I was driving into Oxford today and i had to brake hard on a duel carriage way to avoid jumping the red lights. When i did this i put the brakes on 50% and hardly anything happened, then i pushed on the brake peddle fully and still hardly nothing happened. The car came to a stop but very very slowly. It could have easily turned out much worse. There is a very slight grinding noise when i push on the brake peddle.

what could this be?

Would appreciate you help as this is clearly the most import aspect of a cars safety.

Cheers

Tom

Edited 9 April, 201214 yr by simmonds19

If in doubt take it to a garage.

Look for loss of fluid and leaks, by the master cylinder, all the brake lines and flexi hoses. If the hydraulic side of things is good then check condition of discs n pads all round.

I wouldn't drive it at all until you find the cause of the problem, if your not too savvy get a free brake check at like kick fit or something and post up on here what the report is.

Right I'm off for a free check up as you said at 12:30 so i will let you know what they say when i get back

cheers

Tom

if there is a grinding then I would say you have no brake pad left... and its just metal on metal..

Just got back from kwick fit. According to them the front disk brakes are fine however the rear drum reams are getting contaminated as something is leaking

If I'm honest I didn't really understand but they quoted £244 for the job

What do you think?

Cheers

Tom

Just got back from kwick fit. According to them the front disk brakes are fine however the rear drum reams are getting contaminated as something is leaking

If I'm honest I didn't really understand but they quoted £244 for the job

What do you think?

Cheers

Tom

Well it might mean the rear cylinder was leaking and was squirting brake fluid over your drums and shoes.. but I don't trust Kwik Fit

Do you know what they are replacing for that?

Yeah I'm not going to go ahead with kwick fit only went to them as I was passing by.

I think they were replacing both brake shoes and something else to do with cables or pipes to do with the flow of liquid..?!

Tom

By the way that you describe things, my guess is that you don't know a lot about cars. This is nothing to be ashamed of, but you obviously do need some professional help with repairs, especially on something as important as brakes.

As you suggest, avoid the 'quick fit' merchants and make some enquiries about a local, trusted, independent garage. There are some about, but there are also some cowboys, so personal recommendation is the best way of identifying one.

Regards.

To me this problem sounds like a leaking wheel cylinder/brake cylinder (that pushes the shoes into the drum) is leaking brake fluid into the deposit off shoes causing a horrible mess. If it is the cylinder check the houses around it, then look at the part its self. Peal back the rubber cover ever side and if there is fluid then there is your leak. They are peanuts from any car parts dealer and often go on normal road cars with drums.

Take off your wheel, remove drum cover (Making sure that your handbrake is off or not binding) and will look something like this:

This is the part in question:

As been stated it seams like you don't have much mechanical knowledge, nor do I really as i am only a apprentice. But hope this helps.

In that case you are best of getting a garage to look at it, really if you provide the part that they say? You will pay less then they will sell it to you, Then your money can go on labour for the job.

Best of luck!!

I don't know how Kwik Fit get away with charging £244 for changing a rear brake cylinder/pipes. It's disgusting if you ask me.

As mentioned above, ask a few people if they know any good local garages, ideally individually ran businesses rather than chains like kwik fit.

May be worth getting yourself a copy of the Haynes manual for your car and some basic tools, repairs like this are simple if you have some mechanical knowledge and the amount of money you can save is mental. And the only way to learn is to give it a go!

ask around to find a good garage mate. they wont charge as much as I know taking brakes on yourself can be daunting. but everyone is right about saving cash, for example an oil service would cost about 80 quid from a franchised garage, I did my last with good oil and a genuine VW oil filter for £20 and thats 60 quid saving on a 20 minute job.

Same with the above I got genuine service parts for £40 and done it within a hour or so. Well chuffed as it would of cost £200 from a local dealer.