Warped discs... again...

bm_sthlm

bm_sthlm

A2OC Donor
A couple of months ago I had warped discs.

So I went to Audi and they offered the repair them for a reasonable price. New ones cost around £300. So I had them repaired instead and they worked great. For 3 weeks.... Then I had the exact same symptoms coming back.

I thought there is no way around it so I went and had them replaced for a new pair of brembo discs and pads. And they where great.... for 3 weeks... :(

I been driving mostly in the city, but today I went for a short trip and when I braked I could feel the exact vibration. Not as much as before, but I can feel its coming back again.

Its like a bad dream, I cant get rid of it. Could it be something else beside warped disc? If it is warped discs, again, what can cause it to reappear so fast. Surely new disc should last more then 3 weeks...
 
Hi i had the same issues when my independent service guy fitted euro car parts discs with pagid pads(audi use pagid) but they only lasted 2 weeks. i do high miles in my FSI (same colour as yours castle red) But euro car parts exchanged them free with fitting--then again free three weeks later. This last time all was fine and they have been fantastic for over a year now. I guess it is down to cheep castings and machining. good luck mike
 
Wheel bearings ok?, are they warping on both sides?

If you stop in front of traffic lights, or after some hard braking, don't keep your foot on the brakepedal, this can disturbs the discs due to thermal tension caused by the brakepads pressing to the hot discs. This can cause warping discs.

What you could try is doing some hard braking (use an open road in the country side), I mean real hard braking like an emergency stop, 3 or 4 times on a row to make the discs real hot.
Pull up to a 60 and hit the brakes hard.
After the last time just drive normally to cool them down.
 
I had same problem with heavy pedal feedback. Replaced front discs but now I'm convinced that rear drums are the cause of my vibration.
Do you have rear discs or drums?
 
A2driver said:
I had same problem with heavy pedal feedback. Replaced front discs but now I'm convinced that rear drums are the cause of my vibration.
Do you have rear discs or drums?
Click to expand...

I have drums in the back. Concidering how many warped discs I keep getting I wish I had drums in the front also. :D
What was the problem with the drums? But my symptoms acctually disappeared after I had them fixed, but then reappeared after a few weeks. Could it still be the drums?

Rolf said:
Wheel bearings ok?, are they warping on both sides?

If you stop in front of traffic lights, or after some hard braking, don't keep your foot on the brakepedal, this can disturbs the discs due to thermal tension caused by the brakepads pressing to the hot discs. This can cause warping discs.

What you could try is doing some hard braking (use an open road in the country side), I mean real hard braking like an emergency stop, 3 or 4 times on a row to make the discs real hot.
Pull up to a 60 and hit the brakes hard.
After the last time just drive normally to cool them down.
Click to expand...

I dont know how my wheel bearings are, I guess its something worth checking out. I also dont know if they are warped on both sides, is there a easy way to check that?
I will try the braking rutin you suggested when ever I have some time, hopefully something easy like that would fix it.

I dont want to fix them until I know what the problem is, becouse I guess they just gone get warped again in a few weeks. I have already payed more then I wanted to try and fix them.
 
Well if the discs have been replaced and run true then my guess is look at the rear drums. Mine are definitely up for replacement. They get worn and warp easily too. Could experiment by gently pulling on handbrake at 10 mph and see if back end pulses
 
I have a depth dial measuring tool that I use to check my disks when fitting (cheap tool cost about £10 second hand with magnetic base (not so good for aluminum cars))- I have to use washers to hold the disks in place with the wheel bolts while I have the wheels off and I just spin the disks to see how much run out I have, the problem with my disks are that they only tend to be badly warped when they are hot - but you can still see the problem and identify the disk when cold as the dial is very accurate - I know it's my front drivers disk but I will have to change both as mine are quite worn, just don't want to buy a cheap replacement - maybe a genuine audi replacement would be worth while + I agree with using the handbrake after stopping hard helps with the heat
 
Anyone have any recommendations regarding which discs to buy.
The pedal feedback is really annoying me now when I drive our A2.
I Ended up changing rear drums last year and vibration was still there.
Which means the front discs warped within 3 weeks of fitting
 
A2driver said:
Anyone have any recommendations regarding which discs to buy.
The pedal feedback is really annoying me now when I drive our A2.
I Ended up changing rear drums last year and vibration was still there.
Which means the front discs warped within 3 weeks of fitting
Click to expand...

ATE powerdiscs and ceramic pads. Better braking abilities and zero Brake dust.
 
Sorry, no, there's no build up of black Brake dust. I only have to wash my car now when Road grime builds up as apposed to brake dust. We'll worth the money. Shop around you should be able to get both discs and pads for around £100. Twice the price of normal parts but not a huge amount considering how long they last.
 
<heavy sigh> sounds all too familiar. I am on my third set of brand new discs and pads since last July. The steering judder seems to return after anything from 6-12 weeks. Took longer last time as I had Stealth change the front wheel bearings (after reading some threads on A2OC hat cited it as a possible fault).
Reluctant to keep throwing money at it, perhaps I'll have the anti-roll bar checked next....
 
simes2024 said:
<heavy sigh> sounds all too familiar. I am on my third set of brand new discs and pads since last July. The steering judder seems to return after anything from 6-12 weeks. Took longer last time as I had Stealth change the front wheel bearings (after reading some threads on A2OC hat cited it as a possible fault).
Reluctant to keep throwing money at it, perhaps I'll have the anti-roll bar checked next....
Click to expand...

Much as I am not inclined to criticise Stealth because I respect their knowledge and skills and have had a lot of good work done by them on my car, they make the mistake of replacing the A2's wheel bearings with a press. This means the bearing isn't necessarily pushed all the way home, the retaining ring doesn't necessarily engage and the bearing can walk out of its carrier a little. As the bearing walks out, the brake disc moves with it. This is a likely cause of repeated warped discs.

There are a few club members who own the special tool needed to do a bearing replacement properly, myself included.

Cheers,

Tom
 
I have special bearing tool (bought after paid someone to fit it -wrongly) and my disc's are warped. Surely loose bearings would give wobble feedback at other times than just braking?
 
I'm with Timmus on this that sounds exactly like the cause of the problem.
I had to have the front wheel hub replaced last year in a bit of a hurry and the garage who did it (who up until that point had given me good service) clearly also only did it with the press technique and not the correct tool.
A few months later I had A2 Cars pull it all out and re-do it with the correct tools and parts.
 
timmus said:
Much as I am not inclined to criticise Stealth because I respect their knowledge and skills and have had a lot of good work done by them on my car, they make the mistake of replacing the A2's wheel bearings with a press. This means the bearing isn't necessarily pushed all the way home, the retaining ring doesn't necessarily engage and the bearing can walk out of its carrier a little. As the bearing walks out, the brake disc moves with it. This is a likely cause of repeated warped discs.

There are a few club members who own the special tool needed to do a bearing replacement properly, myself included.

Cheers,

Tom
Click to expand...

Hi Tom and thanks for your input.
Am not really sure what to do next, after all it would not seem right for me to tell Stealth how to do their job. They have invited me to bring the A2 back for a check but already admitted they are not sure what they'll find.
I'm wondering if your suggestion of incorrectly fitted bearings means I'll have to buy another brand new set!
I too have trusted Stealth's skills so far, but when I went last time it did almost seem like I was suggesting to them what the fault was rather than them telling me.....
Perhaps it's time to try the other lot in Milton Keynes (30 miles nearer too)
Cheers, Simon
 
Hi Simon
I had exactly the same problem after Stealth fitted new bearings. I went to Tony at A2 Cars and the problem was solved. I was very pleased with Stealth for the other work they did, remap and higher top gear, service etc. I would ring Tony.
Peter
 
simes2024 said:
I too have trusted Stealth's skills so far, but when I went last time it did almost seem like I was suggesting to them what the fault was rather than them telling me...
Click to expand...

I surmise that this comes down to personal interests. Whilst Vince has great knowledge of VAG vehicles in general, he's not an A2 lover per se. Stealth's involvement in A2OC came about during the time when Vince's wife had an A2. He learnt a lot about them during that time, especially given the number of club member frequenting his door, but he's far more into his VR6 Corrados and such. Does it make sense for him to invest time and money in an expensive tool that performs one job on only a handful of vehicles? Perhaps not.

I'm more than happy to help anyone with wheel bearing issues, but in this particular case I think geographical distance favours others. :)

Cheers,

Tom
 
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