Will take a trip down the local scrappy sounds easier

Im pretty sure the rubber around the piston section that pushes the brakes is all worn and tatty.

if it were a problem with the brakes them self then you would see a drop in MPG because of binding.

and as you've had new discs you can rule out rusty old knackered discs grinding the pads down.

you might have a imbalance in that the fronts are doing all the work or your just heavy on the brakes.

as you say its squealing then strip down reapply the copper grease to the back of the pads and put it all back together. if the pads are knackered again then it really is your driving style combined with the hilly area you live in.

AndyRKett said:

if it were a problem with the brakes them self then you would see a drop in MPG because of binding.

and as you've had new discs you can rule out rusty old knackered discs grinding the pads down.

you might have a imbalance in that the fronts are doing all the work or your just heavy on the brakes.

as you say its squealing then strip down reapply the copper grease to the back of the pads and put it all back together. if the pads are knackered again then it really is your driving style combined with the hilly area you live in.

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I cant see my driving style be bad for the pads though.

My friend whos driving a seat ibiza 1.9 tdi remapped.

He lives up the road and canes it everywhere. He brakes really late and sharply yet he'll get a good 6 months out of his.

I brake well in advance, fair enough i normally cruise in 5th down hills and rely on the brakes to slow me down but im now using engine braking.

I do engine brake when approaching junctions or having to stop by going down all the gears.

Am i doing something wrong lol?

SouLz said:

I cant see my driving style be bad for the pads though.

My friend whos driving a seat ibiza 1.9 tdi remapped.

He lives up the road and canes it everywhere. He brakes really late and sharply yet he'll get a good 6 months out of his.

I brake well in advance, fair enough i normally cruise in 5th down hills and rely on the brakes to slow me down but im now using engine braking.

I do engine brake when approaching junctions or having to stop by going down all the gears.

Am i doing something wrong lol?

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Fir the sake of a tenner get another caliper mate...we can't judge the state of your driving or caliper over the net...and iv had me brake pads smoking after taking the car on track and still got another 3 month's out of them after that so it's defo not your driving

SouLz said:

Yeah i always use copper grease, Hasn't squealed up until now.

Just seems weird that i could be shredding through brakes.

Ive got 41.8 MPG around town, i do have a bit of a blast occasionally but pretty sure the pads shouldn't just crumble away.

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totally disagree! 41.8mpg (presume its a 1.2), in a hilly area, says the pads aren't binding so changing callipers is not going to solve anything but costing money. I would love to know a scrap yard that sells callipers for a tenner !

rolling down hills grinding the pads away in 5th gear however will tear through callipers in no time.

until SouLz takes a front wheel off the car there is no guarantee that the pads are knackered, might just be squealing which isn't a sign of needing new pads

AndyRKett said:

totally disagree! 41.8mpg (presume its a 1.2), in a hilly area, says the pads aren't binding so changing callipers is not going to solve anything but costing money. I would love to know a scrap yard that sells callipers for a tenner !

rolling down hills grinding the pads away in 5th gear however will tear through callipers in no time.

until SouLz takes a front wheel off the car there is no guarantee that the pads are knackered, might just be squealing which isn't a sign of needing new pads

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For a punto caliper...nearly every scrap yard in Bradford/Leeds it's not a Ferrari lol even U pull it give you for a tenner I think...there was some on here for not much look if there still for sale in classified

If the callipers are shot (unlikely) you can get exchange units which are as good as new for £50. Junk from the scrappy is likely to be no better than what's on the car. If the brake hoses are old, fit new ones they don't cost megabux.

Squealing noise is the pads jamming in the calliper slots. Use a good quality high solids anti seize paste on the edges of the pads where they sit in the calliper. Dont forget to clean the pad slots in the calliper.

If the discs have a wear ridge on the outer edge, fit new ones they are about £10 each or less in a parts factors. Dont forget to check the wheel bearing for play before taking the discs off. No play at all is correct.

If the rear shoes seem to be wearing out fast (e.g. they soon run out of adjustment range), its likely the drums are worn. Again if there is a wear ridge fit new drums.

The biggest issue with driving style is people who brake for any and every time they want to slow down. Think ahead and dont touch the brakes unless you really need to scrub off speed. That said dont go down through the gears to slow down. Its tough on the transmission. Use the brakes as necessary. Allowing a little more space from the car in front allows you to drive smoother. And when his disco style brake lights get annoying you'll have the space to accelerate before overtaking him.

Hopefully weather permitting i will be taking both the wheels off tomorrow daytime to investigate this malarkey.

Would old brake hoses cause any problems? There probably nackered.

Cars done around 115K Maybe more miles now.

Update:

I did manage to check the front brakes and both pads had plenty of life left.. Looked nearlly brand new.

I re-applied copper grease to the pads which eliminated the squeal for some time but now its back.

Would it be the copper grease is not very good?

Wouldnt think so. Probably either been too sparing with it or not got it in all the right places.

Ffoxy said:

Wouldnt think so. Probably either been too sparing with it or not got it in all the right places.

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Where exactly should i be spreading it. I spread it across the whole back of both pads.

Only needs to go where metal to metal contact is happening.
So... on the rear of the pads where the piston contacts, and where the caliper contacts on the other pad, and also at the ends of the pads where they sit in the spring steel cups.

Thats probably what the squeel is then, i only put the paste on the backs of the pads and not where they sit in the caliper.

Will redo them when i get chance, also one of my rear hub nuts has siezed and the head has been shredded.

Any ideas on the best way to remove it?