A few issues

[ScottL]

Hi all,

Bought a cheap 1.2 16v Expression for £200 that needs some serious work, i can do most of the work myself, just looking for some advice on the issues i have. Its on 102000 and we can assume it hasnt been looked after in the slightest with no history at all.

1. Emissions Light On - Lambada Sensor.

2. Airbag & Serv light on - I've checked the connections under the seats, unplugged them cleaned the contacts and the lights still illuminate. The passenger site front seatbelt is tight and doesnt retract. Possibly have crash data in the Airbag ECU?.

3. Front Brakes - The brake pedal goes right down to the floor before the brakes bite and even then its really bad, had the front wheels off checked the disks & pads on the front and they dont look horrendus still some beef on the pads, no brake fluid leaks and the resovoir is full. Any ideas?

4. Handbrake - The handbrake is very very weak, when i mean weak i mean i can drive with it on and not notice anything. Cant see any handbrake cables dangling under the car, im assuming brake shoes need replacing because of milage?

5. Steering Colum creak & knock - The creaking from the steering colum is only when the car is warm and when turning the steering wheen side to side there is a clunking noise, also when braking occasionally the steering wheel shudders and theres a knocking sound consistant with the speed.

6. Rumbling Wheel Bearing - Theres a really bad rumbling from one of the wheels which i know is a wheel bearing failure but im having trouble figuring out which one it is, i assume its the drivers side rear as thats where i *think* the noise is coming from. I've had it jacked up and tried rocking the wheel side to side and theres no play in it although spinning the wheel there does seem to be a noise from the wheel but i cant tell if its the wheel bearing or not. Is there any other ways i can check it?

Sorry for the long post but can anyone give me some ideas?

Cheers

 

[da rok]

3 - could be air in the system, if the air has got to the abs unit then its a pig to bleed it out.
4 - hand brake could be down to worn pads but is easily adjustable from under the car, make sure the cables are intact.
5- sounds like dead ball joints, possibly suspension bushes and mounts
6 - if In the air the wheels should spin silently (besides for the brakes making noise), if there is any noise or roughness then there's a problem,

 

[ScottL]

Thanks for the reply mate! , is there any telltale signs when there's air in the abs pump?

 

[da rok]

well if there is air in the system, the pedal is usually spongey or it goes to the floor with out doing much, some have managed to bleed the air out the pump by going on gravel and slamming on the brakes a number of times so the abs activates, although i wouldnt recomend this if you have limited braking power 🙈 other than that you can try bleeding the system normally at the slave cylinders, you could be lucky and just have air in the hoses...

failing that, could be a issue with the master cylinder.

 

[GrahamS]

Brakes I would check all of the ABS rings to see if they have splits in, if they do it causes the brakes to be absolutely terrible. Then I would wire brush the rear brake shoes, clean the drums, sand the glaze off the front pads and clean the discs. Should make a world of difference.

Steering could be top mount bearings

 

[garryboy]

Re 6. I find best way to diagnose wheels bearing is to jack up car. Spin wheel and place hand on spring. Any vibration felt through the spring generally point to failing wheel bearing

 

[GrahamS]

Re 6. I find best way to diagnose wheels bearing is to jack up car. Spin wheel and place hand on spring. Any vibration felt through the spring generally point to failing wheel bearing

that is 100% the best way

 

[ScottL]

Thanks for the replys @GrahamS , @garryboy , @da rok

Done the front disks and pads today for peace of mind, couldnt bleed them as the nipples have rounded off so will need some mole grips or something or to sort that. Pedal still travels quite alot before and braking happens so there is definatley air in the system so will need sorted. ABS rings seem fine no cracks on them and no ABS light on dash.

Tried getting to the handbrake cable adjustment but it seems the heatshield bolt dont want to budge so soaked them in WD40 and will try them again when i get a chance.

Will try that tip for the wheel bearing tommorow night as its getting replaced at the weekend.

Ive also got another issuse which i forgot to post which isnt a major thing but more annoying,

When the car is locked and then unlocked with the central locking the passenger door wont open from the outside, the handle basically acts as if it is locked. It can be opened using the inside door handle and then works fine from the outside until the cars locked again.

Any ideas on this one?

Cheers
Scott

 

[GrahamS]

You should never have to adjust the hand brake as it's got its self adjusters in the rear drum mechanism. Make sure they are free'd up.

I had that with the door. Replaced the mechanism and it resolved.

Also be very bery careful with brake nipples, they can very easily sheer. Hit them first to try and break the inevitable corrosion in the thread

 

[ScottL]

Cheers @GrahamS I'll have alook at the drums at the weekend when doing the wheel bearing, would it be worth doing the shoes while I'm at it? Are they a pain to changes?

When you say change the door mechanism do you mean the whole thing ie; handle, the catch and solenoid?

Cheers
Scott

 

[Marcos999]

AFAIK the airbag light won't go out until the fault code is cleared.

 

[ScottL]

Back again with a development,

Brakes are still a major problem, discs and pads were changed last weekend and the pedal still goes to the floor when braking, brakes where bled and improved them ever so slightly. Yesterday up at work after doing the wheel bearing i broke sharply and lost all pressure in the pedal.

No when the engine is off and pumping the brake pedal it doesnt get solid at all it just goes down to the floor with little effort

 

[ScottL]

Any ideas @GrahamS @garryboy @da rok?

Am I right in thinking the master cylinder or servo is shagged on it?

 

[shaun442k]

Back again with a development,

Brakes are still a major problem, discs and pads were changed last weekend and the pedal still goes to the floor when braking, brakes where bled and improved them ever so slightly. Yesterday up at work after doing the wheel bearing i broke sharply and lost all pressure in the pedal.

No when the engine is off and pumping the brake pedal it doesnt get solid at all it just goes down to the floor with little effort

I had the "pedal to the floor" on mine. It turned out my caliper slider pins were seized. About 10 mins of squirting wd40 in and hitting with a hammer I managed to free them. I cleaned them up and put grease on the sliders and my brakes were biting at the top for the first time.

 

[Marcos999]

AFAIK the airbag light won't go out until the fault code is cleared.

My bad, it will.