Hi all, recently purchased my 16 plate Octy estate 1.6 TDI DSG. Its still under Skoda warranty until the end of Nov, only got 36k on clock

 

Noticed a light grinding noise coming from front end, occasionally while not braking it can be heard but gets worse under light / medium braking. Car was serviced by Skoda 2 months ago and they reported front pads are 50% worn. It did cross my mind to begin with that it could be bearings but having looked at the discs noticed that there is a bit of a lip on them that has a slightly rough corroded edge, which is what I suspect is causing the noise, but wasn't picked up during the service or road test they did. The pads are chamfered so the top outer edges of them do appear quite low. I must admit I didn't notice the noise on the test drive but as with any used car purchase the first few weeks of driving are spent tuned in listening out for any catastrophic noises 😂

 

Obviously brakes are not a warranty item, so I'm thinking the only way to cure it would be to fit new discs and pads on the fronts. I normally do my own servicing and would prefer to use original parts if possible. Has anyone changed the OEM discs and pads and if so did you use OEM parts or aftermarket please? On my old car I just used Europarts and got Eicher or Brembo etc . Just wondering where the best place is to get original parts to compare prices, or if the OEM ones are worth the extra cash etc.

 

Any advice muchly appreciated -  I'm only 3 weeks into my ownership and so far am loving it. It's my first Skoda, first diesel and first automatic come to think of it. I have been a Vauxhall man for the last 15 years. 😝

If your pads are still 50% and there is still good "meat" in the discs yet you prob won't need to change them just yet. The grinding/rubbing noise you hear could be coming from the lip you saw catching or rubbing somewhere. That lip can easily be removed by chipping it away with a hammer or if the lip is more substantial than that you may need to grind it away. Or it could just be a small stone stuck somewhere and rubbing against the brake disc, I had that happen a time or 2. Although if in doubt just get them changed, pads discs aren't all that expensive particular of you are happy to fit them yourself. 

Edited 23 September, 20196 yr by Gmac983

Look at the back of the discs. some can be in a terrible state while the front and the lip is just as you are seeing.

4 minutes ago, Roottootemoot said:

Look at the back of the discs. some can be in a terrible state while the front and the lip is just as you are seeing.

 

Also there could be a similar lip on the inside diameter of the effective working face of the disc (for want of a better way of describing it) 

There could be.

Or there could be worse.

 

Amazing what some Techs or Fitters fail to see when doing Main Dealership Servicing or pre-sales checks.

Edited 23 September, 20196 yr by Roottootemoot

Yep that's a beaut'. I work in a machine shop and the amount of folk that come in with discs that look like they came of the titanic to have then skimmed is unreal, thinking they'll get them done for a tenner. We always tell them that yes we will do it but the results will be completely at their own risk (as people often complain of vibration after they've been done. Usually the best way to do them is turn them on a "dolly" or spigot so that both faces of the disc can be skimmed in one setting to ensure total flatness inside face to outside face, it takes time to do it right (of course they can be done the wrong way in a few minutes but the results usually speak for themselves. Even a few micron of a run-out can cause vibration. 

Edited 23 September, 20196 yr by Gmac983

Wow that looks rough! Does anyone know a good OEM Skoda brake parts supplier in UK - I'm guessing there may be some compatibility with VW parts.

 

Thanks for the replies 🙂 

11 hours ago, Piescoffer said:

Does anyone know a good OEM Skoda brake parts supplier in UK

 

This has been discussed many times before, if your disks and pads are OK it is not unusual for brakes to need a refresh mid way through their life. Especially if it has little use. Take the lose stuff off the disk with a wire brush, the lip can be flattened with hand tools and then the pad needs re-dressing to get rid of glazing and embedded crud.

 

If this cannot be done really easily then you are ****ing into the wind doing anything other than changing them. In the great scheme of things it is not a difficult or overly costly job. To clean them up properly it is the same work (if not more) than changing them.

 

Any of the parts places ECP, GSF etc etc (or Autodoc if you are happy to wait), will supply parts that are more than good enough. ATE or Brembo plain disks with ATE pads, failing that Brembo or Pagid pads will be all you need, often better than Skoda OEM and often over half the price.

Yes I would say there is absolutely no benefit in getting OEM pads and disks. Those supplied as standard on my Superb were at the bottom end of quality. Virtually anything from Pagid, Brembo, even Delphi, is better!

+1 on the possibility of a trapped stone between the disc and the metal guard.

A warning about chipping the rusty lip off with a hammer. In the mid  1980s I did the same to a Renault 18. 500 miles later both front wheel bearings were rumbling away. A coincidence? You decide.

6 minutes ago, gregoir said:

A warning about chipping the rusty lip off with a hammer. In the mid  1980s I did the same to a Renault 18. 500 miles later both front wheel bearings were rumbling away. A coincidence? You decide.

 

I'd tend to agree with this.  The damage caused to the rest of the disc when 'knocking' the lip off sends shivers through my engineer head.  If the lip is that big that it need removing to avoid catching on things then it's absolutely due replacing.

2 hours ago, nicknorman said:

there is absolutely no benefit in getting OEM pads and disks. Those supplied as standard on my Superb were at the bottom end of quality. Virtually anything from Pagid...

...who are the OEM supplier.

1 hour ago, gregoir said:

A warning about chipping the rusty lip off with a hammer.

 

1 hour ago, MarkyG82 said:

I'd tend to agree with this.  The damage caused to the rest of the disc when 'knocking' the lip off sends shivers through my engineer head

 

Knocking off with a hammer? must be joking  However taking the rusty lip back to good metal with an engineers file will have no issue as it is the area not touched by the pad anyway. Using said file to re-dress the pads before they go back is also necessary.

 

If you need/use a hammer then they should just be replaced, but if you are using a hammer maybe you best not be messing with your brakes at all 

 

 

4 hours ago, KenONeill said:

...who are the OEM supplier.

One of them yes, but I think VW group go for whatever is the cheapest at the time. My 2016 rear discs were trashed after 20,000 miles which is pretty poor! The Delphi ones I put on have done another 20,000 and still look good.

Edited 24 September, 20196 yr by nicknorman

Is there any value in matching manufacturer for discs/pads?  Could they have done some material work to improve performance/life?

Thanks for the replies, I've just been trying to price up new ones, but noticed there are about 3 different options from each manufacturer for discs, and the fitment detail seems to differ on the diameter of them 276, 288 and 312. So probs going to need to take wheel off and measure unless anyone knows an easier way of determining this 😀

29 minutes ago, Piescoffer said:

Thanks for the replies, I've just been trying to price up new ones, but noticed there are about 3 different options from each manufacturer for discs, and the fitment detail seems to differ on the diameter of them 276, 288 and 312. So probs going to need to take wheel off and measure unless anyone knows an easier way of determining this 😀

Cut a wire coat hanger and use as a caliper to take the measurement of the disc through the alloy wheel spokes. 

9 hours ago, gregoir said:

A warning about chipping the rusty lip off with a hammer. In the mid  1980s I did the same to a Renault 18. 500 miles later both front wheel bearings were rumbling away. A coincidence? You decide.

 

7 hours ago, flybynite said:

Knocking off with a hammer? must be joking  However taking the rusty lip back to good metal with an engineers file will have no issue as it is the area not touched by the pad anyway. Using said file to re-dress the pads before they go back is also necessary.

 

If you need/use a hammer then they should just be replaced, but if you are using a hammer maybe you best not be messing with your brakes at all 

 

 

 

Just to be crystal clear for all the "experts" out there, as lowly tradesman of 20 years I was not talking about battering the brake disc to death with a four hammer. I was suggesting tapping round the edge with a small ballpein hammer to knock off the rust. Lightly dressing off the edge if it is more substantial with an angle grinder is another option or filling... Even a fairly new set of discs with loads of life left in them can have a good sized lip on them needing dressed off.

Your wheel bearings failing prob had more to do with the car being a Renault than for any other reason. 

Anyway there's now't wrong way using a hammer for everything, an old boy I used to work with years ago would undo nuts/bolts with nothing else but a hammer, he also had a hammer with a steel handle and spoon welded  on the end so he could eat his piece with it😉

Yes Gmac83, the majority of us on here understood the use of a hammer to tap off the crud. Pity the experts didn't. 

I think us "experts" understood that.  My bearing damage occurred after I  indeed had used a small ball pein hammer. The Renault was red.

33 minutes ago, gregoir said:

I think us "experts" understood that.  My bearing damage occurred after I  indeed had used a small ball pein hammer. The Renault was red.

 

Have never ever heard of anyone needing to replace wheel bearings after (due to) knocking the crud of their brake discs with a hammer. 

Anyone else out there heard of this? Surely (don't call me surely!) was just a coincidence, no? 

 

"The Renault was red". 

Red with what? Rust/embarrassment/rage/trapped wind? Delete as applicable. 

 

 

 

😁

Edited 25 September, 20196 yr by Gmac983

9 minutes ago, Gmac983 said:

Have never ever heard of anyone needing to replace wheel bearings after (due to) knocking the crud of their brake discs with a hammer. 

Anyone else out there heard of this? Surely (don't call me surely!) was just a coincidence, no? 

Me neither, and I have mates who're time-served and used to clean the rim rust off their discs about annually.

18 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

Me neither, and I have mates who're time-served and used to clean the rim rust off their discs about annually.

 

Aye thats spot on... Us non-experts call it routine maintenence. 

 

My dad had a mk3 escort that he owned for 16 years from new, was still on its original brake discs having done 80k miles in that time. If some people's opinions on brake maintenance here is to be listened to the car would have need 8 or 10 sets of brake discs in that same time (and for the pedantic people the car never had a single advisory on its MOTs either). 

The pads wear the discs very quickly from new. My Roomster had a lip forming after only 2k from new. I am light on the brakes so it not through heavy braking. My pads have done 36k and no where need replacing with plenty of meat left. The pads would form the wear template on the disc so there would be be no catching just a perfect fit. Likely cause is grit trapped somewhere. Do some reverse braking and see if the situation improves.