MOT Fail

[KevD]

Took it up to 'the garage' in motherwell to get it's MoT done. Failed on the following:

offside front wheel bearing rough when rotated
both rear brake discs ' in such a condition that it is seriously weakened'
service brake efficiency below requirements ( 41%)
parking brake efficiency below requirements ( 15%)

I knew the handbrake was sh*t, the rear discs are rusted but it lives outside and I've done 30 miles in the last 3 months, is it worth trying to clean up the discs? The guy thought the rear calipers might be causing problems as well, may need replaced if they wont free off.

I'm gutted to be honest, road tax and insurance also renewed this month and I've barely driven it so it just seems like a money pit.

Posting for advice on best value ( not cheapest) solution.

Mintex 1144 pads or OEM?

Plain brake discs or Ultimax turbo discs? It currently has drilled and grooved discs which previous owner put on it, I'm unlikely to do more than 2 track days a year so I'm more into something that won't cost a fortune and will give me good stopping from cold.

Front wheel bearing - will AA Parts and labour cover that?

Also had an advisory - coolant leak. I think that's because I haven't tightened temp sensors well enough when I did them few weeks ago. I hope.

It's also now got a misfire - think this is just dampness getting as it was like that once before and a hairdryer sorted it.

[woody]

Rear callipers; try freeing them off, re-greasing them and if needed use a rebuild kit for new sliders and seals etc...

If that doesn't work, there are re-furbed callipers on eBay at reasonable money. Try if there's enough meat on the discs (I think the min limit is 25mm without reading the manual) try having them grit blasted. If they've wear grooves and are close to min thickness, replace them.

A new bearing is cheap (£30ish at partco) and shouldn't be expensive to fit.

Dry out the plugs, spray with damp inhibitor, and a thin bead of silicone RTV along the edges of the plug cover before you replace it should keep the plugs dry.

[KevD]

Not worth bothering AA for the bearing then, excess is £25 I think.

Hopefully won't need calipers. The discs & pads have *20,000 miles and *6 years on them. - I thought it was less than 3 years and 10,000 miles but a check through the service notes shows a £1000 bill when it got it down in 2005. I should have inspected it more carefully and expected to need them.

* Edited as I was talking rubbish. Don't think I'll try the blasting, probably due an upgrade anyway. Ultimax discs and Mintex pads with braided lines I think, now just need someone to fit it all.

[B12ANR]

My Civic Type R rear brakes were terrible with similar issues with handbrake performance until i started using a brake cleaner.

I use this:- http://www.muc-off.com/shop/product.php?id=7

I use it on the car, motorbike and mountain bike to sharpen things up.

HTH

[tut]

One of the main problems Kev is the car has not been driven and has been living outside. Not a good combination.

Not sure what your MOT situation is, but if you can, take it out and give it a good fast drive, lots of braking and acceleration through the gears, checking beforehand that oil, water, pads, tyre pressure, etc are all OK.

Then check the individual faults that still show up.

tut

[KevD]

A terrible combination, I'd been thinking about storing it in my Dads garage over winter - too little too late now.

I haven't driven it enough, been 3 months since I did a proper 100+mile drive in it and I'm not sure I even remember what the brakes are meant to feel like. I knew the handbrake wasn't great but just thought it needed adjusting. I've never liked the stopping power but it was fine at it's last service and got a check over in August or October. Problem is I'm not sure what it's meant to stop like anymore, it's all been 20 miles runs in lately just to try and keep it moving. Got to be honest, it felt sh*t on way back!

I've got till 21st on existing MoT, if I take it back to garage within 10 days there's no retest fee.

Tempted to order up the pads and discs, was planning on it longer term, it's just bad timing.

One of the main problems Kev is the car has not been driven and has been living outside. Not a good combination.

Not sure what your MOT situation is, but if you can, take it out and give it a good fast drive, lots of braking and acceleration through the gears, checking beforehand that oil, water, pads, tyre pressure, etc are all OK.

Then check the individual faults that still show up.

tut

[Tom]

I had this problem a few years ago, and seem to remember that the refurb. kits I could find didn't come with one of the seals (the one I needed). Not sure which but I ended up replacing with a pair of calipers from a newish Exige that had had the big brake upgrade done. New ones are about £300ish each .

If you want to go down the refurb route I might still have an old pair kicking around. You could take my old ones and send them off, and then fit them to your car and leave your old ones as the communal set. Means you don't have to leave your car without rear brakes.

[KevD]

Hopefully the calipers will be ok. I've seen some refurbished ones floating around ebay for around the £100 so it's not as bad as I feared but would still like to avoid unless it's really needed.

I'm still going to give it a drive and see if it improves, currently got 2/3 inches of snow lying so might wait till it clears before driving a car with questionable brakes!

Thinking about just bundling everything I wanted to do with the car and give it a boost - tyres, pads, discs, braided lines, fit the bilsteins I've got sitting and get the wheels refurbished. Would mean it would hit spring in great condition ready to drive. Savings are made to be raided I suppose.

[Stu160]

Reading this, I would not think the caliper is the problem, it will be the handbrake cable, or the pivot that will be the problem. Blast it with WD40 and get it moving, 90% sure that will sort it.

I will PM about the discs.

Cheers

Stu

[Stewart]

I had drilled discs on both my last cars and needed to replace them both times as on the inside they were kind of de laminating between the drilled holes. I expect this could be your problem.

Very easy to replace. Speak to Stu, I'm sure he'll sort you out.

Mintex pads will be ideal.

You have done pretty well to get 20k for a car that sits outside with little use.

It may feel like a money pit, but you work be losing much more a year in depreciation on a"normal" car.

[KevD]

Previous owner had it garaged, it's only been outside for a year and 5,000 miles with mid terraced me
Next winter it'll probably go into a garage elsewhere and I'll get back to loving the train.

Thanks for info/help off everyone,

Kev

I had drilled discs on both my last cars and needed to replace them both times as on the inside they were kind of de laminating between the drilled holes. I expect this could be your problem.

Very easy to replace. Speak to Stu, I'm sure he'll sort you out.

Mintex pads will be ideal.

You have done pretty well to get 20k for a car that sits outside with little use.

It may feel like a money pit, but you work be losing much more a year in depreciation on a"normal" car.

[campbell]

Kev,

Sharing your pain.

All the above advice will get you back on track. One thing to watch, when the bearings are pressed out and back in to the original hub flanges, wear and tapering can occur to those flanges which then allows the new bearing more play and it will fail sooner next time. Been there done that got the t-shirt x 3 I'm afraid

Whilst these are becoming harder to get, and cost £85 or so each, consider getting a new flange as well - check Elise Parts and Elise Shop. Rumour has it these are from a Metro / Montego etc, so might be a route to cheaper supply but good luck with that!!

The car will very much benefit from being run regularly, with some strong brake action and a m-way run to dry everything out nicely...even if you tuck it away over winter. I have UJI on a trickle charger in an integral garage and even after just 3 weeks lay up, it struggled to start...not battery power I don't think, just that everything had gone viscous and cold (I guess). A good run later and things seemed more like normal. Which reminds me...time to try again after yet another 3-week layup!!

Stick with this, the things you have failed on aren't mega and if you can tackle some yourself, or with the guidance of a learned friend, you will get a lot of satisfaction. Stewart is right re: moneypit vs depreciation, although I am finding that a difficult equation to believe myself at the moment

Campbell
(veteran S1 owner)