allegro Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 Last year I developed a warp on one of my front discs. After a couple of visits Caterham changed both of them under warranty. Now it appears to be starting again. The car is now out of warranty, so I will be footing the bill. I do not fancy changing front discs every 3.5K miles. Has anyone else had this problem question.gif I had a slight rim buckle after a crap garage swapped a tyre for me. Could this have an effect on the disc question.gif Standard Mintex pads as supplied by Caterham. It is only one corner, but I do not know which. Andy Mac teeth.gif Team Langoustine. Hard Core Prawn. See you at LeHoux teeth.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFA Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 Big brakes????? Fat Arn Visit the K2 RUM siteid=red> See the Lotus Seven Club 4 Counties Area Website hereid=green> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Carmichael Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 I find it very hard to beleive - everybody else runs these components with no problems. What makes you believe the disk is warped? Peterid=blue> eek.gifSecond loser, Class 5, Curborough May 2002id=red> Edited by - Peter Carmichael on 30 May 2002 11:34:23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allegro Posted May 30, 2002 Author Share Posted May 30, 2002 BIG BRAKES question.gif They are the 4 pot AP front calipers. As I slow down to almost a crawl and apply light braking there is a definate veriation in brake pressure as the wheels rotate. As if the brake pedal is being applied slightly heavier at 180 degree intervals of the wheel rotation. Also bear in mind that the fault went away when new discs were fitted. As the fault gets worse, it will vibrate from speed with heavier braking. It has not got that far yet. But it will. Andy Mac teeth.gif Team Langoustine. Hard Core Prawn. See you at LeHoux teeth.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 It is only one corner, but I do not know which. question.gif explain fredid=blue> eek.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 do you leave your car laid up for a few days with wet disks if so you may find you need to give them a good bedding down water in the space between the disk and pad can do this fredid=blue> eek.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Carmichael Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 The pads are a loose fit in the calipers and tend to rattle about a bit and grab and ride up a bit. More likely your bearings need adjusting. If you want to clean up the disks, get them skimmed rather than replacing them for ~240 quid. If it helps, I have some disks off the car that could be pre-emptively skimmed and we could do an exchange. Peterid=blue> eek.gifSecond loser, Class 5, Curborough May 2002id=red> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allegro Posted May 30, 2002 Author Share Posted May 30, 2002 Fred. The car is stored dry and the fault is present regardless of road conditions. I know it is only one corner because of the frequency of brake variation. Is is a constant with one wheels rotation. If it was both then the variation would change as the two fronts get out of sync. Peter Thanks for the offer of a borrow of discs. The problem is not severe yet, but will turn very annoying within a month or so. I may then take you up on your offer. However I am interested in the bearing option. I take it you are referring to the main front wheel bearings question.gif Can you give me a pointer how these are adjusted. This should be an easy one to try first. Andy Mac teeth.gif Team Langoustine. Hard Core Prawn. See you at LeHoux teeth.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philwaters Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 Hi Andy, Going to the club tonight? To check the wheel bearings you jack up the front and then grab the wheel and see if it has any play in it. Holding it top and bottom is best to take the steering out of it. To adjust: remove wheel, take off the dome cover cap, remove the split pin (need to replace!), and then tighten the nut slightly to bring the next hole/castallation (slots in nut) in line. At this point I normally re-fit the wheel and hold on with two nut and try to find any play.. repeat until it spins freely but with no free play. Phil Waters Zetec is in and running wink.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allegro Posted May 30, 2002 Author Share Posted May 30, 2002 Phil Thanks for that. I will give them a check before this evening. And Yes, I will be along for a pint this evening. I polished my car yesterday, should have known it would pee down on it today. Andy Mac teeth.gif Team Langoustine. Hard Core Prawn. See you at LeHoux teeth.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Carmichael Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 [pre-emptive mode]Removal of the domed covers is easiest done with a punch and hammer.[/pre-emptive mode] I only found that out a few weeks ago... Peterid=blue> eek.gifSecond loser, Class 5, Curborough May 2002id=red> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Carmichael Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 It could also be that the mating surfaces were not entirely clean when the disks were assembled onto the hubs. Peterid=blue> eek.gifSecond loser, Class 5, Curborough May 2002id=red> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allegro Posted May 30, 2002 Author Share Posted May 30, 2002 Thanks Peter If the mating surfaces were a bit crappy when assembled, would they not have always wobbled question.gif Andy Mac teeth.gif Team Langoustine. Hard Core Prawn. See you at LeHoux teeth.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wg_mulholland Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 Sort of relevant reply?: I had something similar to this on my volkswagen golf. Except that I got shudder through the steering wheel when braking hard. I chased arond replacing strut top mount bushes, wishbone bushes, etc. but then when I replaced the discs all was fine, well, for about three months, then it gradually came back. Really cleaning the hub where the disc mounted (with a wire brush, then rotary flap wheel, then emery paper) till it shone before mounting the next pair of discs has cured it so far (six months!). Be careful not to remove metal, but be rough enough to get off the heat baked on oxide layer/general grime. Just thought it might be relevant! Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Mupferit Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 The last time I removed the domed wheel bearing caps, I put a small nipple blush.gif of weld on opposite sides of the cap with a mig welding plant. I can now easily prise off the caps with a large screwdriver, even with the wheels fitted, if I need to adjust the bearings. It makes life a lot easier for checking play as Phil suggested. See you at the Phoenix later if it stops raining! Brent Edited by - BRENT CHISWICK on 30 May 2002 17:02:36 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby dooby doo Posted May 30, 2002 Share Posted May 30, 2002 i have a very cheap screwdriver that has survived removing the from hub covers several times and all sorts of other hammering jobs. it is however now about an inch shorter than its otherwise identical phillips twin! smile.gif you really need to make a BIG DEEP dent before it'll grip enough to remove the cover. don't worry though - the material is pretty thick and doesn't mind! i was also going to suggest checking the bearings before Peter did. OTOH I would have thought (hoped) that caterham would have checked when changing the discs... Dave Hooper - North London dmch2@lineone.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simos Posted May 31, 2002 Share Posted May 31, 2002 A large pair of mole grips gets my bearing covers off. They're tight though so you need to really tighten them and probably tap with a hammer, this doesn't damage the cap. You've checked the disk mounting bolts to make sure they're not loose in any way ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asklepios Posted May 31, 2002 Share Posted May 31, 2002 Try screwing a wood screw down the small hole in the end of the casing . A 1-2" should do the job.You will have to judge the width of scrw ,but self evident when you look at the workpiece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Sewell Posted May 31, 2002 Share Posted May 31, 2002 Just cut some shallow slots in the sides of the caps (every 1/4 turn) so that you can prise the cap out using simple leverage. Low tech luddite - xflow and proud! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elie boone Posted May 31, 2002 Share Posted May 31, 2002 Allegro, did you had the discs and pats run in ? A warped disc is always related to uneven temp. in the disc.If you after some fast laps on a track leave your foot on the brake pedal you create temp differences where the pads are and the discs will warp. You can skim discs but make sure that the disc does not get out of the tollerance set by the manufacturer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Walker Posted June 3, 2002 Share Posted June 3, 2002 I have had this problem before removing the discs look carefully at the outer edge of the discs and check that there is not a high spot that is hitting the anti rattle shimms. This will usually happen as the disc gets hot and expands and may not be evident when cold. Caterham replaced my Alcon discs under warrenty as they were running out by 10 thou but this turned out to be and inaccuracy in the hub and the new discs did not solve the problem. The solution was to file 1mm off the offending pad rentaining/antirattle shims a 10 minute job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allegro Posted June 3, 2002 Author Share Posted June 3, 2002 Thanks for the response gents. I have spoken to others with the same problem and it seems that it may not be a disc problem, but something a little less sinister. So I shall wait until it gets really bad and then start playing. I will post any solutions. Andy Mac teeth.gif Team Langoustine. Hard Core Prawn. See you at LeHoux teeth.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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