Is this a Sticking Caliper...?

[SeanyK]

Hiya,

On my other thread I am about to change my Brakes all round, but I have a horrible feeling the rear driverside caliper is sticking.

The reason I suspect this, is that the pad is worn right down to the metal, and is actually grinding on the disc (its made loads of scratch marks) yet on the other side, its not as worn down.
Does that indicate a sticking caliper?

Is there anything I can do? Would cleaning it thoroughly and spraying WD40 all over it when I change the brakes do anything?

I dont wanna change the discs and pads, only for them to ruin the next pads in seconds

If the worst comes to the worst, is it hard to change the caliper?

 

[flashbsd]

one thing i would say is keep wd40 awya from anything pad/disc wise, bad mistake!

Could either be that or a faulty pad, seen one before last 1k miles, If your rear caliper sticks again, id recommend just leaving the car in gear until you get it sorted, that way they dont seize up again.

 

[WeeJase]

there was a service kit available for the mk2 gti,so there may well be one for the mk3 cupra,comes with seals etc.changed and greased my old gti ones and it was fine after that.WD40 won't do much for long.

 

[SeanyK]

The pads seemed ok, I've had the car for the last 14 months, I dont think they have been changed though from the start, as I bought the car with 35K on the clock and its now 49k hopefully it is just a faulty pad though, and when I change them it's ok.

It seems to be when I turn the wheel a certain way! (strange I know, as its the rear!) Sometimes it does it, and sometimes I can drive for a lil while with no grinding.

Because the pad on the driverside-rear is down to the metal and is grinding against the disc, I cannot tell if its that or the caliper making/causing the noise.

 

[SeanyK]

Is it worth me buying a new caliper for the rear and changing it when I change the brakes? (Is it easy to do? Just undo brake pipe, and put it on new caliper end whilst trying not to spill too much fluid?)

As I dont want to do all the brakes only to find out I have to dissasemble them again to fit a new caliper

 

[ibiza_95]

fitting a new caliper is a piece of piss on any car, but dont forget youll need fluid and a bleeding kit to sort them out afterwards. i wouldnt drive about with no stuff on your pads either. that means that your not getting anybraking from that wheel. i have amk2 ibiza with drums on the back. my front pads wore down to the metal and i couldnt brake!!! eeeek. i had to drive a 15mile trip with my handbrake and gears to slow me down.

 

[SeanyK]

Do I really need to bleed it?
What if I just do it all when the reservoir cap is open, top up the lost fluid.

And wait til my next service (3 weeks) and ask them to do a full flush + bleed. Is that ok to do?

Im confident about doing stuff, but not about bleeding brakes for some reason!

 

[mrcoyote]

If you don't bleed it you'll end up with air in the system which will give you a mushy pedal amounst other things. Full explaination and instructions here - http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_howto_bleedbrakes.shtml

 

[Forbez]

When you take the pads off the caliper, give them a quick clean to ensure that the calipers are clean and have no dirt build up which could cause them to stick.

You deffo need to bleed them mate!

 

[ibizacupra]

Do I really need to bleed it?

YES you do..