Brake woes, front disc failure at low miles and other problems

All i need to know is are they exactly the same size. Both say 195/65 16 or whatever they are fitted. Different sizes across the same axle will produce different rotation speed, thus ABS is confused and applied more brake force. I would swap the new drums side for side to see if the other wheel then gets hot.
 
In August I installed new: Ate shoes, Ate drums, VW springs and plates.

5 miles drive and OS drum was hot and NS was very hot. Could not touch NS drum it was so hot. Took the drum off and everything was Ok. Another 8 miles drive NS was still extremely hot, took it off and everything was Ok. In total the drum was in and out three times.

I have searched the internet and it was an advice how to self-position the shoes relative to the drum: “go forward and brake than go in reverse and brake”. I have repeated this four times and done 8 miles, the drums were just warm.

The clearance between the new Ate drum and Ate shoes is tiny and a small misalignment could be the reason of the heating.

Regards.
 
audifan said:
All i need to know is are they exactly the same size. Both say 195/65 16 or whatever they are fitted. Different sizes across the same axle will produce different rotation speed, thus ABS is confused and applied more brake force. I would swap the new drums side for side to see if the other wheel then gets hot.
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There is something in this drum swopping. My scorched crispy new ATE is getting a new coat of paint today. The cool running Pagid I substituted it with is still running cool.
Back on the case with two ATE in the next few days (weather permitting).
 
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Dmytro said:
In August I installed new: Ate shoes, Ate drums, VW springs and plates.

5 miles drive and OS drum was hot and NS was very hot. Could not touch NS drum it was so hot. Took the drum off and everything was Ok. Another 8 miles drive NS was still extremely hot, took it off and everything was Ok. In total the drum was in and out three times.

I have searched the internet and it was an advice how to self-position the shoes relative to the drum: “go forward and brake than go in reverse and brake”. I have repeated this four times and done 8 miles, the drums were just warm.

The clearance between the new Ate drum and Ate shoes is tiny and a small misalignment could be the reason of the heating.

Regards.
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Ill give that a try when I get my ATE drum back on. Off to paint the scorched mess.
 
Not sure if ATE shoes come with a decent chamfer on the leading edge of the friction material but it's worth filing them up anyway. It stops the shoes grabbing, especially until they are fully bedded in.
Would also be worth measuring the drum dias before swapping side to side

Cheers Spike
 
Got my ATE drums back on today.
@audifan drums swapped sides
@Dmytro shoes positioned as advised and before setting parking brake
@spike Vernier calipers not large enough to measure IDs but ATE are much tighter than Pagid. However they are equally tight on the shoes, dragging very very slightly both sides.
Been to the shops and back, about 5 miles in total at 60 mph with 10 roundabouts so the brakes see plenty of action. Both rear drums warm, not hot and just as importantly equally warm.
The car appears fixed but I can't explain why, all the same components used that were smoking on one side just two weeks ago.
 
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Did you clean any protective oil or grease off the drums before you fitted them the first time? Good to know brakes now appear normal.
 
Put it down to tolerances working against each other, slightly larger shoes and / or slightly smaller drum. Keep an eye on it but as things bed in and wear the tolerances will improve.
 
Glad everything is still working as it should do. Very slight chance the bad drum was round but not concentric to the axle bore. Never throw anything away until you are sure that the replacement part IS better than the one you remove.
On the front discs, I think the outer seals on the pistons had hardened and cracked. This allowed moisture and grit onto the pistons causing the frettage and corrosion. Did you thoroughly check the piston bores in the calipers for any damage and corrosion?
 
audifan said:
Glad everything is still working as it should do. Very slight chance the bad drum was round but not concentric to the axle bore. Never throw anything away until you are sure that the replacement part IS better than the one you remove.
On the front discs, I think the outer seals on the pistons had hardened and cracked. This allowed moisture and grit onto the pistons causing the frettage and corrosion. Did you thoroughly check the piston bores in the calipers for any damage and corrosion?
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Yes, the calipers were rust converted, all rust removed, no issues with the bores.
 
Noticed in the last week the front discs are running hot and have a blue tinge to them. I decided a strip down and reassembly with brake grease was due.
Problem 1. I couldn't shift the wheel bolts that had been torqued up correctly. Had to set the 1m long 3/4" breaker on them.
Problem 2. The wheel bolt threads were tight and didn't spin out as easily as they should.
Problem 3. The pads would not shift even when levered with a wrecking bar. I had to hit the inside pad with a large hammer via a large cold chisel to retract the piston a fraction.
Problem 4. The caliper piston refused to be wound in, I thought the piston retraction tool was going to break.

The calipers are seized, I only got three years out of this repair. New calipers plus other bits and taps on order.
 
Woaha, that seems that something went horribly wrong. How often do you inspect the brakes and/or remove the wheels?
 
66Beetle said:
I have been using Mintex Brake Boxes from the first time our 1.4SE Petrol needed Discs and Pads. Bought from eBay every time. 2 Mintex Discs and Set of 4 Pads all in one Box. Never had any problem at all. I get through 2 Sets of Pads to 1 Pair of Discs. Same applies to other Audi’s and our kids Corsas I have fitted them on. Mintex Brake Box for our A2 is MDK 0152. Approx £50 Delivered Free
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Agreed Mintex may not have the flashy name of Brembo, however as the Mintex brake box disc and pads are matched by the Manufacturer you are guaranteed a good wear rate, probably better than the mix and match approach of pagid vs Brembo. I also buy from eBay sellers with very good value
 
philward said:
The calipers are seized, I only got three years out of this repair. New calipers plus other bits and taps on order.
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Thats strange. Do you recall the brand of the pistons you bought back in 2020?
Seems their quality level could be questioned.
 
BigBang said:
Woaha, that seems that something went horribly wrong. How often do you inspect the brakes and/or remove the wheels?
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Every service and before every MOT. Sometimes the two events coincide so a minimum of once a year.

Edit, or as on this occasion when I notice something is not quite right.
 
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