malross Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 Hi all, I'm getting some pretty disconcerting noises from my zed and I was wondering whether there's anyone in the Newcastle upon Tyne area with a bit of nous who could help me diagnose the problem? I suspect it's brake and/or bearing related. I took it to a garage a few weeks back and asked them to investigate, but they never even took the thing out for a drive to hear it for themselves. But that's a gripe for another day. In the meantime, I'm left with a car that's making me nervous. Here's a potted history... On 21st March, I had it out on Bedford Autodrome. Despite upgrading the pads to Performance Friction all round (in Nov 08) and the fluid to DOT 5.0, I had pretty bad brake fade (as ever). At one point, there was also a loud bang from the left rear under heavy braking. The pedal feel didn't change at all, mind, and on returning to the pits, all I could see was a very small amount of fluid seepage from the nipples on both rear calipers (more on the left rear than right rear). Perhaps foolishly, I cautiously carried on and had no further problems for the rest of the trackday. Since then, however, I've started to notice a noise that sounds like a bearing going. I can't tell for sure which corner it's coming from, but it sounds like the left rear. It's a kind of woo-woo-woo noise, if you get me. And recent weaving on stretches of deserted dual carriageway has shown it to be noisier when turning right. That suggests to me that it's due to the left-hand side of the car being under load and therefore more likely to be a problem with a bearing on the left side of the car. Is that fair? I've also noticed a metal-plate-sounding clink over bumpy surfaces at low speeds - something I had on my Mini once. I just can't remember how it was sorted. Playing with the pads in the calipers shows both rears to be pretty loose, whereas the fronts barely move at all. Is there a chance the pistons are a bit buggered on my rear brakes? And one final thing(!) -- I've recently noticed the front discs have a strange on-off-on-off wear pattern on them: [attachment=1]uneven_rotor_wear1.jpg[/attachment] [attachment=0]uneven_rotor_wear2.jpg[/attachment] From the day I bought the car (Dec 07), I've felt that the front brakes were very slightly warped, as deceleration when slowly coming to a halt was uneven. Is that likely to be the cause of the wear pattern? If anyone can offer any advice -- or better still, come and take a look at the car -- it would be much appreciated. And if the advice to be offered is "get a whole new brake setup", what would you go for? Thanks in advance, Mal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 The noise description that you give leads me to agree that it is a wheel bearing issue. You do not specify which type of PF pads you are using and you appear to be running oem rotors. There should be no issues with your calliper pistons but I am concerned that there is a discharge of brake fluid from the bleed screws if in fact that really is the case. As regards a brake upgrade, there is so much available but it will all depend on how much track use you have planned and your budget. I have Brembo, DBA and Performance Friction Brake Rotors all available and Brembo, PF and Ferodo DS2500 pad kits to match all applications. Hel and Goodrich brake lines and Motul Fluid also all available. Alex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MITZ@CougarStore Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 They look like OEM discs... Lots of upgrade options available, all depends on how you intend to use your car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malross Posted June 14, 2009 Author Share Posted June 14, 2009 You do not specify which type of PF pads you are using and you appear to be running oem rotors. There should be no issues with your calliper pistons but I am concerned that there is a discharge of brake fluid from the bleed screws if in fact that really is the case. There was only that small dribble once on the trackday. And yeah, I am still on OEM rotors - was that a bad idea for the new pads? Not sure what PF pads they are and can't find my receipts now but they were bought from ESR just before they had to close down (if that helps). As regards a brake upgrade, there is so much available but it will all depend on how much track use you have planned and your budget. Not sure on the budget yet - it's more likely that the typical range of prices will determine when/whether it happens at all. How much would I need to spend to improve on OEM kit? I intend to go on track only twice a year, so I don't need race kit and do want something that'll be ok in general road use. Cheers for your help, guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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