cbdc

Thanks for the latest posts. Occurs to me, if I can recruit my more mechanically-minded friend and find a flat (and warm and dry) place to do it, do you have to re-bleed the brakes after stripping and/or replacing the caliper; and if so, front and rear or just rear? And how? It it an easy or time-consuming 2 man job )without any special equipment)? I'm very used to the hassles of stripping calipers and bleeding on motorcycle brakes (long hassles often being the word!), but no clue on cars. How much is the full caliper; and where do you recommend buying from, and OEM or aftermarket? Or otherwise, how long might a good garage take to do it? Might, for speed, just be worth going for the replace everything and pay to get it done. My rear calipers were last replaced July 2018. Cheers again.

Maccy - yes, I'm wondering if best option; more expense I could do without... Does that replace the gunked-up rod/lever and "brake mechanism" (as referred to above) as well or does that still need replacing or cleaning and lubricating separately?

Thanks Tailhappy. As I said, outside of my abilities and premises, so I'll have to see about garage, or else find another; probably then costly. If I could do it myself, don't I need some special piston-winding-in tool (or something like that)?

What do you mean by "cleaning out the handbrake mechanism" please? Can you clean out the "bore"? And do the calipers need cleaning or rebuilding or new seals? (Used to that on motorbikes!) Might a new cable, or lever, help? Not really in a position to do any work on the car myself, so have got yo get the garage to sort whatever's needed: though supposedly it's already been done twice... Did read and see a vid about the lever. So will check that tomorrow if ice allows! I'll check with the garage what he's actually freed off; it started with strip and clean out the brakes and replace the pads - apparently they were binding a bit but wasn't noticeable to drive, not smelly. Now is, of course! It's only started being a problem when he's replaced the pads and done his 'clean' though; that's what worries me.

Disc

Hi. (I actually am an old, if occasional member of this most helpful place, but can't remember which email I registered with, maybe deleted, so have started again!) Wondering if anyone has any advice, suggestions, etc. Have already read related threads on here from earlier years & watched a couple of YT bids to understand the mechanism concerned. Anyhows, had my 04 1.9tdi estate for 16 years, through many pads and discs, few calipers, few handbrake cable adjustments - but never had problems. In mid November, the MOT garage, a new one to me, said that they'd "freed off" the rear brakes & changed the pads. I wasn't aware of the binding, but fair enough. 3 weeks later, just after the really cold weather and snow, the handbrake travel was suddenly massive (after it had been on the parked on the flat for a week), and the brakes wouldn't hold the car on a gentle slope. Took it back to the garage, who tinkered and made it OK again. All been good until couple of days ago (again very cold, pre snow - not sure if that's coincidence or not) when the handbrake suddenly stopped holding the car on the drive. Then, only then, did the lever travel get longer. Today, but not yesterday, after about 5 miles, there was a nasty hot brake smell from offside rear, so I guess they're for some reason now also binding on. Car doesn't do massive mileage, but I am planning a long motorway trip pretty soon, so worried... Got it booked back again to the garage next week, but really starting to wonder if he knows what he's doing, or if I should cut my losses and pay another garage to sort it out (if, indeed, they know what's wrong). Will in the meantime have a crawl underneath and see if anything (like the lever position) is obvious. Cheers