Front brake pads wearing thin

Stigy

facade wrote: »

If no-one has ever bothered topping up the brake fluid, the warning lamp will come on when the brake pads are worn out, as the fluid level drops far enough to trigger it.

Nice bit of penny pinching, you don't need pad sensors.

Doesn't work if people go around topping the brake fluid upto "full" though......

I'd just get new pads and change them for the price, then I'd only need to bend down by the wheels once, rather than keep checking them.

Wear sensors on brake pads are not related to the brake fluid level sensor at all (they're a physical wire on at least one of the pads and is triggered by the pad wearing out on to the plastic or wires on the sensor, triggering the warning). The brake fluid level sensor however, does relate to the level of the brake fluid and is positioned on the brake fluid reservoir lid.

I've never known brake fluid to drop to the extent that it triggers the fluid level warning, due to pad wear, and likewise have never had to top fluid up due to pad wear. Through ordinary use I'd say the only warning that you're likely to see is as described above (the pad wear one not fluid level).

bigjl

Stigy wrote: »

Wear sensors on brake pads are not related to the brake fluid level sensor at all (they're a physical wire on at least one of the pads and is triggered by the pad wearing out on to the plastic or wires on the sensor, triggering the warning). The brake fluid level sensor however, does relate to the level of the brake fluid and is positioned on the brake fluid reservoir lid.

I've never known brake fluid to drop to the extent that it triggers the fluid level warning, due to pad wear, and likewise have never had to top fluid up due to pad wear. Through ordinary use I'd say the only warning that you're likely to see is as described above (the pad wear one not fluid level).

He was meaning that the low brake fluid warning would indicate he brakes are worn

Some pads are fitted with acoustic wear markers, basically a piece of bent metal that touches the disc at a set limit and makes a screeching sound when you brake.

They were fitted on my Legacy and my Pathfinder.

straighttalker

Just had a quick look on EuroCarParts. Pads for an Ibiza of that vintage are around £20 with the 30% off. If you're handy with a set of spanners, that's all it'll cost. If you take it to a trusted indie, you're looking at £50-£75 for them to do it I reckon.

As other's have said, try and take a look at the pads on the car first though.

Mr.Generous

you will probably need a G clamp to wind the caliper back if you change them yourself, If they are worn you'll never get new pads into the space, if not worn they won't need changing. Just take cap off hydraulic brake fluid reservoir and put a cloth around it in case it overflows then use clamp to force caliper back far enough for new pads to fit.

Don't worry if you push back too far, they hardly go wider than new pads anyway, and brakes self adjust when you use them. Don't forget to replace the lid on reservoir and only have it open a short time due to properties of hydraulic fluid.

rich13348

Mr.Generous wrote: »

you will probably need a G clamp to wind the caliper back if you change them yourself, If they are worn you'll never get new pads into the space, if not worn they won't need changing. Just take cap off hydraulic brake fluid reservoir and put a cloth around it in case it overflows then use clamp to force caliper back far enough for new pads to fit.

Don't worry if you push back too far, they hardly go wider than new pads anyway, and brakes self adjust when you use them. Don't forget to replace the lid on reservoir and only have it open a short time due to properties of hydraulic fluid.

Haynes manual suggests pinching off the brake hose and cracking open the bleed nipple to get rid of debris. I did it on my old corsa and got loads of black horrible looking fluid out. Then just top up to full.

straighttalker

I've never bothered loosening off the bleed nipples when doing brakes. to do a proper job when touching them, you'd have to bleed the whole system. I've never had an issue with doing them as Mr.Generous has suggested i.e. taking the top off the brake fluid reservoir, sticking a rag in there to soak up any excess and clamping back the pistons. I've heard of people saying you can damage seals if you force the fluid back but I've never had it happen to me.

anotheruser

AdrianC wrote: »

Remember - an MOT is not maintenance or a service. It's just a very basic check that your car meets the absolute bare minimum standard to be allowed on the road.

THIS!

Just get them done sooner rather than later as later, you'll forget they are thin and then it'll end up getting very bad, very quick.

Stigy

Mr.Generous wrote: »

you will probably need a G clamp to wind the caliper back if you change them yourself, If they are worn you'll never get new pads into the space, if not worn they won't need changing. Just take cap off hydraulic brake fluid reservoir and put a cloth around it in case it overflows then use clamp to force caliper back far enough for new pads to fit.

Don't worry if you push back too far, they hardly go wider than new pads anyway, and brakes self adjust when you use them. Don't forget to replace the lid on reservoir and only have it open a short time due to properties of hydraulic fluid.

Assuming they're front pads, a set of swan neck grips to squeeze the piston back will be sufficient, or a large screw driver carefully placed when the old pads are still in situ. I've used this method on all my cars of recent years. The only brakes actually require winding are rear disc/pad setups, in which case you can buy a winder for under a tenner.

Stigy

bigjl wrote: »

He was meaning that the low brake fluid warning would indicate he brakes are worn

Some pads are fitted with acoustic wear markers, basically a piece of bent metal that touches the disc at a set limit and makes a screeching sound when you brake.

They were fitted on my Legacy and my Pathfinder.

We were talking about different sensors, clearly. However both sensors mean different things, which was what I was getting at. The warning I referred to was similar to those found on Japanese cars of old (and some more recent) as you mentioned yours had. Although the ones on more modern cars trigger a dash warning light when the pads wear below a certain thickness due to a bit of fine plastic being in contact with the disc which contains the sensor.

Brake fluid warning indicators indicate a low fluid level, irrespective of the cause. Pad wear indicators indicate worn brake pads.

facade

Yes in The Olden Days my P6 had a copper wire embedded in one pad on each calliper, if any one of them earthed out by touching the disc the pad wear light came on.


This however was a Proper Car with wiring etc.
My 1990s vectra had a contact on a wire that you clipped onto a hole in the pad that did the same thing.

A lot of cars now e.g. my suzuki and my [STRIKE]Renault[/STRIKE] Nissan don't have any pad wear sensors or even squealers, they do use the low fluid warning switch to indicate a problem with the brakes - in this case the pistons have come out far enough to empty the reservoir and put the light on, so they can save the few pennies that the sensor wiring costs multiplied by the thousands of cars sold, and the shareholders get an extra case of bubbly.

If you top the fluid up as the level goes down it wont work.