Urgent help - Front brake problem?
 

I drove 170 miles on Friday evening with no problem whatsoever, brakes fine all working perfectly.

I then drove 50 miles yesterday (Sunday) at 70 mph or so, and when I got out to fill up with petrol there was a horrid smell of hot brakes which kind of reminded me of the smell you get after being on track and working the brakes very hard. I felt the temperature of the wheels and they were all even, so put it down to something in the air or another car.

Today I went for a short drive around town at a max of 40mph, and when I got out even after only driving 5 miles there was the same smell. I then used the old nose and tracked the problem to the front drivers side wheel. The brake disk was noticeably hotter than the passenger side.

The brakes still work fine, there is no pull in any direction and when not on throttle the car feels the same as usual, so I am not sure what the issue could be.

I need to get this sorted, I am still more than 140 miles from home and in 5 weeks I am driving the car across Spain from north to south.

Could it be a bearing rather than the brakes?

Sticking caliper

Can anything be done to free it up, its been fine up until yesterday.

Wheel bearings were fine at the MOT 4 weeks ago, and the car has only done 420 miles since then, there are no other symptoms like bearing noise and the wheel was not hot just the brake disk which was a lot hotter than the passenger one.

I would say it's definitely not a bearing.

The piston. in the caliper will be corroded, if you can obtain new seals than remove the pistons and carefully clean the rust off them with wet & dry and rebuild. It doesn't always work as it depends on how bad they are corroded.

Easier option is to fit new calipers :-( cost is somewhere in the region of £65 to £80 to £149 each depending on type Link

I would agree - sticking caliper piston. I've had one do the same and only 1 of the four on the same wheel sticking has caused the disk to warp slightly when it's heated up too much and you can feel uneven travel when braking.
When we looked at it on Saturday it was caused by water/crud getting past a piston seal that wasn't on properly and causing the piston to stick.
It's not a very old caliper and we were able to free it off so I've ordered some new discs and pads today which will be fitted on Thursday. We will clean up the caliper and see how it goes.
Got a great price on Pagid OEM discs and pads from ECP as they've got a 30% off sale on over the bank holiday weekend (code holiday30) and the whole lot for the front (2 discs and all front pads) was £108 incl vat and carriage, so not too bad. +++

Let us know what you think of the Pagids, as that's two so far I've heard of where we didn't think they were that great.

Strangely I had a look at what a load of different forums said and they didn't seem to come out too badly, but you've got to remember I'm lucky if I'm doing 4 or 5000 miles a year and due to the low profiles I'm not trying to drive it too fast either so I guess its each to their own. My last ones have been somewhat wasted/ruined by the sticking caliper so I'd have been even more upset if they were mega expensive ones. . . lol

Anyways I will give them a run up to the annual meet soon and let everyone know. It seems the Ferodos have a good name for brake pads but what does everyone else think? Seems to be one of those areas where 10 people will all have a different opinion!

The Pagids worked OK, but just didn't feel they had the 'bite' of the previous ones. But for the price (I got mine on special from ECP too), they were good. The ferodo (DS2500?) always seem to get a good write up.

Garage took a look at it this morning, up on ramps and all seems good. No signs of overheated brake disc, and both pads look to be in good order. I took the car for another run including several sharp stops , and it seems to be working at the moment.

I am driving 144 miles from Stevenage to Blandford shortly, so lets hope it continues this way. At least once I am at home getting it sorted is easier than here.

I got back to Dorset, although I am still not convinced all is well. I did the trip in several different legs.

First was Stevenage to Watford to meet up with a friend, no smell.
Second was Watford to Winchester Services, again no smell.
Third was Winchester Services to Tesco in Blandford, again no smell.
But
Fourth was Tesco to home, about 2.5 miles across town, and I am sure there was a smell when I got home. However, the there may have been hint of oilyness in the air. perhaps the smells cause is something totally different.

Engine oil level normal, brake fluid level normal,

Maybe there is some oil sitting on the block somewhere and due to the slow drive across town then there was a build up in the engine bay, I really don't know.

Or maybe when you're doing local driving around town you're both braking more plus turning the wheel more which emphasises the binding brakes issue if it's there and underlying. it will therefore heat up quicker and smell quicker.

I still feel you need to check the calipers a bit more thoroughly. . .

Does it smell like brakes/clutch or is it a stronger, more acrid smell?

From what you've said, especially as it's on the passenger side, it may be the output flange seal on the gearbox leaking fluid onto the nearside cat.

Could be miles out though but worth a look. :Confused:

its the off (drivers) side. I may end up letting a local Blandford garage take a look, the place that did the MOT also do service and other work.

As I said probably miles out. That'll teach me to read the thread properly. Doh:hammer:

Another vote for the front driveshaft seal. The brakes do get hot on an A8, but the smell would suggest fluid leak. Mine was leaking for a while and burned off on the Cat leaving little or no evidence, which fooled everyone until we got it up on the ramp and found the leak.

Driveshaft seal will drip on cat and stink, but leave no trace until you look close :) My D2 had it, smelt like hot oil. Brakes are a very different smell.

Would I be able to see signs of a leak without getting the car up on ramps.

I don't think you can as it's above the cats (somewhere) at the back of the box (?).

If it is the seal the smell will get worse to a point where you think the car is trying to kill you :D.

It's a very distinctive smell, not like brakes or clutch.

I am working on getting a local independent VAG specialist down here to take a look, I had the smell again this evening after driving just 1 mile at 40mph (three left turns and a roundabout). The engine was not up to temperature, but you could feel a lot of heat from the drivers front wheel area. The passenger side was normal, but the drivers side was noticeably hotter. when kneeled down by the wheel and engine running.

I was originally aiming for a Saturday and its booked in for a couple of weeks time, but based on this evenings experience I'll call them and see if I can take sometime off work to take the car over to them.

MkOneMan replaced my front discs and pads today whilst I was at work (thanks v much +++) and all vibration has gone and smooth and effective braking has returned. He cleaned the calipers and pistons out completely and as suspected water had got past the rubber seals on the offside front inner pistons so both were seized. All cleaned up and now working great but the sight of the old discs and the quality of the previous pads I had used (crumbled) made shocking viewing.

I still feel yours is sticking calipers related, have you had a proper look at both sides of the discs and pads?

Not both sides, but the outer pad and the disc are ok. I tried to get a better look behind, but the weather is not helping things at all, I just wish it would stop raining.

When they stick, the outside will look good, but the inside will be the problem.

I am taking it to the independent on Tuesday now, so I'll know then whats up.

Someone has suggested to me that the brake hose may be collapsing internally between the caliper and the cars brake lines. I'll also get them to check that whilst they have the car today.

I am currently driving their 21 year old modified H reg Golf GTI 16V and it feels very small compared to modern cars.

Car is all sorted, drove the Golf back to the garage. The bill was just 1 hours labour, the cause was a almost seized slider. Hopefully now its all been stripped down, cleaned up etc. and put back together its all sorted. They are very confident that its now fixed after an extensive road test, so lets see. The early part of next week will see the Audi racking up about 500 miles so that should test it.

I'm amazed how some people think up really wild scenarios..... always check the simple things first :tuttut:

That's exactly what yours turned out to be +++

Glad it's all sorted +++ and the cheapest fix.

Neil spot on with the brakes fella. You're getiing good at this :D

Noisy from brake pads and discs!
 

I recently replaced my D2 4.2 front brake pads and discs for new ones from Eurocarparts, Pagid brand.
It turns out they are horribily noisy, it's really unbearable.
At first I think after some break in things would improve, but got even worse.
Calipers and other brake components are fine.
Any ideas?

Thanks,

D.

Did the shims go back in ok Doug?

With some copper grease?

Or could just be that the Pagid pads aren't as good as they used to be :(

How much of a lip was on the disc when you replaced the pads?

I think he replaced the discs too so it wouldn't be that. I've got Pagid pads and discs on mine and they've been fine but if the shims are not in right or not copper greased then you may get some noise

I bought a set of pads for my Range Rover last year, they squealed like a pig being slaughtered, removed them and applied more copper grease, no change. I finally bought another set of pads and not had a problem since.

Sometimes you can be unlucky and buy pads that seem to be noisy, best speak with ECP as there will be a warranty with them...

I think I'm suffering a bit of this at the moment. The car's steering feels slightly heavier than usual and when I stop the car, occasionally the front N/S wheel feels hotter than the rest and there is an awful stink coming from it. There is noticeably more brake dust on that wheel that on the front O/S. Brake performance feels normal otherwise, but I know something is not quite right.

There seem to be a few local German car specialists in the area, and a few claiming to be Audi specialists. I doubt fixing a sticky calliper is really all that difficult but my trolley jack broke a few weeks ago, so I suspect taking it to a garage will be quicker and easier. Hopefully they won't have my eyes out for it!

Mine was sorted for the cost of 1 hours labour, its still fine to this day.

I have the below garage in mind for sorting the issue. They are well known local VAG specialists, and they looked after my brother's tuned SEAT Leon Cupra R 225 when he had it. They're not too far away.

http://www.swiftmotorengineering.co.uk/find.html

Someone on another forum recommended tapping the stuck brake assembly with a hammer. If I had a rubber hammer small enough to afford accuracy I may have been amenable to this idea. Any chance of it working? I can see the theory behind it, namely that it should dislodge the dirt stopping the calliper returning to it's usual position...

The problem with mine was that dirt had got attached to the sliders, the calliper was simply removed from the car and the sliders all cleaned up along with the calliper itself. The whole lot was then reassembled and tested, the amount of movement between it working and sticking is tiny, so I am not sure hitting it with a hammer will make much difference.

I think taking it to the local garage will be my best bit. I've seen people tapping brake assemblies with rubber mallets and rubber hammers before trying to free up seized parts. But I'd rather my pride and joy was running smooth minus the hammers!