Technical Front right braking issues

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Technical Front right braking issues

ahmett

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Hello my front right acts weird under braking, there is a rumbling noise and sometimes a squealing noise. It happens more after hard driving. I did several brake tests and at maximum brakes the car stops well. Also car moves around a bit under braking. I asked the mechanic, he said the discs are worn, but as the pads still have meat in them, I should wait until the pads are finished then replace them all.

Could this be the famous sticking calliper? I hope the brakes don’t seize !

Could it also be suspension?
Wheel bearings ?

It passed the mot barely a year ago !
I am wondering if my car is finally showing signs of proper wear !
 
Could this be the famous sticking calliper?

It's certainly possible. If you're going to all the trouble of stripping down the brakes to lubricate them, and they're as worn as your mechanic says, then you'd best change pads & discs at the same time. In the UK, you'd pay about £85 for both pads & discs if you bought a decent aftermarket brand.

I hope the brakes don’t seize !

It's very unlikely. There's a lot of force available from the caliper; if a pad sticks, the pad may bend and the disc may warp, but it'll still stop the car. The pads & discs will both be scrap, but you'll be changing them next time anyway.

What might happen, though, is that a sticking pad could cause the brake disc & hub to overheat; if this gets excessive, it could lead to a ruined wheel bearing, so it should really be investigated.

Go for a drive and use the brakes as little as possible. If one side is noticeably hotter than the other, then I'd get it sorted soonest.

Could it also be suspension?
Wheel bearings ?

I am wondering if my car is finally showing signs of proper wear !

It's a 500 - what do you think ;)?

For sure, rumbling sounds are typical of failing bearings. Once again, you might be able to feel a difference in temperature between the two sides after a run. This tool would be the gold standard way to check for any temperature difference between the two sides.

You've been around here long enough not to need to ask if a well used 500 might have some wear in the suspension components :D ;).

I hope for you that it's just the brakes and you get it sorted as easily and cheaply as possible. You've already had your fair share of unscheduled expenditure on this car.

One change I'd like to see Fiat make is to replace the generic yellow triangle warning with an icon like this:
 

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The pad carriers get a bit of rust and brake dust build-up at the 'ears' of the pads where they locate and 'slide' in the carrier. This can cause the pads to stay in contact with the discs, or hold them away from the disc.

I have just (yesterday) replaced my pads and discs for this very reason.

On the right side, one pad was sticking, so in contact with the disc all the time. This then runs hotter, can wear the pad more quickly, or in my case, just cause scoring and uneven wear to the disc.
The other pad was sticking, so not contacting the disc unless a lot of pressure was used. In normal braking, only one pad is doing any work on that disc. This tries to bend the disc, and can cause the rumbling you hear. So hopefully, not wheel bearings.

Every year, the pads need removing, and the carriers cleaning. Or more frequently. A fine abrasive in a dremel worked a treat, much easier and quicker than a bit of abrasive paper or a wire brush. Take care not to enlarge the carrier.

Cleaning now may well 'fix' it short term, allowing you to get full wear from the pads. (I've just thrown away pads that were only about third worn, but the discs, after 11 years were well worn.)
 
It's certainly possible. If you're going to all the trouble of stripping down the brakes to lubricate them, and they're as worn as your mechanic says, then you'd best change pads & discs at the same time. In the UK, you'd pay about £85 for both pads & discs if you bought a decent aftermarket brand.



It's very unlikely. There's a lot of force available from the caliper; if a pad sticks, the pad may bend and the disc may warp, but it'll still stop the car. The pads & discs will both be scrap, but you'll be changing them next time anyway.

What might happen, though, is that a sticking pad could cause the brake disc & hub to overheat; if this gets excessive, it could lead to a ruined wheel bearing, so it should really be investigated.

Go for a drive and use the brakes as little as possible. If one side is noticeably hotter than the other, then I'd get it sorted soonest.



It's a 500 - what do you think ;)?

For sure, rumbling sounds are typical of failing bearings. Once again, you might be able to feel a difference in temperature between the two sides after a run. This tool would be the gold standard way to check for any temperature difference between the two sides.

You've been around here long enough not to need to ask if a well used 500 might have some wear in the suspension components :D ;).

I hope for you that it's just the brakes and you get it sorted as easily and cheaply as possible. You've already had your fair share of unscheduled expenditure on this car.

One change I'd like to see Fiat make is to replace the generic yellow triangle warning with an icon like this:


Thanks for the advice jrkitching! Lol my brakes always run hot with my driving style, but I haven’t noticed the front right being hotter than the left right! I usually do short trips in the city so I don’t care driving it until it doesn’t go anymore as I have the roadside assistance but now I took a long journey and am 200kms from the city! After a hard braking event the discs/pads on the right were scraping a lot which worried me, but this lasted about a minute before it became normal. When I get round to changing everything I’ll take pics for you guys to see how worn you can make your car !

Yes, I am fed up spending money on this car, that’s why I pretty much drive it until things break now, even though that isn’t the wisest thing to do
 
After my last aggressive 200 km mountain drive, my brakes are completely finished with the noise! So passed by a garage and wow, pads completely down to the metal, and caliper completely sticky (not releasing properly). So changing pads and cleaning out the calipers!

Only 60 EUR,30 for pads, 30 for labor, so a cheap fix. I mentioned the discs, he said they are thinner than new but are not warped, so he recommended one more brake pad cycle before changing them as well.

They said not to worry about the wheel bearing, looks ok.
 

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After my last aggressive 200 km mountain drive, my brakes are completely finished with the noise! So passed by a garage and wow, pads completely down to the metal, and caliper completely sticky (not releasing properly). So changing pads and cleaning out the calipers!

Only 60 EUR,30 for pads, 30 for labor, so a cheap fix. I mentioned the discs, he said they are thinner than new but are not warped, so he recommended one more brake pad cycle before changing them as well.

They said not to worry about the wheel bearing, looks ok.

Whilst I am clearly pleased that you are once again 'safe' ahmett, my main worry here is, do you ever do any preventative maintenance on your car? The last 500 my wife had, I swapped out the front pads myself for £25 and they were genuine Fiat pads! so 90 Euro aint cheap in my book!

This morning, I've just been outside and had both front wheels off my Saab 9-3. 10 minutes per side just checking the front suspension, ARB's, coil springs, brake pipes, pads and discs (though I only changed those myself 3000 miles ago). What I have discovered on my own car this morning though, is both tie rod ends have virtually no grease left in the bellows at the joints, so before they start 'knocking' or separate, I'll swap them out for new ones. No big deal, £16 each and my time costs me naff all!

That's called preventative maintenance and it saves a whole load of hassle and expense later! (y)
 
Whilst I am clearly pleased that you are once again 'safe' ahmett, my main worry here is, do you ever do any preventative maintenance on your car? The last 500 my wife had, I swapped out the front pads myself for £25 and they were genuine Fiat pads! so 90 Euro aint cheap in my book!

This morning, I've just been outside and had both front wheels off my Saab 9-3. 10 minutes per side just checking the front suspension, ARB's, coil springs, brake pipes, pads and discs (though I only changed those myself 3000 miles ago). What I have discovered on my own car this morning though, is both tie rod ends have virtually no grease left in the bellows at the joints, so before they start 'knocking' or separate, I'll swap them out for new ones. No big deal, £16 each and my time costs me naff all!

That's called preventative maintenance and it saves a whole load of hassle and expense later! (y)
55 euros = ) and don't forget the pads for the 1.4 are bigger and slightly more expensive than the 1.2/TA

No preventative maintenance on my car except oil and coolant = )
 
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