My son recently had the front brake pads and discs replaced at a fast fit operation as the pads were on their way out.
Now the new front offside pads keep binding sporadically after the car has been driven a couple of miles as shown by the wheel heating up and a burning smell.
Once cold I don't think there is any problem as the car can be easily rocked back and forward in neutral.
He took the car back and the mechanic had a good look and confirmed the pads were binding but couldn't find a problem with the callipers or pistons so said he'd they couldn't do anything else and he'd have to book the car into a garage.
The cars been booked into an independent for next week but I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on what the cause could be?
I thought about the master cylinder but if that was the case surely it would cause both sides to bind and the problem would occur all the time and not just intermittently?
Any advice gratefully received
As it is a Mk 1 it doesn't have ABS
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Since the problem has only occured since the new pads and discs have been fitted then the chances are that the problem is something to do with that particular work and dare I say that it ought to be sorted by the fast fit operation that has done said work. The brakes were okay before, so why aren't they now they have touched them, I think they are trying to pass the buck. My guess would be either a sticking caliper or incorrect/faulty pads or disc. I have seen it before where the wrong pads have been fitted that were marginally too thick for the application and thus after a few miles they heated up and started to bind. Whatever the fault is they should be able to diagnose it at least (if they have anything about them). I'm not trying to stereotype fast fit places, but I think that if you want any serious or safety related work doing then you are much better off using a 'proper' garage.
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The actual ruuber pipe can in some circumtances get damaged inside and act as a one way valve causing the brakes to stick on ,it then allows the fluid to return slowly so when you look it seems ok I have had this a only twice but was mind boggling the first time.
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i must agree with simon take it back to the garage or another depot explain nicely (ie don't lose your rag!) i know it can be hard! it could be the discs that are fitted are slightly thicker some car's have 2 sizes for the same car.
if you get nowere tell the manager you will complain to the head office that usually gets them more interested!!
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Are the parts that were fitted genuine spares? Pattern parts might not necessarily be to the OEM drawing dimensions.
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L\'escargot.
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I have come across this problem before with fast-fit places. Often the areas of the caliper where the pads sit are not cleaned up properly when the old pads are removed. Rust scale builds up on these contact areas causing the new pads to bind. Using a wire brush is not always effective and I regularly rmove the carrier from the hub to get it in the vice and use a file on it to remove the offending scale. Trial fit the pads to make sure they are free and smear a tiny amount of copper grease to the contact areas. Occasionally the paint on the new pads is sufficiently thick enough to cause this problem but a few strokes of the file sorts that one. Nothing clever really but it beats me why these places can't get their heads round the problem. Before now I have had to resort to using a hammer and drift to beat NEW pads out of the caliper to resolve this type of problem so I can only imagine they had been 'fitted' the same way!
Andrew
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Simplicate and add lightness!!
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I recently fitted replacement pads to my wife's mark 1 Punto (85SX 16v). The new pads tended to bind. I found that the reason was that the spring clip arrangement fixed to the back of the inner pads (the ones which the pistons operate on) was not correctly formed and tended to 'spring' the pad away from the piston. I bent the spring clips to match the shape of the clips on the old (OE) pads and the problem was cured. The new pads were expensive aftermarket performance ones and I was somewhat disappointed that they didn't fit properly straight out of the box.
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Thanks for all the advice.
My son took the car into the garage round the corner and they appear to have fixed the problem by replacing the front brake pipes
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