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Brake Pulsing


finchy40
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Anyone got any ideas as to a solution. When braking, my is 250 feels as though the brakes on easing on and off as I slow down. Quite disconcerting as you're never too sure just how much pressure to apply.

I had a rear calliper replaced which made it much better but it's starting to happen again.

Is this just the other calliper needing replacement or is there something I'm missing?

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I am going through this myself - all 4 calipers have been replaced along with new front discs.

The steering wheel is not shaking and there's no judder through the brake pedal? You can feel the "easing on and off" as you described it through the car (the car judders when braking)

It has just appeared, may have been gradual and not noticed it though.

At the weekend I took the front calipers and discs off and thoroughly cleaned them both. I found this helped a bit but its still there. I found that the centre hole on the disc was on very tight to the hub. A lot of rust around it. Cleaned it up and it went on without any issue but like I say its helped a bit but still there - I am thinking discs but not sure.

The rear discs need doing so I may do these first before considering replacing the front discs again. I am erring on the side of its the rear discs that are the problem as if there was an issue with any of the fronts then you should feel it through the steering or brake pedals? The fact you can feel it through the car would I think indicate that its a rear brake issue?

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Newbie. Your description sounds very similar to my problem. No pedal judder, more a sensation in the car as a whole..... Through the seat. Replacing the one caliper dramatically improved things but its starting to get worse again.

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Hi Colin

No, I've tried that and it stays pretty much at the same level. What were you thinking it might be?

leave your foot there for 30 seconds to a minute just to make sure. Although unlikely I thought there could be a problem at the master cylinder.

I assume your fluid level is correct within the min/max and isn't dropping over time except for the normal amount to account for pad wear?

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Hi Colin. Thanks again for getting back to me. I've just tried that. Starting the car from cold I pressed my foot on the brake pedal. After about 20 seconds the revs dropped and simultaneously the pedal dropped I'd say about 10 mm. It didn't drop again after that. I tried again from scratch but this time the pedal stayed constant.

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Hi Colin

This maybe a coincidence ... On the way to work today my VSC check / engine and traction lights came on. Great!

No noticeable difference in driving to I carried on for a further 2 miles to work - the car did not stop or slow down etc and you would not know there was an issue if you did not see the lights.

I was low on petrol - had 78 mile range left so I filled up at a local Shell garage at dinner time - about one mile after this the lights went off BUT I hadn't noticed any judder. Came home tonight (6 miles) and no judder? Its maybe a placebo effect but with the lights resolving themselves and going out the judder may have stopped?

I am biting the bullet and buying rear discs anyway as they do need to be done so will monitor it in the mean time.

It may be a long shot but try resetting your ECU as if the judder has actually gone on mine (I think) and with the lights now out then it may be an ecu issue? Don't think so but worth a try?

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Hi Colin. Thanks again for getting back to me. I've just tried that. Starting the car from cold I pressed my foot on the brake pedal. After about 20 seconds the revs dropped and simultaneously the pedal dropped I'd say about 10 mm. It didn't drop again after that. I tried again from scratch but this time the pedal stayed constant.

This is normal. When you first start the car from cold, the engine runs in a special mode to warm up the catalyst. In this mode it produces very little vacuum, which is needed to power assist the brakes.

Once the engine has been running for about 20 seconds, it switches to normal mode, and starts generating a big vacuum, and the brake power assist comes up to full power.

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Thanks Chumpus Rex. I thought it seemed normal as it coincided with the engine revs.

The brake pulsing is driving me crazy now. Braking is so unpredictable and very unpleasant.

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You can replace the pins on the front - its a caliper replacement on the back.

Pins I think are around £10 each but there are two different types on the fronts - one with a rubber seal insert on the pin and the other is just a straight pin itself.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Gary - I have just resolved the issue I had with pulsing brakes

I have replaced the rear discs and pads. Pads were low and the discs needed doing. The disc shoes were ok so I didn't replace them.

What I noticed (other than the discs needed doing) ... one of the pads was shot - had a chunk out of it which would have caused a brake imbalance creating a shudder - it was effectively lower than the other 3 pads having had a big chunk taken out of it one one half of the pad ... possible bad pad?. Don't know the reason for this.

I also found badly rusted brake guide pins which, looking at them, they were hindering the pads in moving freely especially on the damaged pad.

I have put up a guide on how to replace the discs and pads in the guide section and a picture, picture 6, shows the pad assembly and scrape marks on the guide pin that would indicate to me that it was struggling to move or sticking a bit.

So for me the rear disc and pad replacement has cured the brake pulsing which I was feeling through the car and seat. Not the pedal or steering wheel.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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