Re: Uneven Brakes

The message from "Doki" contains these words:

Gravelly gutters?

Hmm. Kermit triggers the right front _just_ before the left - but MOT stations can check braking efficiency for you.

Pads and discs are fine. When I had new ones on a while ago, the lefts bedded in quicker than the right (which was entertaining to say the least).

Is that something that's wrong with me or the car :)? I've no idea what you mean TBH.

It doesn't make any difference to stopping, and it's not losing brake fluid, so I've not been worried. It'd be nice to have them lock up both at the same time mind. If the calipers are shot I might just upgrade to vented discs.

I'd have thought that, in this case, step one would be take it to the dealer (is it still under warranty?) and have them sort it out asap. If it's still under warranty, insist on having two brand new calipers fitted. If they don't go with that, then at the very least ask to have the sliders cleaned up properly and re-greased. If the car's been in daily use and the caliper piston seals are all ok, then this should cure the problem. If not, then get a pair of brand new calipers fitted.

Peter

Twas Sun, 20 Jul 2003 12:29:09 +0100 when "Doki" put finger to keyboard producing:

yes, it's part of the MOT test.

-- Regards. Mark.(AKA, Mr.Nice.) ___________________________________________________________ "To know the character of a man, give him anonymity" - Mr.Nice.

If you're locking up the front brakes, I would suggest that possibly you're driving too fast and/or braking too hard for the road conditions. I can only remember locking the fronts twice in over forty years of motoring. However, you still seem to have a problem - get it checked and sorted before somebody gets hurt.

Terry D.

Yes its the corner weights -- most UK market FWD cars except some Honda and Rover models do this.

Well, duh! :)

I forgot to put "the ABS" behind the word, "triggers," but the only times I've triggered it is when being a fool. :)

Forty years man and boy, hardest job in the world!

Had a drive in the car yesterday, and both front wheels lock up at the same time. Looks like the single skid mark I left the other day was because of weight transfer (idiot in a Clio pulled out from a side road, I moved onto the other side of the road to avoid him, otherwise quiet road at midnight).

If it's the front - see if one of the pads is stuck in the caliper with corrosion or muck (try and remove the pads, you'll soon see!) This can certainly happen if the pads are worn right down.

If it's the rear - take the drun off and have a look. Might be something obvious like a worn-out lining, broekn sprin or whatever. If it's the cycliders, you soon see a leak and the lingis will probably need replacing - at the same time as you replace the complete cyclinder! Again, one look will tell you if this is the cause. If all looks OK and is dry, perhaps just dusting-out the brakes might help. Damp brake dust can cause locking-up, as can slightly contaminated linings

That's assuming that tyre pressures, whell alignement etc, are all OK.

The OP wasn't complaining about a brake pull to the side only the NS locking first, this isn't a fault, just physics. The reason for it is due the fact most FWD cars are designed for LHD markets -- as a result in a LHD car the front corner weights are more evenly balanced as the engine block weight counter balances the drivers weight. With a RHD car the engine block and driver are on the same side as a result the near side wheel carries less download (weight) than the offside but the caliper piston dia is the same so must lock at a lower pedal pressure than the more heavily loaded offside.

The rear drum brakes have very little effect on this on a short wheel base FWD car the rears do very little of the braking -- less than 10% of the braking effort comes from the rear.