Front N/S brake grinding

[dougie212]

Hi there

My 2002 2.0TD Grand Vitara is giving me more stick..

I recently had a heap of work done on it, some of which including the changing of the front n/s lower control arm. Everything was fine... then....

I started to notice a slight grinding noise (about 1 month later) from my front n/s brake. I assumed pads were wearing low. The brake light came on, which I didn't really panic about because I thought pads getting lower, need fluid... no problem.

Ive just jacked the car up and found that the wheel is stiff to move and the caliper is gripping the wheel. My nosy neighbour walking by has said that that will happen once the pads get beyond a certain point....... what I don't want to do is change the pads only for them to lock on again because theres something needed in the caliper.

Does the caliper usually grip when the pads have gone beyond a certain point?

I did check the brake fluid and it had gone down a little so I topped it up..... maybe this is now why the low pads are gripping onto the caliper.. Help please

Thanks

[ScottieJ]

It could also a seized slider pin. I would whip the caliper off to check.

when you get new pads it should come with some rubber safe silicone grease, free the sliders up and use a little bit of that on them.

[dougie212]

Thanks for your fast response...

I was dreading that it would be the caliper seized but I can still turn the wheel so am hopeful its not...

[ScottieJ]

It's a lot more common for the sliders to stick than the calliper to seize so I would say chances are that it will be a nice and easy fix.

[Edweird]

If you can free up the sliders then you're away. I tried to change my worn front discs and pads a year or so ago and found that they wouldn't go on because the sliders and calipers had 30 years of rust on them. New set of calipers and it all went together like a dream. They're not bank breakingly expensive. The place I got mine from gave me some money back for handing over my old ones. They recondition them.

[dougie212]

awesome... Ive never taken slider pins out... (don't laugh).. I have basic knowledge and am happy to change pads. Is there anywhere that I could just look at what to do with the sliders pins? Is it just as simple as loosen them like a bolt and grease them?

[dougie212]

Thanks Edweird.... Im hoping I can loosen the slider pins but may come back to you with the name of the caliper reconditioner. Im pretty down on old suzy at the moment...... £800 worth of welding and the lower control arm for the MOT... and now this.

[dan_2k_uk]

If you are competent enough to chamge pads then just take the caliper apart as if you were to do that and you will soon see what needs to slide and figure it out.

[dougie212]

Im on it... thank you

[dougie212]

Pretty confident its the slider pins.... quite annoyingly when I took the wheel off some of the nuts weren't tight at all, which may have lead to the disc having a mm of movement which won't have helped. The outer pad is worn so low the retainer clips either end are protruding.... biggest problem I'm having now is getting the bolts off.. they are currently bathing in wd40