Rear Calipers

[GooglyBear]

Hi all,

I have a 2003 C5 110HDi, LX model, with 106,000 on the clock, had it for 15 months now. It had a years MOT when i got it, and it needed only a track rod end for its MOT this year. I asked the tester if he could tell me the life left on the brake pads while he was under there. According to him, there were a few thousand miles left on the front, and plenty meat left on the back.

 

Last week i had to hit the brakes hard when some numpty pulled out in front me, and heard a scraping sound from the N/S/R wheel, i thought it sounded like metal to metal contact on the brakes.

I gave my local indie the job of fixing it. He replaced the rear pads, but suggested the wheels were too small for the car as the brake calipers had scored a groove into each of the rear alloys. I've checked the owners handbook, wheels and tyres are the correct sizes, and indeed, it seems like the original alloys that are on the car. I wondered if perhaps the caliper had been replaced with one of the wrong size at some point in its life.

My mechanic has shaved the corners of the caliper with an angle grinder to stop it from scoring any more, but has anyone else experienced this before?

[Johndouglas]

My guess is that you have a buildup of corrosion between the caliper and rear arm. It's a common problem and has been around since the first BX came on to the roads in 1989. The corrosion pushes the caliper out of position until it starts catching on the wheel.

 

You need to remove the caliper and scrape off the buildup. Some owners make up a shim out of plastic sheet to place between the two surfaces.

[paul.h]

There is a pinned post about it on the Problems and Fixes pages. Sounds as if your indie is not familiar with the C5, he would have known about this problem since it affects them all if the corrosion is left long enough.

 

It may not be as bad on the mark 2 ones since some only seem to need to clean up the rear pads when the initial brake squeal starts which indicates the problem before it gets bad enough to affect the wheel.

[Johndouglas]

 

It may not be as bad on the mark 2

 

I think you may be right. I've been waiting expectantly for mine to show signs of making the pads wedge-shaped, but at 6 years - not a sign.

[GooglyBear]

Many thanks guys.

I'm sure my indie will find the information, especially on the pinned page, extremely invaluable.

 

Much appreciated