Service Issues: Front Disc Brakes

[Father Ted]

Originally Posted by kenny

Crack the nuts loose just loose and drive gently up and down the street.
This should free them. Then as said clean every thing and just a smidgen of copper slip.

Got the copper grease ready, just couln't get them off to apply it. thought of driving with loose nuts, but wasn't sure it was a good idea.

Also, I've got to say that Kira usually has good ideas, but I'd have to disagree this time. Slow and gentle to bed in in my opinion.

[4candles]

Originally Posted by Father Ted

Got the copper grease ready, just couln't get them off to apply it. thought of driving with loose nuts, but wasn't sure it was a good idea.

Also, I've got to say that Kira usually has good ideas, but I'd have to disagree this time. Slow and gentle to bed in in my opinion.

You may also try undoing the nuts 3 or 4 threads, then violently rock car side to side, no jacking up, no driving, it may just rattle them loose before you lift it up....

[4candles]

Originally Posted by Father Ted

Also, I've got to say that Kira usually has good ideas, but I'd have to disagree this time. Slow and gentle to bed in in my opinion.

I agree, and whilst i know i am right, i apologise to him for being offhand.

His method (by accident or design) is for race cars, and possibly carbon ceramic discs, but certainly not humble everyday cars.

Never seen a mechanic do his method ever, and i was a mechanic in a former life..

[oragex]

I don't think there should be any 'bedding in' procedure for the standard commercial brakes. Thinking off 99% of customers that never heard of such expression, they drive from the dealer and don't have issues with the new brakes. Same when only replacing the pads, no need to put new discs just because new pads won't work on old discs (a garage my$h)

[4candles]

Originally Posted by oragex

I don't think there should be any 'bedding in' procedure for the standard commercial brakes. Thinking off 99% of customers that never heard of such expression, they drive from the dealer and don't have issues with the new brakes. Same when only replacing the pads, no need to put new discs just because new pads won't work on old discs (a garage my$h)

There is a bedding in process, maybe less relavant nowadays, i alway advise a customer/friend/family to take it easy on the brakes for 200 odd miles, because if you immediiately go and do a full 100-0 mph , you will fry them, some pads have a micro bedding coating coating to quicken the process,

but its good practice to be gentle for a week,

Its no myth, new pads and discs are best, but usually you will get 2 pad sets to a discs life.

[Longhouse21]

Interesting article on brakes and the bedding-in process for performance pads http://www.mossmotors.com/SiteGraphi...ake_discs.html.
Have to agree with most on here, Kira offers very good advice, comment and insight but in this instance I'd prefer to adopt the slow bedding in process that I've used for many year - gentle and progressive braking for a couple of hundred miles. However, that can be a bit misleading if the first couple of hundred miles are all motorway where the brakes don't get used much!

[Brendan W]

If it moves I always try to bed it

[D5meister]

similar to a clutch you wouldnt do a race start with a new one.

brand new pads and disks dont have a large contact area in initial use.

They often feel soft under foot and dont stop very well.


After a few weeks they wear into each other and fit perfectly across the surface - like a ground glass stopper - you now get serious stop effort for little pressure on pedal. The pedal is firm, and your away.

You get significant improvement on these if you...

split the caliper and rake all of the rust scabs out of the pad lug slots
apply copper to all of these channels
clean the slide pins and use silicone grease in the rubber bushing/pin

mine went up a lot after this treatment - measured on the mot road from last year to this year.

The car rolls better than it ever has from memory.

55.5mpg

[Georgeandkira]

Hello, I was told to bed 'em in as described in my derided post.
Somewhere else I read the same advice and there it stayed on my hard drive (soft brain).

ALWAYS happy to be corrected. Doesn't happen often! ! Kira

[Brendan W]

Does make me wonder about the context for all this advice.
For years I changed brake fluid furthest away first, based on a book I read. Recently I discovered in another book I was wrong for the V70 and it should be nsf first.
Which leaves me wondering how I escaped the hazards of the wrong way for three fluid changes on this car. Was I just lucky or is it just so much splitting of hairs ?