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Hi, i have just been given a citroen ax dimension 954cc with the Teves calipers, when braking even at low speeds the brakes seem quite inafective even if i stomp on them as if trying to do an emergency stop, the car just gradually slows to a stop as if there isn't enough friction, and it takes quite some pedal pressure. The brakes are not spongy and the pedal doesn't need to be pumped and doesn't have excessive travel. If you roll down the driveway slowly and touch the pedal, all the four corners will brake with just a slight press, but any speed they are rubbish, ikt's like very bad brake fade but at slow speed, i daren't try them at high speed. I gave the brakes a checking over, rear shoes all even with plenty surface on them, left cylinder was leaking slighty so i renewed it and bled. No oil or contamination on the surfaces, then i checked the fronts, nearside pads still very thick as it only had new pads last year, offside i noticed that the outer pad has worn to half the thickness of the inner pad, i thought that maybe the caliper was seized but i tried the piston and it moves in and out with relative ease. The only thing i can think of that i have not checked is if the slider is sticking, but i cant see that making the brakes very poor even if it is. And finally, i realised when checking the bleeding procedure in the manual that i did it wrong, i did it rear right,rear left,front right,front left. it should be done diagonaly, but still i dont think this is causing the poor braking, i have bled every car i have ever had this way and always had good results. Its got me baffled.
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 23/01/2008 at 21:45
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Ande
Servo working? Tried exhausting it engine-off and then starting the engine with your foot already on the brake pedal and seeing if it goes down.
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No, not tried that. Ahh i see where your coming from, cos sometimes in my laguna i turn my engine off as i roll in the drive, and the feeling is the same as when i brake in the ax, it's the lack of servo assistance isn't it, it's gotta be, it hadn't even entered my head, cheers mate, i will look there tomorrow. I knew i knew that feeling but couldnt put my finger on it.
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my extended family has had one since new and the brakes have always been less than impressive
even compared to a mark I escort with no servo and no disks only drums
so depending what else youve been driving recently i wouldnt be surprised if the car was normal
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You know what, i think your probably right, i have tried the servo and it works fine, i have been working on cars for years, and the fact that i can't find anything wrong with the brakes leads me to think they are pink fluffy dice like you suggested, i drive a 2.0 16v rti s laguna every day and the brakes are excellent,i think i have forgotten how crap some brakes can be.
Edited by Webmaster on 25/01/2008 at 00:43
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These cars normally have quite good brakes so I suspect you have a problem.
if you have checked servo as screwloose suggested and all is well then I would suggest new pads. Your initial post describes them as having worn unevenly, so may be a stcicking caliper or a brake hose fault even. Either o which could lead to overheated pads and poor performance resulting from it.
Were the brakes good when pads and discs were replaced before? If so you have a definite problem.
If new pads makes no difference then I would suggest a quick visit to an mot station for a brake performance test to see if they can determine area of fault.
A collapsed brake hose or 2 would not surprise me (resulting in poor flow of fluid) for lack of pressure at the brakes
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Well the brake hoses were all replaced for the last mot, i can't say how well the brakes performed before the pads were replaced because it wasn't my car, yes the outer pad on the drivers side has worn thinner that the inner pad, but the piston moves in and out ok, i suspect the slider may be sticking which has worn down the one pad, but that wouldn't affect the other caliper, it would pull to the one side if anything. If this car is meant to be bled diagonaly and i did it right rear,left rear,right front,left front. Could this be causing it? The pedal isn't spongy.
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My Mum had a 1.0 AX and the brakes were awful on hers too. AFAIR she had them checked out at least once, and it passed MoTs, but the brakes never improved.
I didnt drive it much but when I did it would have me thinking, "Is this thing going to stop?!"
AFAIR the brakes were poor compared with my Mk3 Golf at the time, which did not have the best brakes itself.
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The Teves calipers slide on 2 pins, a meaty one at the top of the caliper and a weedy one at the bottom. In my limited experience you are likely to find the bottom pin well and truly seized and the pads may be seized in the caliper as well. If the caliper doesn't float properly, only the pad operated by the piston will wear. The Torx bolt for the bottom pin is supposed to hide inside a rubber tube with a plastic cap but these break and let crud in. If the discs are in good nick and the pads of reputable make I have found the AX braking performance to be good. I would persevere because I'm going to guess that the RH caliper is the only thing half working at the front; the left being completely seized.
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