Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 02 1.6 Brake Disc Change | Technical matters | Back Room Forum

Tue 30 Sep 2008 12:35

02 1.6 Brake Disc Change - ripjean

Hi all

I have a Focus which is in need of front brake disc replacement. I have read that pads should be changed at the same time as discs. I had my pads on new last year and they have done about 11000 mile and are hardly showing any wear. They are Ferodo pads. The car has covered 41000 miles.

My question is, is it vital to change the pads at the same time as discs? If the Ferodo pads were to be left on with new discs would this be bad?

Many thanks for any help I may get with this.

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 30/09/2008 at 13:26

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Tue 30 Sep 2008 12:38

02 1.6 Ford Focus Brake Disc Change - Collos25

Yes, the old pads will have worn to the contours of your worn discs and when you fit the new discs you will loose a considerably amount of braking efficiency.

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Tue 30 Sep 2008 12:44

02 1.6 Ford Focus Brake Disc Change - mjm

Or machine the old pads back to level and even up the thickness of them.

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Tue 30 Sep 2008 12:49

02 1.6 Ford Focus Brake Disc Change - ripjean

I know nothing about cars so would the garage do this machining and would the charge they make for it be high?

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Tue 30 Sep 2008 13:03

02 1.6 Ford Focus Brake Disc Change - mjm

I've never heard of a garage doing it. I was thinking more of someone you may know who may be working in an engineering workshop doing it for the cost of a pint.

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Tue 30 Sep 2008 13:17

02 1.6 Ford Focus Brake Disc Change - cheddar

Pads are not so expensive so not worth the cost of machining them, on the other hand if the surface is pretty flat and evenly worn I would be inclined to use them, roughen up the surface with a file which in itself will serve to even up any wear.

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Tue 30 Sep 2008 13:28

02 1.6 Ford Focus Brake Disc Change - mjm

I tend to agree, Cheddar. I'm lucky, I can wander into the workshop, pop the pads onto a parallel in the vice of the mill and a couple of minutes later they're flat. Last did it on a pair of pads after being in the OP's position, they were less than 1/4 worn. Filing flat and parallel is another option.

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Tue 30 Sep 2008 14:20

02 1.6 Ford Focus Brake Disc Change - ripjean

Unfortunately, I would need to ask the garage to do this as I wouldn't try myself. I guess they would probably just say that it would cost the same to replace the pads (though they probably would not fit Ferodo!).

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Tue 30 Sep 2008 14:33

02 1.6 Ford Focus Brake Disc Change - ripjean

Well I have just phoned my garage, and they have said that they will supply and fit the new discs, face the pads off if necessary, replace the brake fluid and carry out an MOT for £160. Does this sound like a fair price?

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Tue 30 Sep 2008 16:13

02 1.6 Ford Focus Brake Disc Change - cheddar

Yes, sounds fair to me.

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Mon 6 Oct 2008 14:44

02 1.6 Ford Focus Brake Disc Change - ripjean

Well I had the brake discs changed and all seems fine except one thing. With the old discs, when I had not used the car for a couple of days there used to be a build up of a rust coloured substance on the brake discs (brake dust at a guess?). However once I had driven the car the dust would completely dissapear. Now, with the new discs, there is stil a coat off dust on the outside rim of the disc and on the main hub, even after driving it. The middle of the discs are clean. Is this normal?

Thanks

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Mon 6 Oct 2008 15:38

02 1.6 Ford Focus Brake Disc Change - mjm

Yes, perfectly normal.

Your rust coloured substance is actually rust. The brake pads are removing it from the working faces of the discs. The other faces will rust/accumulate dirt and dust until you either clean it off or the discs are replaced again.

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Mon 6 Oct 2008 15:45

02 1.6 Ford Focus Brake Disc Change - ripjean

Thanks for the reply mjm.

But am just wondering how with my other discs, the rust was cleaned of the whole face of the disc, but with the new discs rust still remains on the outer edges? Are the discs bigger than the previous ones?

Its all a learning process for me! :-)

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Mon 6 Oct 2008 17:22

02 1.6 Ford Focus Brake Disc Change - mfarrow

Are the discs bigger than the previous ones?

They could be - there is sometimes not much difference between disc sizes of different models so they might be slightly small though not exact.

You could also still be running-in the new pads, as although they have been flattened, they will not be perfectly contoured to the discs. Wait for 500miles then see.

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