other brake pad, it's just very well hidden.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxcupd8GOPg

I do have experience with cars just not a lot, I would know what I would be doing, I have the tools to do the job. I have worked on my car before, flushed the power steering fluid but I understand it's not as complicated as changing brake discs and pads.

[mickyh7]

I can see both pads in the caliper on your video.
They are very obvious.

[underwhelmist]

mickyh7 said:

I can see both pads in the caliper on your video.
They are very obvious.

Agreed, the first pad (I assume that's the outer one) looks like it's got plenty of meat on it. I can't see the second (inner) pad as clearly - it's definitely there, I just can't see how much material it has. Unless there's a problem, which as others have said you would know about from the noise and poor braking, the inner pad should be fine too.

Don't mess with it.

[GreenV8S]

klaudmjj said:

as it was raining today

I hope that wasn't the only reason. Taking the wheel off a car that is driving normally and apparently in good working order because you think one of the brake pads is missing is completely bonkers. If you think that's a reasonable thing to do, I don't think it's safe to assume you're capable of removing and refitting the wheel safely.