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MG MGF Technical - Brake Problems

Hi everyone.

I recently had all four discs and pads replaced on my 1996 MGF 1.8.

I now have a 'tick, tick, tick noise when going along, which I think is coming from the rear passenger side wheel - very annoying with the roof down. The ticking speeds up or slows down, according to my speed, and stops altogether when I apply the brakes. Could this be a warped disc? Or something else?

Also, I recently removed both front wheels in order to wire brush and paint the calipers and noticed that the discs move about. Basically, the discs are being held in place by the wheels. Is this normal?

Thanks,

Keith.

Keith

Could be something simple like a nail or stone in the tyre tread Keith. How loud is the noise?
Rob Bell

Rob,

Thanks for the reply.

The noise is quite loud with the roof down, but cannot be heard with the roof up. You hear it more when passing something solid, i.e. a wall, on the passenger side.

I didn't think of a nail or stone in the tyre and I will certainly check this. However, if this was the cause would the noise go away when I apply the brake?

I was thinking that maybe something is catching the pad or caliper on each revolution of the wheel and of course this would stop when the brakes are applied and the pads squeeze onto the disc. If this is the case then the noise may eventually reduce or disappear as the pads wear down, but there is no sign of this yet.

Thanks.

Keith.

Keith

A click could be a foreign body in the tyre - it's definitely worth looking for. But I wouldn't really expect it to disappear when braking.

A warped disc I would expect to be more of a 'swish' noise, as the duration of contact would be louder.

I guess there is a chance that the pad is moving in the caliper. Perhaps there is a foreign body (stone etc) stopping the pad moving? Or the caliper has partially seized? In which case, remove the road wheel, inspect and remove the pads, scrap off all the crud and dust, spray on some brake cleaner, and reassemble. Then check to see whether the caliper slides as it should with the foot brake and hand brake being applied.

If that all checks out, then the mystery deepens...
Rob Bell

keith

your other question about disk moving:

Normally the disk is held in place by 2 set screws. These locate the disk rather than physically hold it, but they do stop the disk faling off when the wheel is removed.

These screws usually get rubbished when they are removed - often with an impact driver.

The screws didn't come with the after market disks that I bought - I had to visit an MGR dealer to get them. I suspect that the scews may not even get supplied in the box with genuine MGR disks.
John Ponting

That's true John. And in fact, they're not really needed - they are there really just to ensure that the disc is pulled squarely onto the hub. The road wheel and therefore the road wheel studs & nuts are what actually keep the discs in place.
Rob Bell

Hi Keith,

Pad moving around in the caliper enough to click would rattle over bumpy surfaces - does yours? If so, check the anti-rattle shims have indeed been re-fitted, and you should be able to see liberal application of copper grease to the mating surfaces and a smear along the groove the pad ears slide along. Whilst you're at it, turn the disc by hand - if there was more than the usual amount of battering involved in getting the old discs off one possibility would be that the force has disturbed something in the driveshaft/bearing/hub assembly, but you'd be able to feel that just from turning the disc. Oh, and check all the wheelnuts are tight... new discs don't always fully tighten against the (rusty) hub straightaway, and in the absence of the retaining screws the disc may have moved slightly after you put the wheel back on & torqued up the nuts.

Good hunting!
Mike Hankin

This thread was discussed between 09/09/2005 and 10/09/2005

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