UK Car Repair: Rear Brake Calipers, rear brake caliper, brake calipers

Question
Hi John,

I purchased 8 days ago a Rover 400 diesel, and on Wednesday it started making very strange noises when being driven and when braking, I have subsequently been told that the left rear brake caliper has ceased. Would this have been something that I have done since driving it for 3 days or would this problem have started a while ago, and should a mechanin have noticed there was a problem when it was last MOT'd and serviced which was two months ago?

Answer
Well, sorry for the delay. Bit of buzz round my shop. I have decided that the best way to answer this question is not why the old one has ceased to function, but how to keep them from ceasing again. I am going to assume that this vehicle is an automatic. And also I am going to assume that up until the MOT inspection and your ownership that aside from the MOT inspector no one has used the parking brake in quite some time. I concluded that the reason for the failure probably stems from a seized or stuck cable which is maintaining tension on the caliper on that side and causing it to overheat. Thus crispifying "sub molecular recombinant silicone dehumidifying a la granny braking" the seals that keep the good stuff in and the bad stuff out. This condition can also cause the seals around the caliper slides to crispify "see above lame definition also in quotation marks" and allowed moisture and dirt to thoroughly muck those up too. So, now you must, if only to avoid it spontaneously combusting and ruining a tree huggers week by flooding the atmosphere with burning wood venire and plastic trim fumes, replace that caliper. However; I do believe that if you do not have your parking brake cables replaced as well you might turn this into an annual event which should make you very popular with the automotive repair shops. Have the brakes done, all of them. Have them check the cables, lines, ABS if applicable, rotor run out, and caliper mounting brackets and slides. This will prevent all those mean nasty and expensive brake problems from coming back at you time and time again.

Thanks for the question and happy motoring!


Regards,


John