Saxo brakes

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Thu 31 Jul 2003 23:26
Saxo brakes - John Boy
The disc brakes on my girlfriend's Saxo sound noisy when they are applied. They always sound as if the discs have a thick coating of rust and, at worst, they can sound as if a small stone is caught in the mechanism and rubbing against the disc. Various people who have serviced the vehicle seem to regard it as normal, but it is very disconcerting. Is this phenomenon a characteristic of this car?
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Fri 1 Aug 2003 12:33
Saxo brakes - Malcolm_L
Jack the car and take the wheels off, check the following:

1. Rotate each wheel and get someone to apply the brakes lightly
try to identify which wheel is causing the problem.

2. Take the wheel(s) off and check that the pads haven't worn
through - it may be only one pad worn due to a sticking
piston or caliper.

3. Check disc wear - if there is a substantial lip between
the very outside of disk and the worn inner, they may need
replacing.

My money is the sticking caliper!

Let us know
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Sat 2 Aug 2003 21:17
Saxo brakes - John Boy
Thanks for the pointers, Malcolm. Sorry about the delay in getting back. After posting the original message, we read earlier posts about rusty discs. It has been suggested that my girlfriend doesn't brake enough in daily use to remove overnight rust from the discs, so I decided to take the car for a long run myself. It had been standing for a few days and, although the noise got quieter after a long downhill run with light braking pressure, it didn't dissappear completely. In addition, the pedal seemed to need a lot of pressure to be effective. It was obvious that the wheel on the passenger side was causing the noise.

When we got it off, we found that one pad, the inside, was more worn than the other. Also, the pad on the outside didn't seem to be applying much pressure to the outside of the disc radius - about half the swept area was not shiny. I'm assuming therefore that the caliper is seized.

On the other side, the pads were equal in thickness, but, again, the whole of the swept area of the outside of the disc was not shiny - the outer quarter of the radius was untouched. Probably, then, a problem is beginning there too.
Thanks again for the help.
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Mon 4 Aug 2003 18:52
Saxo brakes - Carl2
The pins on these brakes always get a bit sticky . Halfords do a replacement pack very cheaply. Just give them a very light smear of copper grease then replace them. The discs can be purchased for about £9.50 from GSF.
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