Binding brakes?? -FINISHED

[skinnyman9000 0]

My right rear caliper has decided to start binding, pretty badly. This means that the first 2 inches of pulling on the handbrake does sod all, and the binding is causing air pockets in the brake lines, so on the way home i lost all pressure in the brake pedal.

 

Its definately the rear caliper binding, so is it simply a case of new caliper time? Im assuming it would be sensible to replace the calipers on both sides, as well as the discs and pads?

 

Any help appreciated, im going to attempt to tackle it myself on saturday

[Jon_vr6 1]

To throw a spanner in the works isnt it worth doing the wheel bearings at the same time so ive been told??

[skinnyman9000 0]

I suppose for the £6 its gonna cost in parts it would make sense

[Jon_vr6 1]

Give us the heads up on how hard it was to do the whole job as ill have to do my soon i think!

[skinnyman9000 0]

According to the haynes manual for the mk2 golf its simple, you get lovely haynes phrases like 'slide out' and 'gently remove'. Whereas 17yrs later these phrases need to be replaced with 'bash with hammer' and 'storm off swearing' :lol:

[Jon_vr6 1]

lol they never seem to say what to do if a bolt sheers off pray it doesnt!

[skinnyman9000 0]

My dad reckons the piston has seized and so thinks it might be worth just replacing that, he's done it a few times with past cars (from back in his Capri days).

 

Reckon that could solve it?

[Yandards 0]

First thing to do is get the caliper off the carrier and whip the pads out. Clean up the carrier where it contacts the brake pads by using a dremmel etc as it is likely this will have some corrosion on causing sticky pads.

 

If you want to change the caliper piston seals this is worth doing, a kit from VW is about a tenner IIRC, you will need to blow the piston out of the caliper with air though.

 

Next thing to check is that the guide pins on the caliper carrier have boots that are not split and are greased with red grease. Again you can get repair kits from VW for this with all the relevant bits in.

 

Finally it is quite likely that the fantastic mk 2 rear caliper handbrake is not working as it should. Not much you can do about this aside from get a new caliper but spraying some white grease on the mech should help keep the crud out.

[skinnyman9000 0]

Replaced the knackered caliper and the pads on both sides.

 

However, we have now found the problem. When the handbrake up engaged and then released it only released on the far side. So the drivers side handrake remains engaged, obviously causing the binding issue. So im guessing that the next logical step is to replace the handbrake cable. Luckily i already have a spare on in the garage. Ive looked under the car and it seems like a simple enough job. To be honest i think the hardest part if going to be taking the centre console apart.

 

So thats the story so far, 1 new caliper, new pads, the discs are fine and i didnt bother with the wheel bearing.

 

Onto the hand brake cable tomorrow.

 

P.S.- working the rain is great!!

[Toad 0]

New handbrake cables make a huge difference, worth doing as a pair though to get the adjustment right more easily. Your old cables might be siezed into the metal tubes that come through the floor and push into the handbrake mech, if they are, you'll need to remove the bit of pipe (PITA :() and extract the cable. I did this using a blowtorch to melt the plastic a bit and a dril to clean the hole up after....

[skinnyman9000 0]

I seriously hope that isnt the case, as that doesnt sound like much fun at all! The handbrake cable could do with replacing anyway, its looking a little frayed at the caliper end anyway. Luckily i have a brand new one in the garage, so that wont cost any extra.

 

Its a ballache on my driveway though. It slopes down and to one side slightly, so unless you get the car as straight as possible it lends to one side when you start to jack it up, very un-nerving!

[skinnyman9000 0]

Well its sorted.

 

Replaced the rear calipers and pads, then replaced the Handbrake cable. Was actually a vert easy job, which is surprising on a C. Also had time to put my new seats in (same as the old ones only much better conditiond) and fit a few bits of interior trim that i had lying around, the older bits where snapped etc.

 

All in all everything should not be fine. Within the large 12 months the car has had:

All new calipers

All new disks

All new pads

Handbrake cable

Full VW exhaust system

Oil pump

FULL engine rebuild

 

Now surely to god nothing else mechanical is even allowed to break in the next 2 years :lol:

[dirtytorque 0]

Well its sorted.

 

Replaced the rear calipers and pads, then replaced the Handbrake cable. Was actually a vert easy job, which is surprising on a C. Also had time to put my new seats in (same as the old ones only much better conditiond) and fit a few bits of interior trim that i had lying around, the older bits where snapped etc.

 

All in all everything should not be fine. Within the large 12 months the car has had:

All new calipers

All new disks

All new pads

Handbrake cable

Full VW exhaust system

Oil pump

FULL engine rebuild

 

Now surely to god nothing else mechanical is even allowed to break in the next 2 years :lol:

 

lol you'd think so wouldn't you..

 

I recently fixed a few on going mechanical niggles,and now all of a sudden my passenger door won't open from the outside.

wtf?!!!

 

I'd just like at least a couple of months where nothing went wrong. :?

Seems like it is to much to ask. :(

[skinnyman9000 0]

 

I'd just like at least a couple of months where nothing went wrong. :?

Seems like it is to much to ask. :(

 

Tell me about it!

 

Its gone wrong again now, got in the car today and there is still no pressure in the brake pedal!

 

Time to replace the fluid again and bleed all the calipers, if tha doesnt work im looking at master cylinder me thinks

[dirtytorque 0]

:(

 

 

ah well.

Keep at it.