Brakes....

[Mark_Solesbury]

Hiya

Dont know if its me, but my brakes have started to be not as good as they were when i fitted the new pads...

I think that the brake fluid might need changing... I cant see when it was last done on the history.

Is it easier to get a garage to do it with a automatic pump, or do it myself?

I dont know if i can be arsed..........

[davidlandy]

I wouldnt bother with the fluid.

did you do the discs as well, or just the pads?

it could be that the pads are not yet worn to the contour of the disk.

[Mark_Solesbury]

Just did the pads.....

Ill give it another hundred miles or so.... see how its goes.

What you got on yours Dave?

Can you lock the front up?

[stuvy]

didnt you put green stuff pads on

if the brake fluid has been in there since new then it could have reached the end of its life

[Range Rover Blues]

Brake fluid doesn't last forever but also if you've put greenstuff on standard disks then the disks might be glazed, especially if they weren't new when you fitted the pads.  I've had the same happen with the LSE, even though the disks look good it doesn't stop as well as it should.

You can try roughening the disks up with emery cloth, this will also help the pads bed in faster.

[davidlandy]

Mark

my brakes are much better some reason when the car is cold!   the fronts will lock, but it takes quite some effort - having 35s on will make a bit of difference i suppose.

[Range Rover Blues]

Are your brakes better or your tyres worse :-k

[davidlandy]

Are your brakes better or your tyres worse :-k

both!

[Range Rover Blues]

They aren't dragging at all are they :-k

[Lee_D]

Oily hands on disks can sometime contaminate the disks / shoes. I once had a pull to one side after swapping the pads. After the basic checks I drove a couple of hundred yards with the brakes applied slightly to get them nice and hot. Problem solved.

[markyb]

my brake fluid was a nice brown colour, could feel the  improvement after i bleed it through.

[marjan]

my brake fluid was a nice brown colour, could feel the  improvement after i bleed it through.

Yep mine was dark brown and the difference with the new stuff in was quite considerable. Use a Gunsons Easibleed, it's £15 well spent and you can use it again in the future.

[Litch]

The Easibleed is the way to go as it makes changing the brake-fluid a 1-person, 10-minute job.

I always replace the brake fluid at no more than 2-yearly intervals and often do it more frequently, it is such an easy job to do and old/contaminated fluid will make a lot of difference to your braking performance.
If the vehicle spends a lot of time covered in muck then get into the habit of cleaning the bleed-nipples at regular intervals, it saves a lot of cursing when they snap off due to being siezed in the caliper.