Merc A Class - Wobbly Brakes

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Thu 13 Mar 2014 21:56
Merc A Class - Wobbly Brakes - Problem_Polo :-/

Evening all...

I'm after some pretty basic advice regarding my cheap as chips old A Class. I picked it up simply as a bargain hack, and for an S plater it's not bad; the arches are still there in all four corners and it's no more wooly to drive than any of these that I've come across (they're handy little tools but I'm no illusion that an early W168 is a 'good car') with just the usual lurching handling and spine breaking suspension characteristics!

Anyhow, the one pressing issue I do have is the brakes. There is a constant 'rubbing' when the car is moving, with the usual metallic 'tambourine' sound effects coming from what I'm pretty certain is the nearside front. When actually using the anchors the car lurches and shudders rather theatrically as the wheels are turning. I'm no mechanic, but the symptoms seem to point rather clearly to the discs and pads fouling for whatever reason, and clearly not making smooth contact when applied - I'm keen to avoid silly labour charges on a worthless car, so I'm curious whether just dropping it in for a new set of discs and pads on the front should cure my wobble - any thoughts?!

Edited by Problem_Polo :-/ on 13/03/2014 at 22:00

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Thu 13 Mar 2014 22:33
Merc A Class - Wobbly Brakes - Cyd

Certainly sounds like warped discs.

Try Premier Factors in Walsall for a set of Mintex discs and pads (they have an ebay shop under that name too). Should be well under a ton for the set and easy enough to change yourself (or get a mobile mechanic to do it to keep costs down).

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Fri 14 Mar 2014 11:38
Merc A Class - Wobbly Brakes - daveyjp
No more than £150 for new Mintex disks and pads fitted, but with a car that age caliper issues cannot be ruled out.

Edited by daveyjp on 14/03/2014 at 11:38

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