Just lately the front brakes on my 97 Felicia have been making a horrible grinding noise under heavy braking, so I had a look at the discs and found there's a lip formed on the inner and outer radius.This has cut into the disc about 3mm but the actual contact surface is nice and smooth with no warping or grooves whatsoever so I was wondering if it would be an idea to turn the lip down then shim the pads forwards, a guy at work said this would risk the disc shattering. The pads themselves have about 3-4mm of contact material left on them but on the inner pad there is a bevel on the outer edge. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreiciated.

This has cut into the disc about 3mm

Er, if I understand you correctly that means you've lost some 6mm of disc thickness. In that case, replace the discs NOW. The maximum allowable thickness loss is 3mm, (i.e. the minimum allowable thickness is 10mm compared with a new thickness of 13mm) so yours are shagged, knackered, worn out, dead, and generally a liability. They're not very expensive and very easy to replace.

You might as well do the pads at the same time. Old pads on new discs is a bit of a false economy anyway and if they're down to 3mm of friction material they're nearly dead too.

Just don't cheapskate with brakes, you look awfully silly when they fall apart during an emergency stop on the motorway.

it's not uncommon for pads to wear a radial lip onto the outer edge of a disc, in your case think of it like this, you have a 3mm groove, and 3mm left of the pad, this means the outer edge of the pad is touching the outer edge of the disc, hence the grinding noise.... brake discs are relatively cheap... just replace them as well as new pads

personally i would say get thm changed pronto

Thanks, I think deep down you're telling me what I already suspected, it's just a case of trying to eek out every last bit before having to spend money that I don't really have at the minute, this tatty five pound note has to last me until next month! As regards the relative cost are expensive discs/pads any better than cheaper ones or is it just marketing bluff. Jorily has a set for 50 quid all in, while I've seen Mintex sets costing double that. Will I really be saving money with the cheaper ones or will it just cost me more in the long run. I'm not after super duper breaking performance more longer lifespan instead.

Replace them pronto, brakes could mean life or death and should not be eeked until the last moment.

In their current state they may not work when you next need to stop in a hurry.

There is a full set of mintex discs and pads on ebay for £47 with £11 shipping.

One thing that confuses me is that it says "all models with lucas braking systems".

Do all Felicias use a Lucas braking system?

Phil

german and swedish normally do good prices on brake components.. in regards to cheap vs expensive discs, the more expensive discs are normally made from a slightly higher grade of carbon steel which resist corrosion a lot better, but to be honest even the cheaper ones should last a good 40k

Agreed with the above.

You could, in theory, as long as the discs aren't excessively worn (which needs them measuring, preferably with a micrometer), chip the lip off, as long as the pads are in good order, but I'm not sure they are from your description. If one of them's "wedged" this probably means the disc thickness is uneven, or the caliper's jammed on the slides.

I think we have some members near you who're into DIY and would have a look for free, or do the work for some beer tokens.

Have bought new discs and pads today, 65 pound in Partco, they're Unipart ones which I think aren't bargain basement nor top end. I would really like to try this job myself as the more things I do with the car the more confident I become but on this one hopefully I can convince one of the boys at work to supervise/intervene/help. In respect of them being dangerous or unroadworthy I would point out I said "under harsh braking", driving in and around town (which is 90% of my driving) you wouldn't have suspected any problem, it is only when arriving at roundabouts on the dual carriageway where you're braking from high speed to a complete stop say for 5 or 6 seconds that any problem was apparent, and then it was "only" the noise, you'd still stop ok, and besides I'm not going to take out a car that I know is dangerous with 2 small children in it. Anyway thank you all for your advice and pointers.

We sell mid range discs and pads for £39-95 and O.E.M for £59-99. This includes 2 discs and full set of brake pads. Delivery via DHL is £10-00.