Little Dog
A2OC Donor
I think they were Budweg, they are supposed to be reasonable so I could be confused with the pistons I fit to my Golf. I'll strip the calipers and report but it looks like I have rust on the pistons.
Brake woes, front disc failure at low miles and other problems
- Thread starter Little Dog
- Start date
PlasticMac
Member
Which end of the piston is rusty, the hydraulic side of the "O" ring, or the pad side?
Mac
Mac
Little Dog
A2OC Donor
I've not stripped the calipers yet. I put them back on so I can get to the shops while waiting for the new ones to arrive.
The rust I could see was on the pad side.
PlasticMac
Member
It'll be significant when you get to see the hydraulic side.
Mac.
CrispyEdd
Member
For what its worth Ive had two A2s one 90 and now an se tdi, the brakes are always warped on the fornt, they do so much work and get so freaking hot. ONe heavy brake down hill for say 100m is enough for mine to start rubbing when i let of the pedal and theyre steaming hot. I think its just poor brake bias to the front and old sticky pistons and slider pins. If mine gets worse ill buy new claipers and mintex discs and pads. never had anything else when replacing brakes other than mintex so cant comment on comparsion but they are good for the oney in terms of performance. I think the problem is the calipers arent good enough for the loading they get from the brake bias. Why dont you try the bigger brake upgrade?
Joga
A2OC Donor
True, I also thought budweg was at least ok quality. Hm. (on my SHE car I was just considering new pistons and seals, but instead went for secondhand genuine calipers from a 2018 VW Up).
Little Dog
A2OC Donor
I've ordered Febi calipers. £62 for a pair delivered. I thought that was a reasonable price and due for delivery today so I won't have long to wait to find out how good or otherwise Febi is
.I am hopeful however, recently fit Febi calipers to a Merc, they are very good.
Little Dog
A2OC Donor
I'm spending as little as I can on this car. It has a badly messed up AMF engine and it is only a matter of time before it goes pop (hopefully not on a smart motorway).
66Beetle
A2OC Donor
All part of TMD Friction : Mintex, Textar, Pagid, Don, Bendix, Cobreq, Nishinbo
BigBang
Active Member
Maybe it has something to do with your driving style. Are you descending with gear engaged? I drive quite hard but never had an issue with warping brakes. Same brake setup is on Polo, Ibiza or Fabia (combi included) that are 200kg+ heavier. Also FS-III calipers were used on first gen Octavia and 4th gen Golf with 1.4 and 1.6 petrol engines.
Brake bias is also not a problem. I did few thousand kilometers with rear drums almost not braking, in the end they didn't brake at all and all I could feel was not so great feeling and braking wasn't that efficient from higher speeds.
Do you stay on the brake pedal after you stop for example after a long descend? If so then brake pads will bake to the discs and cause warping...
CrispyEdd
Member
Hard to say really, I'd say I was average to low brake user. Never stay on after long brake. Think it's more the calipers condition and retraction issues.
Little Dog
A2OC Donor
Interesting what you all make of this. I'm a heavy brake user, a Police style Advanced Driver since the 1980s. With exception of driving on snow, or when descending a hill, the engine gearbox and clutch play no significant part in slowing the car. All deceleration is via the brakes. The approach to bends is different, an Advanced Driver brakes to a speed suitable for the bend, selects the correct gear and drives in that gear before steering. This is the Police bit, out of the bend an Advanced Driver drives with deliberation and gets up to the speed limit purposefully. More speed to lose at the next bend. Admittedly anticipation, observation and maintaining a good distance stops all of the minor speed adjusting other drivers engage in. On balance though an Advanced Driver is heavy on brakes, lite on clutch and gearbox.
I don't think this is the cause of mt A2 brake issues. I think they are fit for purpose and are a similar design to brakes on other cars that I have owned and have had no problems with. I think the problem is the way I use the A2. It is used intensely for short periods then parked it outside for long periods. I think British weather is getting to my brakes. I'll report when I strip them down.
Edit, I forgot expect the unexpected. This means the Advanced Driver will be slightly slower around blind bends, across roundabouts, and in other situations where the unexpected can strike. Again more speed lost via the brakes.
I don't think this is the cause of mt A2 brake issues. I think they are fit for purpose and are a similar design to brakes on other cars that I have owned and have had no problems with. I think the problem is the way I use the A2. It is used intensely for short periods then parked it outside for long periods. I think British weather is getting to my brakes. I'll report when I strip them down.
Edit, I forgot expect the unexpected. This means the Advanced Driver will be slightly slower around blind bends, across roundabouts, and in other situations where the unexpected can strike. Again more speed lost via the brakes.
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Joga
A2OC Donor
About driving styles, since I got fortunate to buy my first 1.2TDI I changed a bit. Now braking is a no-no in general. Ok, perhaps not that extreme but since these car has the potential to give ultra low consumption I is very rewarding to do ecodriving. I am starting to apply that also to my other cars. Point is, just by looking ahead and use imagination of traffic scenarios the brake wear is clearly reduced.
Howey
Member
Certainly can be a big factor, they should move with a flick of the finger, rubber grease is a superb lube for them!
Little Dog
A2OC Donor
I use plumbers silicone assembly grease. Keeps them moving freely, just have to be careful not to get it on discs or paint.
BigBang
Active Member
FS-III calipers are ATE system that should not be greased. They use specific rubber/plastic as sliding pin guide - it is info I got from a guy working in ATE. Different story are TRW/Girling systems, that requires grease TRW PFG110, but those are not used on the front brakes on A2 (I don't know about rear ones as I haven't seen them IRL yet).
Howey
Member
Have done it for years with great success on all slide pins on a variety of vehicles so I shall continue to use my method appreciate that might go against some views but I like my brakes to work perfectly especially when those vehicles have flashing blue lights!
Little Dog
A2OC Donor
I think the point made is a good contribution. Very important when a car is under warranty. However that was a long time ago and calipers have been rebuilt with seal kits not known to be OEM and OEM calipers have their sleeves constricted buy rust build up. I'm about to fit Febi calipers, goodness knows what standards they are built to? Like you greasing the pins has served me well and I will continue to do so. All those that I haven't due to a car being new have seized.
Little Dog
A2OC Donor
Thought I would have this problem sorted yesterday but instantly ran into minor and possibly significant problems.
The wheel bolts were still sticky but they cleaned up with a cheap thread repair tap. I removed tiny cuts of steel from every thread and the bolts now fit fine. How the female threads can distort slightly is beyond me?
The pads were jammed solid again and the caliper resisted being wound back until I set a 4 pot wind back tool on it. Pins were fine. However, I don't think the problem is entirely the caliper. The carriers look badly worn and the pads do not slide freely.
Didn't get any further, held up by steel pipes being solid in the fittings. Left penetrating oil to soak overnight.
Stripped out a thread, coiling M6 in iron takes for ever:
No rush though, rust has killed my female pad wear connector. Ordered one off eBay:
The wheel bolts were still sticky but they cleaned up with a cheap thread repair tap. I removed tiny cuts of steel from every thread and the bolts now fit fine. How the female threads can distort slightly is beyond me?
The pads were jammed solid again and the caliper resisted being wound back until I set a 4 pot wind back tool on it. Pins were fine. However, I don't think the problem is entirely the caliper. The carriers look badly worn and the pads do not slide freely.
Didn't get any further, held up by steel pipes being solid in the fittings. Left penetrating oil to soak overnight.
Stripped out a thread, coiling M6 in iron takes for ever:
No rush though, rust has killed my female pad wear connector. Ordered one off eBay: