running red hot and squeeeeeeeel like crazy! CT... french >MOT passed them late last year no probs!

yes probs they are gone :eek: disks are red hot.

can i change the plaques/pads myself with ease? any special tools needed?

thank you

Very easy to do, probably find though they are squealing due to the sliders being seized.

when i brake no noise, they are sqealing when driving at any speed, think the passenger side is worse, that was sizzling when i stopped.

and urrrm dummy here, what are the sliders please?

eaither way not driving it now until i get it fixed.

ok as you said Lummox very very easy to get the pads out I was surprised! Anyway one pad about had it the other looked fine, so swapped them around, after brushing all the crud out etc. Tested brakes are fine, took car for a short drive and sqeek sqeeeeek sqeeeeeeek sqeal! Stopped and again front passenger wheel red hot and smoking :(

the pads are not actually that badly shot at all, but I will get new now i see how easy they are to fit. However i'm not trashing a new set with ??????? what is the prob please? anyone know,

thank you

the only skoda driver in france it seems

Do the calliper pisonts move freely in and out, sounds a bit like a sticking brake to me. Just a guess mind and I'd be checking out what Lummox said about the sliders as he certainly knows his stuff

if you dont mind some brake fluid spillage, remove the brake fluid cap off the reservior, and "SLIGHTLY" slacken the bleed screw on the front pistons, one side at a time. attach some rubber hose to the bleed screw and direct away from the wheel area. if you can easily move the pison in and out, i would check the sliders (dont forget to bleed the brakes afterwards!).

To identify the sliders, with the pads removed and the caliper swung away from the disk, if you can literally move the caliper toward you and back again (along the X axis literally back-front) the sliders are ok, if stiff or siezed time for a new caliper assemble. you will see what i mean when you try!

The sliders are there to allow for some lateral movement as the disc and pads wear, so the brake linings are always "just touching" the disk. if these have siezed that would explain why one side has worn pads but the other is fine.. hard to explain, just poke around and you will understand!

thanx and it is the piston, it did move when i did my little test fix, but today dismounted the lot again ..... sliders do move no probs

prob is now i pushed the brake pedal to test piston IDIOT....... it moved out about 1.5" and wont go back at all :'( So dangerous option is to take the caliper off, string it up and block something in to stop the piston coming out utterly, and get it to the garage on three brakes.......... slowly very.

Rang the garage today and the guy said the caliper and piston are a kit not sold separately. Guess I'm gonna have to do this coz that piston is not moving no matter how I try, and againt haynes advice, I even tried a metal bar to lever it back and no chance.

Sounds like the piston has come out of the caliper.

To be honest they are the simplest brakes there are. If your struggling with them you really ought to think to yourself should you be doing them?

Brakes arent a thing to second guess or have a 'stab' at.

Skoda do a piston kit, whereas VW won't for their Caddy. Listed in the Butts catalogue under Braking - Calipers. Mind you if it is stuck that solid then the bore is probably past it.

Seems to me that now you have nothing to lose, use hydraulic pressure to pump the piston out completely, clean it and the bore up and it should go back in. Then think about replacing the caliper.

ok i thought of that but 'ignorant again' if i push it out will i lose all the brake fluid?

yes lummox i know dont **** about with what you dont understand............ too late now sorry to say

if you have already tried a metal bar, i wouldent try to re-use the caliper again, as likely tou have introduced some small defect in the metal piston bore that may cause it to fail dramatically, stick in some position, or completely seize. time to replace BOTH calipers, should be done as a set anyway, and dont forget NEW pads.

Now would be a good time to do the discs too if they are getting on a bit.

I would do the discs anyway if one of the pads has been dragging and getting the thing red hot. Obviously if doing one you should always do the second too.

yep the kit is 113€ thats the caliper piston etc and pads...... not a bad price. (£80?)

i'm not moaning at that price, i'll ask about the discs, but they dont look too bad... wont know if the one that was cooking is warped until taken off and looked at.

In france VW do all the servicing Skoda only sell cars, so it'll have to be the kit anyway, but that saves mucking about ordering all odds and sods and forgetting something dire like a piston seal etc.

If you have it all off you may as well do the disks anyway. It's probably only an extra £50 which will be much cheaper than time spent if you do end up having to change them or damage the new pads with the old disks.

and if the discs wear out before new pads do its new pad time again!