Brake woes, front disc failure at low miles and other problems

Little Dog

Little Dog

A2OC Donor
European-Union
My front discs are only lasting 10K miles tops. They develop a hard ring around the outer and inner edges that wears away the edges of the pads then discolored rings start to develop and the brakes feel warped when coming to a stop. I've just today fit the third set in as many years, gone for ATE this time, usually fit Pagid.

IMG_6440.JPG


The disc mess:

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Pads with plenty of life if they would wear evenly. Badly messed up piston. Disc retaining screws made of cheese, had to be drill then heated to cherry red to get one of them out.

IMG_6438.JPG


Thoughts? Could this be a defective caliper? Both sides have this problem

Thank you.
 

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Water in the brake fluid will cause corrosion on the pistons making them stick and apply the brakes can also pull the sliding caliper at an angle and give uneven wear at an increased rate.
 
philward said:
My front discs are only lasting 10K miles tops. They develop a hard ring around the outer and inner edges that wears away the edges of the pads them discolored rings start to develop and the brakes feel warped when coming to a stop. I've just today fit the third set in as many years, gone for ATE this time, usually fit Pagid.

View attachment 69870
The
The disc mess:

View attachment 69871

Pads with plenty of life if they would wear evenly. Badly messed up piston. Disc retaining screws made of cheese, had to be drill then heated to cherry red to get one of them out.

View attachment 69869

Thoughts? Could this be a defective caliper? Both sides have this problem

Thank you.
Click to expand...
Hi Philward,
The picture of the used disc is showing a build up of rust on the outer edge visible where a small section has been knocked off,
The disc’s seem prone to this , I remove mine by gently tapping the corner of the disc on top edges with a small hammer ?or disc sander (suitable glasses or goggles) needed.
Working around the circumference will take this crusty build up off revealing the original surface .

This will allow the pads to work across the full face of the disc’s preventing heat build up & discolouration , the discs seem to be more prone to this than they used to be probably due to pad materials etc.

hth
Keith.
 
Do your wheels expose the front discs, seems very strange like those discs look like they have been on for ages!

What make hasnt been lasting??
 
RAB said:
Corrosion. The piston looks corroded.

RAB
Click to expand...
Good point but I think it is corroded because of water and salt on the piston when the pads are fully worn. That makes it many years old as the pads havent been fully worn for at least three years. It was so bad the seals was beginning to weep brake fluid which would not help.
 
audifan said:
Water in the brake fluid will cause corrosion on the pistons making them stick and apply the brakes can also pull the sliding caliper at an angle and give uneven wear at an increased rate.
Click to expand...
I'm confident the fluid is replaced frequently so there should be no water in there. However the pistons are a mess; I bought new pistons and seal kits on the off chance that the pistons were sticking. Looks like they probably were sticky. Sticking pistons and any chance of water being in there should be sorted when I put my brakes back together. Fingers crossed for normal front brake wear and life.
 
Howey said:
Do your wheels expose the front discs, seems very strange like those discs look like they have been on for ages!

What make hasnt been lasting??
Click to expand...
The discs, they have not managed 10k miles. Frustrating and expensive.

The car is std SE with SE wheels and splash guards in good condition. Looking at the comments there is a possibility of me using the wrong pad and disc combination combined with sticky caliper pistons.
 
kp 115 said:
Hi Philward,
The picture of the used disc is showing a build up of rust on the outer edge visible where a small section has been knocked off,
The disc’s seem prone to this , I remove mine by gently tapping the corner of the disc on top edges with a small hammer ?or disc sander (suitable glasses or goggles) needed.
Working around the circumference will take this crusty build up off revealing the original surface .

This will allow the pads to work across the full face of the disc’s preventing heat build up & discolouration , the discs seem to be more prone to this than they used to be probably due to pad materials etc.

hth
Keith.
Click to expand...

Good suggestion and tried it a couple of times, goggles needed, but the pads would need the be ground flat on my case to stop the disc building up a new hard edge before the pad was able to keep the rust at bay. Then I would be OK for another year rather than a few months I achieved when I tried this. Having had asbestos brakes on my earliest cars I'm completely averse to messing with pads and pad dust.
A skim and a new set of pads would be a possibility for a year or 10K miles.
 
philward said:
The discs, they have not managed 10k miles. Frustrating and expensive.

The car is std SE with SE wheels and splash guards in good condition. Looking at the comments there is a possibility of me using the wrong pad and disc combination combined with sticky caliper pistons.
Click to expand...
Hi Philward,
I find that my brembo discs & pads were fine until that edge builds & then the pads are only braking on the edge buildup causing the heat to build up in that area which in turn makes it harder .
Hth
Keith
 
I have been using Mintex Brake Boxes from the first time our 1.4SE Petrol needed Discs and Pads. Bought from eBay every time. 2 Mintex Discs and Set of 4 Pads all in one Box. Never had any problem at all. I get through 2 Sets of Pads to 1 Pair of Discs. Same applies to other Audi’s and our kids Corsas I have fitted them on. Mintex Brake Box for our A2 is MDK 0152. Approx £50 Delivered Free
 
If they are original calipers and seals they have done very well
Slight binding of caliper piston and sliders my best guess
Been using ATE for many years now and whilst initially they cost more they are cheaper over the life of the components
Previously fitted genuine discs and pads from TPS and got annual advisory from one particular Mot tester re rusty discs
 
66Beetle said:
I have been using Mintex Brake Boxes from the first time our 1.4SE Petrol needed Discs and Pads. Bought from eBay every time. 2 Mintex Discs and Set of 4 Pads all in one Box. Never had any problem at all. I get through 2 Sets of Pads to 1 Pair of Discs. Same applies to other Audi’s and our kids Corsas I have fitted them on. Mintex Brake Box for our A2 is MDK 0152. Approx £50 Delivered Free
Click to expand...
Exactly as it should be as it is with every other car I own. It is just the A2 that plays me up. Your comment is encouraging thank you because it means I’m chasing a fault.
 
Weetank2 said:
If they are original calipers and seals they have done very well
Slight binding of caliper piston and sliders my best guess
Been using ATE for many years now and whilst initially they cost more they are cheaper over the life of the components
Previously fitted genuine discs and pads from TPS and got annual advisory from one particular Mot tester re rusty discs
Click to expand...
Yes they have done 160k miles. Sliders and pistons will be new. ATE paid extra for and now waiting for the callipers.
Encouraging you thinK ATE plus a calliper overhaul is the way to go, thank you.
 
I have been using Mintex Brake Boxes from the first time our 1.4SE Petrol needed Discs and Pads. Bought from eBay every time. 2 Mintex Discs and Set of 4 Pads all in one Box. Never had any problem at all. I get through 2 Sets of Pads to 1 Pair of Discs. Same applies to other Audi’s and our kids Corsas I have fitted them on. Mintex Brake Box for our A2 is MDK 2854 around £50 Delivered Free on eBay.

If you look on sjrautoparts eBay Shop they do new A2 Front Calipers at £33.95 each delivered free. I can’t vouch for the quality of the Calipers but everything else I have bought from them has been fine. Direct Fit A2 Aero Wiper Blade with Free Refil £9.99. I have recommended them several times on here. The Refil Wiper Rubbers Fit Original Audi Aero Blades no problem.
 
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Sticking calipers would mean the brakes would have been getting hotter and could lead to the disc looking "red". I dont feel this is your issue
 
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