Just back from the MOT centre...

Emissions..PASS
Headlights..PASS
Brakes... FAIL..

Rear brakes / Handbrake is 10% which should be 16% on one side. The other isn't a great reading either. Though multiple times I've had issues with it holding on the hill etc so not too surprised this is catching up on me.

The front brakes passed, but one was just one digit away from being a fail or at least an advisory at 29 and should be below 30.

So I'm thinking full brake overhaul?

Fronts: pads replaced last august with cheap ones. They've been squeaking continuously for months now and last time we looked it looked fine, put it down to a clip being loose. Disks are chunky enough as are the pads, but this car has had issues of uneven pad wear so if I get new pads, what else should I get to stop this once and for all?

Rears: Only ever looked at the drums. Sure enough a typical mechanic had tampered with them as I learnt before I owned the car but now it must be addressed. What should I do here, new handbrake cable, new drum shoes, new drums?


I've 21 days but I'd like to order and fit these as soon as possible so I can drive my car so what's your advice and what parts should I go for? Don't mind forking out for Fiat if it means I get parts that aren't made of cheese.

Get another car! Kidding...

Without seeing the system, it could be anything from a wee brake service & clean up/adjustment to a full refit. Only you can figure this out by actually taking the drums off & looking at whats what.

Pop the drums off, remove the wear ridge, then adjust the shoes out as far as you can so the drum just fits over them.

D

We’re about to get stuck into a new investigation now .. will feed back with results

Panda front disc design is known for sticking callipers. This results in squealing brakes, poor brake response, uneven and rapid pad wear, higher than normal fuel consumption and decreased performance - because the brakes are effectively on constantly.

The answer is to remove the pads, carefully scrape the crud and corrosion from the calliper slides, do the same for the pad backing plates and reassemble.

If this is one cause of your problems you'll be amazed at the difference.

Check behind the rubber seal on the cylinders while your there.


Be a shame to ruin any good work by a weeping cylinder.

Euro Car Parts. Usually have about 35% discount at weekends. Price includes postage of course. Needing front set for mine, better get them ordered. Of course they stock Pagit dearer ones but I have no problem with cheaper. Check them out, have used them on my Voyager last 5 years..Not worth removing the ridges on old discs for what you pay.

Found the culprit...

I have long spoken about a 'welded handbrake' and poor handbrake on my Panda. Poor workmanship by a so-called mechanic before I took ownership of it has finally caught up.. Picture shows a little ball of weld blocking the adjusters from doing their job. This is present on both sides of the axle.

So what are we doing about it?
The following parts are ordered and should be here by the end of the week:

- New Drum Shoe Set
- New Adjusters
- New springs/clips set for drums
And to address the squeak and MOT reported low performance of the front brakes
- New front discs
- New front pad set
As well as the mandatory brake calliper clean up and re-lube

I've also got a headlight on order as one of mine has become quite the aquarium.. Though oddly the light passed the MOT full of water...
---

Total cost of MOT from the original test to the new light and brake parts.. some of which I needed, others I wanted.. .£180 ish

The things we do for these Italian boxes eh?

Also decided to take a look at the spring cups and rear axle..

Told my uncle about the stories of people having them fall through. He took a look. Said he could almost guarantee that in the time I own the car it won't be a problem. Apparently they're solid and as like new as they could be given the age of the car... That's another thing I can stop worrying about lol

koalar said:

Check behind the rubber seal on the cylinders while your there.


Be a shame to ruin any good work by a weeping cylinder.

Click to expand...

Cylinders are fine, dry and oil free! (on the outside!) Thanks for the advice

SB1500 said:

Cylinders are fine, dry and oil free! (on the outside!) Thanks for the advice

Click to expand...

Has the fluid been changed recently - I forget? Did you get all air out of the system? That'll affect braking pressure.

What you've done so far is sensible though.

When you fit the new discs and drums, clean off the surface on the hubs with a wire brush, where the two make contact.

Any grit, dirt or rust trapped in between can cause the disc/drum to run out of true.

As you're in so far with the brakes, it's probably worth renewing the fluid and checking the master and slave cylinders for leaks and the pipe work for leaks and rust.

It's difficult without a cable oiler to lube the handbrake cables while they are on the car, but you can get a bit of light oil down the ends.
While it's undone from the rear drum, tie up the free end as high as you can, mould some plasticine or similar around the end of the outer cable like a funnel and pour in some oil.
Left long enough most of it will seep down the inner cable and work it's way along with use.

Make sure you bleed it first!

its possible that bit of weld has been added to take up wear in the drums.

You might as well add a pair of drums to your shopping list. Saves a lot of grinding.

D

rallycinq said:

its possible that bit of weld has been added to take up wear in the drums.



You might as well add a pair of drums to your shopping list. Saves a lot of grinding.



D

Click to expand...

Actual drum cover and backing plate?

Might do if they’re available in store.

Tomorrow last item should arrive

My time with my '05 Panda has come to an end. My first issue came at just under 30,000 miles when the front pads wore down to the rivets; cue new pads and discs. After several years with Fiesta Ghias and Focus Zetecs I was lulled into a false sense of security by having a pad wear warning light on the Fords.

After that though, I'm pretty certain it only had two more sets of pads in 112,000 miles, although I can't remember if I ever replaced the discs again. I did have a new handbrake assembly fitted after around 90,000 miles as the ratchet had worn away and further down the cable the miles had taken their toll.

Cables and linkages, in fact almost anything that spends years under a car prone to wear from water, mud, slush and salt is bound to wear out sooner or later; all you can really do is delay the inevitable.

However, a competent mechanic should be able to do quite a lot during routine maintenance to lengthen the life of the components. I had a couple of cases where the rear brakes squealed until the pedal was depressed slightly or the handbrake pulled on a little. A bit of adjustment and a few dabs of grease seemed to do the trick.

If there are two components I think are really worth taking care of, it's the tyres and the brakes. When I've replaced discs, it's been with FIAT branded items and when it came to pads, they've been by Brembo

Tyres have only ever been Contis (from new) Avons or Vredenstein.

Progress

I remember the day of the original Micra

Pads were the size of peanuts.

Up in the hills you would be lucky to get a year out of them.

SB1500 said:

Actual drum cover and backing plate?

Might do if they’re available in store.

Tomorrow last item should arrive

Click to expand...

If all the shoes look like the one in photo they are fine and don't need replacing. Just keep them in locations they are already in and they are bedded to drum.
The auto adjusters need replacing correctly.
If they are assembled and fitted correctly there is no reason to mess them up with blobs of weld.

The Beard said:

My time with my '05 Panda has come to an end.

Click to expand...

Poor wee donkey!

Not wanting to drag things out on this thread, but as usual we are going round in circles practically saying the same things. Obviously with any braking system that requires seeing to, you have to take the drums off & assess what needs replacing or adjusted in the "whole" system, it's as simple as that. On cars of a certain age keeping an eye on things such as the handbrake & rectifying if need be should be carried out a couple of times a year.

I'm a bit surprised by the welds on the adjusters. Is this the first time SB1500 has removed the rear drums? If you knew about this, it was just a matter of time when it needed sorting out. Not really aimed at anyone in particular but it's only when the braking system fails to work properly/fails MOT that it's looked at. Not a difficult job & if you have the facilities combined with good weather a satisfying task.