jackwhoo said:

Start car press brake pedal firmly.
Stop car
Do wheel spin by hand tests again.
Any difference in result?

Click to expand...

I'll check now.

jackwhoo said:

Start car press brake pedal firmly.
Stop car
Do wheel spin by hand tests again.
Any difference in result?

Click to expand...

Result is the same. Both spin 2-3 full turns before slowly stopping

How strange.

I was called to a sticking on front passenger side front brake recently, turned out it was the rear driver side that was dragging very badly.

The smell of warm brakes is definitely coming from the fronts.
Can I check the rears in the same way? Assuming I release the handbrake?

jackwhoo said:

How strange.

I was called to a sticking on front passenger side front brake recently, turned out it was the rear driver side that was dragging very badly.

Click to expand...

Checked the rears. Driver side span very freely, more so than the front with no noise, the other side span just as freely I'd say, but there was a slight bit of noise, like the brake shoe was touching the drum a tad? Not sure if this is normal on one side and not the other.

Gman88667733 said:

Checked the rears. Driver side span very freely, more so than the front with no noise, the other side span just as freely I'd say, but there was a slight bit of noise, like the brake shoe was touching the drum a tad? Not sure if this is normal on one side and not the other.

Click to expand...

I would say normal

jackwhoo said:

I would say normal

Click to expand...

Then what is causing the warm brake smell after driving then? I've never noticed hot/warm brakes smell working its way into the cabin whilst driving around town or at lower speeds before, not even on my other car which had a severely seized caliper.

Going to see how hard the caliper pistons are to retract this evening. I vaguely remember one side being harder than the other to push back in. Plus I'll give the pads a visual check to see if the ones I fitted 1-2k miles ago have worn unevenly.

Binding brakes are very obviously rubbing. Yours sound ok.

Interesting discovery.
The pads on the N/S have a strange ridge near the bottom on both pads. I'll attach a photo. It's like an area that had worn more.

Will check the O/S now.

Did you fit new pads to old discs?

jackwhoo said:

Did you fit new pads to old discs?

Click to expand...

I did...
New discs and pads this weekend though.

Similar ridge on O/S too.

That explains the smell .
Old discs get wear ridges.
New pads start flat and just touch the high parts of disc. This causes pads to overheat
Due to small contact area.
More importantly brake performance Is seriously reduced .

It is a false economy to replace pads but not discs , yes I know I'm always going on about this.

Good plan doing job properly this weekend

jackwhoo said:

That explains the smell .
Old discs get wear ridges.
New pads start flat and just touch the high parts of disc. This causes pads to overheat
Due to small contact area.
More importantly brake performance Is seriously reduced .

It is a false economy to replace pads but not discs , yes I know I'm always going on about this.

Good plan doing job properly this weekend

Click to expand...

I realise that now. Bit daft to go cheap on it really...
So you think new discs and pads will cure the issue?
If so, that's great!

Hi Gman

Im in Portland Bills camp, if new discs dont sort it then it will be the inside of the brake hoses breaking down, the service interval for brake fluid change is very commonly ignored, i will guess that the mileage of your car the fluid has probably never been changed where it shout be either 3 or 5 years(cant remember.

this issue happened on my sedicivalvole on one side only. did both sides on the repair and all new fluid.

Tim

It is highly likely.

Do not attempt to bed in new pads and discs by heavy braking , brake gently( unless you need to brake hard)
For first 200miles.

My Punto HGT had a binding front brake - what a stink! I got home by thumping the caliper with a lump of wood. That shook it loose enough to drive until I had to use the brakes again.

I replaced the brake hoses and exercised the brakes and all seemed ok, but a few weeks later it happened again. It had unusual brakes so I had to send the caliper away for servicing. I should have done both but was penniless at the time and £120 per side was more than enough.

Gman88667733 said:

So you think new discs and pads will cure the issue?

Click to expand...

Yes, but only if you properly clean and lubricate the reaction frames.

This thread shows you what you need to do.

jrkitching said:

Yes, but only if you properly clean and lubricate the reaction frames.

This thread shows you what you need to do.

Click to expand...

Gotcha. That'll be on my list to do at the weekend as well.