Problems with brakes

[Jim Bowen 1]

not long had the 288s put on and mk4 rears.

 

very occasionally i get a grinding noise at low speed from the passenger side front wheel, when it appears if i turn left it gets louder.

 

and a couple of times i've been pulling up slowly to a junction, 15-20mph during very gentle braking like coasting to a stop and the ABS kicks in and pedal goes mad etc but after that i slammed on brakes at 30mph and wheels just locked up and skidded no ABS, lots of tyre smoke

 

???

 

can this be all to do with the ABS rings? i didn't have any of that replaced

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The ABS issue is probably caused by a knackered pedal position sensor. It's in the brake servo under the master cylinder and they do go eventually. About £35 from VW IIRC.

 

The grinding could be a splash gaurd rubbing on the disc maybe?

[dr_mat 0]

I've had the same ABS symptoms courtesy of a borderline wheel sensor.

The grinding noise .. could be grit stuck in the splash guard, but might also indicate that you have a dodgy wheel bearing allowing the brake disk to move around inside the calipers.. If the brake grind changes significantly after going round corners, look at the bearings.

[was8v 0]

I had a "catching" noise every revolution from my front offside wheel that turned into more of a "grinding" noise.

 

Drove me mad trying to find out what it was.

 

Eventually tracked it down to the ABS ring catching the tip of the sensor slightly in one place every revolution.

 

Cleaned up the corrosion on it as best I could and very slight delicate adjustment with a hammer and it is fine.

 

Could be a similar thing esp as you are having ABS issues? (my abs itself was always fine)

 

The only time my ABS has gone mental is when the rear ABS cages came loose off the discs.

[mic_VR 3]

The only time my ABS has gone mental is when the rear ABS cages came loose off the discs.

 

Yep, I had the ABS go mad on me recently and it was the rear cages had worked loose. Bit of adjustment with some pliers and it's all good. Doesn't sound like this is your problem though.

 

Also agree with Kev about the grinding noise possibly being a splash guard rubbing, I've had that more than once on other cars and now I'm very carefully to check those when doing anything brake wise.

 

Best advice, when I was trying to see what was up with mine I found it easier to just get everything back off again as there are so many variables when it comes to braking, especially if you've already been working on them. The only good part of that suggestion is the fact it's an easy job.