I've had suspicions that the brakes are binding at the front of my Panda for a little while, the old brake pads were very unevenly worn it seemed. Today I've noticed more of a smell from at least one side of the front wheels and also a bit of a higher pitched noise when driving uphill (not sure if this is significant?) No noise on braking though!
The noise does happen to be on the same side as the strut I put on this week. But it doesn't sound like it is to do with the suspension.

Any ideas? I'm guessing it's to do with the likely brake binding....

At the risk of sounding like Captain obvious, whip off the wheels and see what is going on.

jimboy said:

At the risk of sounding like Captain obvious, whip off the wheels and see what is going on.

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That's the plan for when I get a chance tomorrow, just wanted to see if it sounded like anything obvious to anyone.

At a guess it’s probably sticky sliders. It’s worth giving a good service to both sides while you are at it. When was the last time were the brakes done, looked at.

jimboy said:

At a guess it’s probably sticky sliders. It’s worth giving a good service to both sides while you are at it. When was the last time were the brakes done, looked at.

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I changed the pads not too long ago. The sliders seemed free. But I didn't have a proper look really. It needs new discs soon, so I may get some asap and give them a good going over then

Make sure that pistons are free.

jimboy said:

Make sure that pistons are free.

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I managed to wind them back when putting new pads in. I vaguely remember one being harder to retract than the other. But I'll check both again

Fairly certain the N/S front caliper is sticking in some way, just been for a drive and the driver side was cold and the passenger side was warm and smelt like hot brakes. I'll try greasing the sliders first, but I doubt calipers are expensive for the Panda, so it isn't the end of the world putting a new caliper on.

I haven't noticed any decrease in MPG. If anything, it was been better since the weather has been warmer, probably 10-12% better than a few months ago.

Open the bleed nipple with a drain tube attached. The caliper piston should push back easily. If it's stiff, pump it right out and clean the seals. Clip the brake hose so you don't lose your brake fluid.

Replace the piston with red grease DO NOT use silicone grease. Then do the other side as you will want the calipers to work similarly on both sides.

DaveMcT said:

Open the bleed nipple with a drain tube attached. The caliper piston should push back easily. If it's stiff, pump it right out and clean the seals. Clip the brake hose so you don't lose your brake fluid.

Replace the piston with red grease DO NOT use silicone grease. Then do the other side as you will want the calipers to work similarly on both sides.

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I'll give that a go. Cheers
Any particular brand of grease to use?

Gman88667733 said:

I'll give that a go. Cheers
Any particular brand of grease to use?

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Just needs to be specifically 'red brake grease'. Nothing else will do. It is a vegetable based grease. If you use anything mineral based it is likely to swell the seals.

Check not just the slider pins, but the caliper in its bracket. The caliper carrier can rust so the caliper no longer slides easily.

portland_bill said:

Just needs to be specifically 'red brake grease'. Nothing else will do. It is a vegetable based grease. If you use anything mineral based it is likely to swell the seals.

Check not just the slider pins, but the caliper in its bracket. The caliper carrier can rust so the caliper no longer slides easily.

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Cheers, I'll get right on it

When I had the wheel off to change the strut, it all span very freely. So could it just be very slightly sticking? My previous experience with sticking brakes (very recently) on another car was that the wheel barely moved

I have a feeling it is both front sides. I recall both sets of pads being slightly unevenly worn and one of the wheels still produces a warm brake smell sometimes, just not as much as the passenger side.

Unevenly worn pads suggests caliper not moving freely in its carrier, a common issue.

Occasionally, old brake hoses can break down inside, and the walls act like valves, allowing fluid one way, but restricting its return. This can hold the brakes on, for varying lengths of time, but would usually wear both pads fairly evenly. With wheel off, after checking that the disc can rotate ok, tread hard on the brake, release, then check the disc movement again. Any doubt, new hoses are always a good thing.

Make sure the pads are free in pad carrier.
The pads should be free to move toward and away from disc.
Rust build up on pad carrier pinching the pad backing plate stopping free pad movement.
The rust is usually very hard , filing or sanding back to clean metal before applying anti sieze grease is required.
If car has shiny pad clips the rust builds up under these pad clips(anti rattle shims)

I've seen brakehoses desintegrate on the inside (especially on older brakefluid). It blocks the fluid on returning. If you can push the caliper in easily with the bleeder opened, it could be the hose.

gr J

jackwhoo said:

Make sure the pads are free in pad carrier.
The pads should be free to move toward and away from disc.
Rust build up on pad carrier pinching the pad backing plate stopping free pad movement.
The rust is usually very hard , filing or sanding back to clean metal before applying anti sieze grease is required.
If car has shiny pad clips the rust builds up under these pad clips(anti rattle shims)

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When I replaced the old pads, they were very wedged in. Took a fair bit of force to remove.

The pads should just sit nicely in the carrier. Loose enough to move when needed, but not so loose that they rattle. The carrier wears as well as rusts. Position of new pads mightbe a nice slack fit, but as they wear they might then get tight with a bit of rust.
Pads start as a metal stamping. Some pads are a bit rough around the edges, and may need dresing a little with a file to ensure they aren't tight. Need to ensure they are on all the way of their potential travel. If carrier is off, easy to check, but with carrier on, disc gets in the way. Put them in backwards just to check free play, then put them in the right way.

Gman88667733 said:

I'll give that a go. Cheers
Any particular brand of grease to use?

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"Red brake grease" "red rubber grease"

This will last a DIY a lifetime
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPECIAL-...672134&hash=item5b11fb8de1:g:K5kAAOSwW6Nc4bSM

You can get a 70g tube for 1/2 the price which will crack and split over time.

A3jeroen said:

I've seen brakehoses desintegrate on the inside (especially on older brakefluid). It blocks the fluid on returning. If you can push the caliper in easily with the bleeder opened, it could be the hose.

gr J

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I always push the piston back with bleed nipple open to expel the old fluid from the caliper. It wont show up a delaminating brake hose. But it does show up a sticking piston seal.

The test for a sticking caliper is a 1 x 1 batten and a hammer. Drift the pad carrier. if the brake frees off, you need to rebuild it. It's a method that got me home one time.