Brakes

[MondeoMan1981]

Had pads and discs fitted at a local garage just over a week ago.

Checking tyre pressures this morning and noticed through wheel that only the outer half of the disc friction surface is being contacted by the pad..... Any idea what can cause this?

Ill be taking the car back tomorrow but keen for opinions !

Note its only one side of the car this is happening on and it drives fine...

Edited by MondeoMan1981 on Sunday 3rd June 12:04

[anonymous-user]

Just use the brakes a bit more! They haven't bedded in yet!

[mrmr96]

As above, sounds like they are not bedded in yet.

How many miles, and what type of driving has your car done since fitting the brakes?

[MondeoMan1981]

350 miles - one third mway , one third stop start traffic and one third A road with odd stop start.

Worth finding a quiet road and doing some slows 30 to 5 mph to see if it fixes ?

[CraigyMc]

MondeoMan1981 said:

350 miles - one third mway , one third stop start traffic and one third A road with odd stop start.

Worth finding a quiet road and doing some slows 30 to 5 mph to see if it fixes ?

It almost certainly will fix it.

Is it possible that you're just the sort of driver who is light on the brakes? (I mean that as a compliment by the way!)

If you are, it might just take a while to bed them in. I did 250 miles up to North Wales from Hampshire the other week - for a couple of hours of that I don't think I touched the brakes at all.

C

[BliarOut]

MondeoMan1981 said:

350 miles - one third mway , one third stop start traffic and one third A road with odd stop start.

Worth finding a quiet road and doing some slows 30 to 5 mph to see if it fixes ?

Bedding procedure for mine is half a dozen three figure hard stops

Sounds like you're just a gentle braker

[MondeoMan1981]

Having gone to this car from having a 307 for a week I thought I was stamping on the pedal.... Right that's this afternoons mission, see if I can find a quiet road or motorway off slip !

[CraigyMc]

MondeoMan1981 said:

Having gone to this car from having a 307 for a week I thought I was stamping on the pedal.... Right that's this afternoons mission, see if I can find a quiet road or motorway off slip !

I'd suggest a quiet road, if you can.

Off slips tend to terminate at junctions. That's the last place I'd want to find out about an actual braking problem.

C

[MondeoMan1981]

CraigyMc said:

I'd suggest a quiet road, if you can.

Off slips tend to terminate at junctions. That's the last place I'd want to find out about an actual braking problem.

C

Of course, should have said to brake hard and very early, with no one behind me

[mrmr96]

MondeoMan1981 said:

CraigyMc said:

I'd suggest a quiet road, if you can.

Off slips tend to terminate at junctions. That's the last place I'd want to find out about an actual braking problem.

C

Of course, should have said to brake hard and very early, with no one behind me

Bedding in procedure varies from pad to pad. With race spec pads the bedding in procedure involves a full heat cycle, so several brakes from 50-20, then a couple more 70-20, then a few 70+ to 20, then drive for another 10mins without using the brakes much to let them cool fully before parking up.

However if you're not using race spec pads, and you've installed new pads onto old discs then generally the bed in procedure is to drive normally/gently for a few hundred miles to let the pad wear to fit the disc but WITHOUT putting excess heat into either.

The potential downside of what you're planning to do this afternoon is that you'll heat the outside edge of the disc, but not the inside (due to the uneven contact patch). The result may be that the outside of the disc tries to expand, but the inside doesn't. As such your discs end up pringle shaped - warped.

I suggest continuing to be patient with them for the next 200 mixed miles, and try to use the brakes a bit harder that you are maybe... just so they wear a bit quicker, but don't deliberately try to heat them up.

/2pence

[MondeoMan1981]

Having gone to this car from having a 307 for a week I thought I was stamping on the pedal.... Right that's this afternoons mission, see if I can find a quiet road or motorway off slip !

[MondeoMan1981]

Car is in the garage as I type. When problem and solution found, I'll get it posted up incase anyone else has same issue and is using search function

[Mr2Mike]

Who read the title and thought a certain militant road safety organisation had called for another stupid law?

[SmoothCriminal]

Mr2Mike said:

Who read the title and thought a certain militant road safety organisation had called for another stupid law?

Me

[HustleRussell]

May I be the first to buck the trend here and say that this doesn't sound like a bedding in issue. I'll bet this is a single piston caliper with a sliding pad carrier arrangement and that it needs freeing off, cleaning up and lubricating.

[JAHetfield]

HustleRussell said:

May I be the first to buck the trend here and say that this doesn't sound like a bedding in issue. I'll bet this is a single piston caliper with a sliding pad carrier arrangement and that it needs freeing off, cleaning up and lubricating.

My thoughts exactly

[smartphone hater]

I don't think it's a bedding in issue either.

[BliarOut]

If it was one side of the disc, yes.

[HustleRussell]

BliarOut said:

If it was one side of the disc, yes.

Judging by the extent of the OP's investigation (looking through the gaps in the wheel), I'd say that's probable.

[MondeoMan1981]

Issue was that a spring that provides equal pressure across the pad was missing. I assume it fell out when they were putting the brakes back together first time.

Replacement fitted and jobsagoodun.