Rear Brake Issue: Post-wash Brake Performance Worse

[wiv678]

Hi All,
I’ve experienced my first issue with my Clio 182 and so here is my first post
Background
Around three weeks ago, I washed my car and then applied handbrake and left the car to sit (without moving it post-wash) for two weeks. On my return and went to move the car and the rear pads had stuck to the discs. I eventually got the car free with a bang from the rears (I’ve had this before with previous cars, but not this violent).
Symptoms
As I drove away I could hear a distinct grinding/whirring from the rear. I assumed this was the accumulated rust and so pulled a series of aggressive stops to see if this would clear. More worryingly the braking performance of the car has been diminished; I got the feeling that the rear was doing nothing in this regard. The grinding has gone, but I still had the feeling something was wrong with the rear brakes.

Since that point I’ve taken the car to a reputable indie and they seemed to think everything was ok with the brakes, but I still have doubt.

Today I jacked the car up and spun the wheels my hand. Both wheels don’t spin freely and will immediately stop revolving as soon as my effort stops. I also turned on the ignition (but not the engine) and applied the brake while trying to manually spin the wheel. There was no difference in resistance from having the brakes applied or not – which is worrying

· Handbrake works without issue
· Rear wheels spin but with resistance
· Rear discs seem rusty, especially as compared to the front discs
Please help!
I’d be grateful for anyone’s input into this and what they think the issue might be. The car is no show pony, but I want the thing to stop and so I’m resolved to getting this fixed correctly. Please let me know:
· Any further diagnostics I could perform
· What the issue may be
· Any potential quick solutions
Thanks for taking time to read

Adam

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Rear brakes do next to nothing when you step on the brake pedal. Most of the weight transfers to the front and if it had any sort of braking power the rears would lock.

I wouldn't worry about not being able to spin the wheel, if you can turn it by hand then it's has very little resistance from the brake/bearing/shaft.

If someone's checked them over (and they have an idea as to what they're doing) then it's most likely just a placebo that they're worse.

 

[JB21]

Get the car on a MOT brake tester, rears when working properly should pull 1/3 of the cars braking force contrary to what others say. Most just think they do nothing but most have never had a rebuild since new and there in lies the issue.

The biggred kit is around £20 and its a pretty straight forward job to do yourself if you leave the handbrake mechanism alone.

I done mine before it went pop and the different was night and day compared to the old stuck/seized rear callipers. Like yours mine wouldn't spin freely before the rebuild and after they spun up great with zero resistance.

 

[wiv678]

@JB21 : I think the MOT brake tester is a good call. A garage local to me will do this for free
On the relation to the handbrake, am I right in assuming that the handbrake actuates the calipers to lock the wheels. If my handbrake works perfectly, then the calipers could not have seized?

 

[JB21]

Caliper mech is separate and activated by a spring from what i could gather. Mine was pushing the piston when activating the mech by hand but the fluid system was really poor as the brake test pre and post rebuild proved. Maybe it was the sliders but the pistons were badly corroded and all seals and covers perished so just cleaned up the pistons and sliders and replaced all the seals and covers and they were perfect.

Have you pulled the pads off to check for glazing as this will reduce friction. Also unhook the handbrake cables to see if the wheels spin freely, if so the handbrake mech has seized or the cable is to tight.

 

[JamesBryan]

A good set of rears should pull 150-160kg per side on the brake efficiency rollers.

 

[Brigsy]

Most likely sticky pistons in the calipers, rebuild or renew. They do this when not used often, worth leaving in gear handbrake off if not used frequently.

 

[wiv678]

@Brigsy : I've seen the leave in gear advice a few times. I'll try

 

[Coops Mk1]

Just free off the rear sliders, more than likely that's the issue as the caliper isn't floating fully on them anymore

 

[wiv678]

The MOT brake test results:
Front Left: 253
Front Right: 263
Rear Left: 109
Rear Right: 112
The guy in the MOT centre said all good, although advised the pads on the rears could do with changing before long.
Anyone see anything strange in the results?

 

[JamesBryan]

Bit low all round really, but nothing dangerous.

 

[wiv678]

The MOT brake test results:
Front Left: 253
Front Right: 263
Rear Left: 109
Rear Right: 112
The guy in the MOT centre said all good, although advised the pads on the rears could do with changing before long.
Anyone see anything strange in the results?

Bit low all round really, but nothing dangerous.

@JamesBryan : What is the expected result?

 

[JB21]

320/160

 

[wiv678]

Ahhh... Balls.
Any advice to get me up to this number?

 

[Ol’ Tarby]

Ahhh... Balls.
Any advice to get me up to this number?

Press the pedal harder :up:


No, no useful advice from me im afraid

 

[flebay]

The MOT brake test results:
Front Left: 253
Front Right: 263
Rear Left: 109
Rear Right: 112
The guy in the MOT centre said all good, although advised the pads on the rears could do with changing before long.
Anyone see anything strange in the results?

@JamesBryan : What is the expected result?

I got 310 front
200 rear no idea how hard he was pressing the pedal.(clio 182)

 

[wiv678]

I got 310 front
200 rear no idea how hard he was pressing the pedal.(clio 182)

He was a big man. Made of granite

 

[JamesBryan]

Ahhh... Balls.
Any advice to get me up to this number?

You could have air in the system.

Or the calipers need rebuilding as the pistons might not be as free as they could be.

Try bleeding the brakes first.

 

[flebay]

He was a big man. Made of granite

Probably more to do with how much granite was left on the brake rollers, as they wear lose traction so the wheels lock.

 

[wiv678]

You could have air in the system.

Or the calipers need rebuilding as the pistons might not be as free as they could be.

Try bleeding the brakes first.

Can air enter the system? In the period the car was sat it was pretty cold with snow etc.

 

[JamesBryan]

Can air enter the system? In the period the car was sat it was pretty cold with snow etc.

Yeah, by boiling the fluid say on track.

Brake fluid is hygroscopic, so it's always absorbing moisture.

 

[npt]

Hi All,
I’ve experienced my first issue with my Clio 182 and so here is my first post
Background
Around three weeks ago, I washed my car and then applied handbrake and left the car to sit (without moving it post-wash) for two weeks. On my return and went to move the car and the rear pads had stuck to the discs. I eventually got the car free with a bang from the rears (I’ve had this before with previous cars, but not this violent).
Symptoms
As I drove away I could hear a distinct grinding/whirring from the rear. I assumed this was the accumulated rust and so pulled a series of aggressive stops to see if this would clear. More worryingly the braking performance of the car has been diminished; I got the feeling that the rear was doing nothing in this regard. The grinding has gone, but I still had the feeling something was wrong with the rear brakes.

Since that point I’ve taken the car to a reputable indie and they seemed to think everything was ok with the brakes, but I still have doubt.

Today I jacked the car up and spun the wheels my hand. Both wheels don’t spin freely and will immediately stop revolving as soon as my effort stops. I also turned on the ignition (but not the engine) and applied the brake while trying to manually spin the wheel. There was no difference in resistance from having the brakes applied or not – which is worrying

· Handbrake works without issue
· Rear wheels spin but with resistance
· Rear discs seem rusty, especially as compared to the front discs
Please help!
I’d be grateful for anyone’s input into this and what they think the issue might be. The car is no show pony, but I want the thing to stop and so I’m resolved to getting this fixed correctly. Please let me know:
· Any further diagnostics I could perform
· What the issue may be
· Any potential quick solutions
Thanks for taking time to read

Adam

This is all normal, i have replaced every brake part and its just like above, its a very poor design, was poor in the 80's on the 5/11 turbos but they continued to use the same set up

 

[Brigsy]

The MOT brake test results:
Front Left: 253
Front Right: 263
Rear Left: 109
Rear Right: 112
The guy in the MOT centre said all good, although advised the pads on the rears could do with changing before long.
Anyone see anything strange in the results?

@JamesBryan : What is the expected result?

Looks fine to me. Flush fluid whilst doing rear calipers if it has not been changed in a while. The rear calipers usually just scrape a pass - as above always been shite same as the r5gtts etc

 

[wiv678]

To follow-up on this:
Took the car to get new rear pads and and the brake fluid changed and bled.
The brake peddle now feels connected to the system and the car will slow with relatively little pressure on the peddle
From my, admittedly subjective view point and limited road to test (London rush hour traffic), this has made a big difference and I now have confidence the car will stop - though I'm not sure if it's quite as good as before the issue
The mechanic suggested the system had a lot of air when he was carrying out the work.
Thanks for everyone's input on this.