hot brakes!!

[TEKILA]

hey guys

so yesterday i was driving on the eastern freeway getting off onto hoddle street and as i came to a stop i noticed my rear brakes made a squeek noise.

I looked in my side mirror and noticed they were smoking, my first instinct was to check the handbrake which wasnt on, and the car wasnt sluggish at all. so i pulled over and the disc was literally glowing red!!


Took it to a ford dealership, got them to give her a service as it was due, but they couldnt rectify why my brakes were glowing red. they said it could have been caused by something being stuck? they took the disc off and checks everything and all clips etc were in place.

I had the discs and pads on the rear replaed 13000 kms ago, so they are stil pretty much new. i had the tyres replaced about 2 weeks ago. i dont thrash the car and brake hard, and didnt hit any pot holes so i was stumped myself.

Could any one explain please???
i have lost a bit of life in the discs and pads which im not too happpy about, but i will be getting a new car in november so il be happy to have them last until then.

thanks
brad

[DBourne]

siezed piston in the caliper perhaps?

Was it only 1 brake that was like that?

[DZFord]

How fast were you going on that hoddle street exit!?

I'd agree with SgtBourne. The only way you'd be able to get the brakes that hot is to drive down the eastern freeway with one of the brakes unintentionally engaged.

The last time I saw glowing brake rotors was when I watched bathust last year, similar to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnQZ8tyX0ms

[BlackLS]

Once the brakes are heated over a threshold they lose their effectiveness aka brake fade.

[TEKILA]

thats what i was told - seized caliper.

they tested everything and it seemed to be fine after that, they couldnt give me an exact answer.

i drove the car no different to any other day, i dont push it hard at all as i drive over 700kms a week.

since it happened i have driven 300+kms now and there hasnt been a problem since.

and yes, it was only one brake, the RHR one.

[TEKILA]

had a similar problem again today after it was only serviced one month ago now (major service 60,000km)

on eastlink heard a very slight grinding noise from right hand rear brake, pulled over and saw a little bit of smoke coming from the brakes.

rang up the dealership and gave them an earful.

anyone have any ideas? its getting quite annoying they cant fix a problem

id take it elsewhere to a brake specialist, but they need to fix it properly if i spent money there getting them to fix it

[XR5-Boy]

Hey Brad,

The old man's car (Mondeo XR5) had a similar problem where the right hand rear brake had worn our completely. Only problem was the car had done 20,000kms and the other 3 were totally fine. They reckon it was a seized caliper. I don't know what Ford did to 'fix' it, but they did so under warranty (but, Ford Australia wouldn't cover it, claiming it was normal wear!!) the Dealership absorbed the cost because they refused to let dad pay for it.

Which Ford Dealership did you take it to?

[DBourne]

Just an FYI, I know with the XR5 the handbrake operates by pushing the right rear piston onto the brake pad.

Assuming it's the same as your focus, perhaps this is what is causing you drama?

[Velociraptor82]

yes, all focus (at least LS and up that i know of) have the hand brake built into the caliper by ativating the pistons. hence why i no longer have a hand brake. :

[Tj-zetec]

That explains why it's not much chop at handbrake turns..... Uhhh... Or so I've heard.

If it's the caliper that the hand brake activates i'd be checking the whole handbrake setup, see if the cable is catching somewhere and then check the hand brake mechanism on the caliper it's self. Could be jammed or have some crud in there.

Failing all that, I'd be stripping the caliper down. Checking the external rubber seal, checking the piston, making sure there's no scores or marks on it and checking the seal on the piston.

If I remember right you have to screw the pistons in too. Major PITA if you (like me) don't have the tool for it.

I'd like to think ford would have done all that.

[DBourne]

Originally Posted by Tj-zetec

I'd like to think ford would have done all that.

You'd also like to think Ford could service one of their own without silly mistakes, but you'd be wrong

[alky89]

is it at all possible to take your car to the dealership and yell at them continuously until they fix it? or even try another dealership. make sure you go down in person. talking on the phone or sending emails etc wont get you anywhere. make yourself clear that you dont want any mucking around with something as vital as brakes.

failing that, then you'll have to either take it to another workshop or do as tj suggested and take a look at it yourself. the weird thing is that the problem only happens occasionally.

i changed my rear brake pads last week and yes it is a serious pain in the *** if you dont have the right tool. hence my car spent 2 nights on jackstands. take a look at my thread on the rear brakes and it should make the job much easier.

on my car there was a handbrake cable connected the caliper on each side. when i pulled on the lever that the cable connects to, the piston clearly extends, then retracts when i release the lever.

sgtbourne are you sure the handbrake is only connected to the right caliper on the xr5? because thats not a smart idea at all.

[DBourne]

I am reasonably sure Alky.

Only because I had an issue that related to it. You may be correct in saying it does both, I didn't have a need to check the left hand side.

Oh, and another idea, just make sure (and whilst this sounds silly, don't discount it) that the pads are in the right spot.

I.E. the outer pad is infact on the outer and the inner pad is on the inside

[partzkid]

edit, stuffed up