Righto, doing some checkups and I can see that my left side brake pads are almost completely worn down(very) while on the right side there's loads of meat on the pad. No uneven braking occured(no sliding left or right), no juddering either, so what could it be? Stuck piston?

Also, how can I tell the difference between type 1 and type 2 caliper?

And how can I jack up the car at the front and put it on axle stands where the only possible place to jack it up is at the jacking point and if a jack is occupying that point then I can't really slide an axle stand under it. Halp

Edited 3 September, 200917 yr by MehMan

sticky piston or sliders

dunno if its right...i jack mine on the arb bracker on the front

I'd guess a sticky caliper, have then apart and clean/service them up. I rebuild kit is about £7-8 a side.

The caliper will have VWI or VWII cast onto it on the outside. As a rule of thumb though, solid discs = VWI, vented discs = VWII.

Ah, prolly VWII then. Another question, does taking the caliper apart require brake bleeding? I'm guesing yes. Just need to know what to stock up on when I get to it.

Edited 3 September, 200917 yr by MehMan

yes new seals and bleeding

Quick question, are these the right seals for VWII calipers?

Appears so - near impossible to tell from that photo,but for the slider boots being different lengths,corresponding with the different length bolts for the different size casting points.

Yep, the boot sliders are different lengths. So I guess the store didn't mess up. Also, is it best to do both calipers, or is it fine to refurb just one caliper? I'm more inclinded to do both calipers, seems the safest.

sticky piston or sliders

dunno if its right...i jack mine on the arb bracker on the front

I cant even fit a jack under there :( Towing eye were it meets the bodywork for me

Righto, I decided to cough up pay through my nose for VW parts. I'm talking about the rubber seals and boots, what a difference. The VW ones seem much better, much more solid and less flimsy. Haven't fitted it yet, I have changed the pads, just to see if it'll help, but it's only made the wheel wobble return, indicating something wrong with the caliper. Another question, what kind of grease should I use on the caliper piston? Lithium?

how much was the rebuild kit from vw dude?

Righto, I decided to cough up pay through my nose for VW parts. I'm talking about the rubber seals and boots, what a difference. The VW ones seem much better, much more solid and less flimsy. Haven't fitted it yet, I have changed the pads, just to see if it'll help, but it's only made the wheel wobble return, indicating something wrong with the caliper. Another question, what kind of grease should I use on the caliper piston? Lithium?

Don't put grease on the piston.

If you have trouble getting it in past the seal you can put a little brake fluid on it to lubricate it, but any grease might cause leaks and certainly isn't something you want inside the working part of your calliper.

You should, however, use grease on the calliper *sliders*. I personally use Lithium CV grease, as I explained in the other thread, for its high melting point. Some people swear by copper grease but bear in mind that it isn't so much a lubricant as an anti-slip.

But yeah, no grease on the piston.

What about ATE brake grease? Still a nono?

The seals cost me 16€(not in the UK). I'm getting the seals tommorow, but got the slider pin boots today. I had to cut one because one of the bolts got rounded and I had to resort to molegrips to get it out. Another quick question, I've lubricated the sliding pins and they move freely, but require a bit of force, not a whole lot, but noticable. Is that fine or not? What should I use to lubricate the sliding pins? Also, since I replaced the pads I'm getting awful steering wheel wobble at speeds from 60 to 80 mph. There's a bit of it before that, it's not engine rev related as it does it no matter what. I haven't yet replaced the seals and took care of the piston, could it just be that? As in, sticky piston? Or something different?

Edited 10 September, 200917 yr by MehMan

Doubt that a sticking calliper would cause steering wobble. Pulling to one side and a noticable lack of economy maybe.

You did put the wheel bolts on properly, right?

Could you have lost a balancing weight from the wheel?

Yeah, tightened them up to the proper torque too. I had this problem before, it went away but now it's back. I'll try changing front/rear tires and see what happens.

Edited 10 September, 200917 yr by MehMan

Quick update, I solved the steering wheel wobble by changing the front and rear wheels. Seems to have done the trick.

Quick update, I solved the steering wheel wobble by changing the front and rear wheels. Seems to have done the trick.

would have just been the wheel balancing that was causing the wheel wobble

Probably is, need to stop by the local garage and give them a hard time(and go to another garage), this is the third time I'm going to need to get the wheels rebalanced.

Sounds like you lost a balance weight when you took the wheels off. :)

Checked it round and round, and all the weights are still there.