Profiles..habits...and Mafs.

[mumof4]

so i could jack the car up..take the wheels off..and see..

 

 

I have one small problem which i just thought of..my wheel locking nut/bolt thingy is naffed..and i have 3 wheels with the locking nut on. :) ..crap...hmm...but i spose i could try and bend the pins back into shape......so that i could use it..

 

I want to do this job myself.....need to think ahead i think. :)

[seatkid]

I was told at the service that i still had 2k left in them...i havent even done 1k.....

:) No half respectable garage would send a car out with "2k" left on the pads..... thats worn out.....you could use 2k's worth in under 100 miles of heavy braking. Probably some more bullshit cos you can't measure a pad as 2k = paper thin

 

 

New discs and pads.....when were they last changed?

[Masked Marauder]

Hmmm........bigger job than i thought then.

 

Not really, but if you want to stay safe then you have to take the correct precautions.

 

Axle stands are a must, you should never work on a car that is only on a jack.

[seatkid]

You can get a good look by stripping off

The tone of this thread is slipping again...... :)

 

Brakes are a dirty job, and depending on the maintenance or rather lack of, can be a pig of a job. Good tools are essential, some muscle and patience. You may have to drill out the screw holding the disc, its often rusted away or been butchered. Remember to get plenty of brake cleaner and paper towelling. Don't do it on a pristine driveway and dust masks/gloves are highly recommended.

[mumof4]

I was told at the service that i still had 2k left in them...i havent even done 1k.....

:) No half respectable garage would send a car out with "2k" left on the pads..... thats worn out.....you could use 2k's worth in under 100 miles of heavy braking. Probably some more bullshit cos you can't measure a pad as 2k = paper thin

 

 

New discs and pads.....when were they last changed?

 

 

About 18 months ago..since then done about 9k miles ago roughly.Possibly more as we moved from scotland down to here....On my service sheet that i was given..it said check brakes in 2k miles....I reckon about 12k miles..he says about 9k miles.

[seatkid]

I was told at the service that i still had 2k left in them...i havent even done 1k.....

:) No half respectable garage would send a car out with "2k" left on the pads..... thats worn out.....you could use 2k's worth in under 100 miles of heavy braking. Probably some more bullshit cos you can't measure a pad as 2k = paper thin

 

New discs and pads.....when were they last changed?

 

About 18 months ago..since then done about 9k miles ago roughly.Possibly more as we moved from scotland down to here....On my service sheet that i was given..it said check brakes in 2k miles.

 

Sounds like the pads were changed when the discs should also have been changed. Worn discs mean the pads wear out ultra quick - 10k instead of 40k.... As I said earlier - brake judder are a sign that the discs are warped / worn badly and so should be changed.

[mumof4]

Discs were changed at the same time as i remember ordering them from Halfords at Peterhead in scotland!!...cost about 150/160 for pads and discs.

[Masked Marauder]

Clearly if the disks were changed then there should be minimal wear on them if the pads have only lasted 10K ish. The pads are clearly made of too soft a material for a Galaxy. If they do need changed then go for a Pagid or Mintex from GSF etc.

 

But in my opinion I think they may have glazed and that is why you are getting poor braking and squeal and judder. I have never known a garage pass on the opportunity of an easy buck for doing a set of pads, they normally tell you they won't last until the next service and change them.

[mumof4]

Glazed????what does that mean????I ordered the right pads for the galaxy as i double checked..i always do...

[Trigz]

"glazed" is where the brake pad surface gets to hot (ie from heavy braking, pads sticking in carrier, even incorrectly bedded in!!) and causes the resin in the pad material to go hard leaving a shiny brittle surface which can cause poor brake performance and squeaks!

Im sure you did get the correct pads for a galaxy, but what make of pads did you purchase from halfords? It doesnt pay to buy cheap brake parts!!

[mumof4]

they werent cheap..i remember that it was 85 quid for one set..and summit for the other..i know that he looked it up on the computer for the right ones...but as for make..i can only guess.

[Trigz]

as long as it wasnt halfords own brand, the're not that good !! i'd be inclined to give em a clean n grease make sure there is no rust on the carrier resticting the pads movement and check for glazing.

[mumof4]

Ok..looks like ill be stripping em down..and cleaning them off i guess...going to be fun!! :)

 

 

 

ermm..grease break pads???isnt that a bit...dangerous???

[Masked Marauder]

The pads are a friction material bonded to a metal plate. Where the plate touches the metal calipers then it can cause squealing. You put copper grease on the backs of the pads where they sit in the caliper to stop it happening. You don't grease where they run on the disks. That would just be silly*.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* And in the unlikely event that Cammy is reading this, I know it was 14 years ago you did it on your MK2 Escort, but your still a prat.

[sepulchrave]

...But don't your brake pads have a self-adhesive backing to help them pull away from the disc and prevent glazing? In which case surely grease on the back will negate the usefullness of this adhesive backing and cause the pads to 'polish' themselves into a mirror finish of glazed excellence! ;) Or are my brakes completely different to other Gals (i.e. I actually have done the work myself, and they work beautifully TA VERY MUCH!)?

[mumof4]

I have no idea.... ;)

[gregers]

personally i never just use my brakes to slow down,i always change gear at the same time and use engine braking aswell as the brakes.

[mumof4]

I do change gear..once i have slowed down sufficiently for the appropiate gear...but occasionally..i dont have time till the very last moment! ;)

[Masked Marauder]

The technique of engine braking is no longer taught to learner drivers, the way it is taught now is you brake until the engine is about to stall, then you put the clutch in and stop or select a gear to proceed.

 

Apparently it is more fuel efficient, but as the fuel is cut on the over run I can not see how.

 

And I have never heard of an adhesive backing on a brake pad, anti-squeal yes, adhesive, no. In any case there is no return spring on the calipers to draw the calipers away from the disks anyway, so why would you have adhesive backs?

[mumof4]

engine braking is using the gears i presume...i do use this method if slowling down slowly..like behind a lorry or slow moving vehicle which speeds up and then slows down depending on the state of the road or anything else that might affect it...

 

last night i went out and did some testing on the brakes....if i slow gradual the squeak is there..short and sharp like in emergency braking(but without dipping clutch)..it is not there..(that i could hear)so....when i get the chance and the time along with the correct tools (which i shall filch of me dad)...i will have a looksie at the brakes. ;)

[strouf]

Did you manage to sort the steering wheel problem you had ? I'm trying to find the thread, but I can't !!

 

As for the source of the squeal, it it's the clutch , it will be there when car is stationary (engine running).Goes away when pressing the clutch pedal.

[mumof4]

Yes steering is now fixed....i sort of whacked a tree when i turned the wheel and the car didnt respond as quickly as i was steering...the garage drained the power steering fluid and changed it for me aswell...there was a lot of crap in the fluid itself which he believes may have clogged a valve...everything is now in the hands of a solicitor against the two garages who said that there was nothing wrong with my steering at all...also against the garage who were supposed to have serviced it!! :)