Ford Focus Brakes help please?

Barneysmom

Hi I took my Focus in for it's regular service and the mechanic said I need new back discs/pads.
Can anyone tell me how they would have been checked please, I mean how would he know without taking any of the wheels off?

KillerWatt

Barneysmom wrote: »

Hi I took my Focus in for it's regular service and the mechanic said I need new back discs/pads.
Can anyone tell me how they would have been checked please, I mean how would he know without taking any of the wheels off?

Discs are easily seen just by looking underneath the vehicle, and it is quite possible to see the pads on certain vehicles from underneath as well.

Having said that, if new discs are needed then common sense dictates that new pads are also fitted.

mikey72

You can see them through the wheels, you can easily see them from the underside.

Barneysmom

Oh, thank you for that, I thought they had to go on a special machine or something as I've got no wobbling or anything on braking and the hand brake is really good.


He also asid there's excessive play on the clutch due to some dampers or something wearing either side of the clutch plate (something like that anyway, I'm not sure) He said it would be £800 to have this problem sorted out (1600 '06 diesel), does that sound right to you please?

Hammyman

Barneysmom wrote: »

Oh, thank you for that, I thought they had to go on a special machine or something as I've got no wobbling or anything on braking and the hand brake is really good.

The brakes can be down to metal and the handbrake work OK. Usual advisory is when they're down to a couple of mm which gives you a little while to get them done.

He also asid there's excessive play on the clutch due to some dampers or something wearing either side of the clutch plate (something like that anyway, I'm not sure) He said it would be £800 to have this problem sorted out (1600 '06 diesel), does that sound right to you please?

Have you noticed it slipping?

Barneysmom

Not much.
I get a kind of drag every once in a while if that makes sense?

It's a bit like you know when the wind is really high and it suddenly grabs the car and lets go, a bit like that but only for a split second. it feels more like a breathing problem than a clutch one, byut I'm struggling to work out what it is. Maybe he's right?

Hammyman

How well maintained is it? If you're not servicing it, it could be the engine as you reckon. Try this experiment. With the handbrake hard on, put the car in gear, give it a few revs, not too manu, and with a light throttle slowly let the clutch out. The engine should stall if the clutch is OK.

forgotmyname

Play in the clutch = rumbling noise from the DMF (Dual Mass Flywheel).

Instead of a solid flywheel that lasts longer than the car in normal use, They now fit one made from
several parts held together by luck & springs it seems.

Can you hear a noise from the clutch area with the engine running? Noise changes if you press the clutch pedal?

When it starts to fail it fills the starter motor with metal filings and that fails also.

taffy056

That seems to be real expensive to replace a clutch imo, I replaced a 2002 petrol for about £200 , bought off ebay but it works fine, and a mobile mechanic done it for £100 on my driveway.

I would seriously shop around if I was you.

benham3160

taffy056 wrote: »

That seems to be real expensive to replace a clutch imo, I replaced a 2002 petrol for about £200 , bought off ebay but it works fine, and a mobile mechanic done it for £100 on my driveway.

I would seriously shop around if I was you.

This would have been a solid flywheel, in this case we're talking about a two-part clutch kit with a Dual Mass Flywheel.

DMFs are the work of the devil, totally pointless, very expensive, and fail all too often.

Regards,
Andy

Strider590

Did you take it to "crap fit" ? (or similar)