Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Sticky Disc Brakes??????

I pose this question to see if this is a normal phenomenon.

The last two times I have washed the 2007 Mog, a habit of mine is to throw the last of the clear rinse water through the wheels over the hubs.

When I put the car away I always hold the car on the brakes, in gear, until I switch the ignition off and leave it in gear with the hand brake off (recommended by the dealership).

When I next drive the car (more than a week later) I take it out of gear, start the engine and put it in reverse. As I pull out of the Garage backwards there is a loudish 'Klunk' and a shudder from the Front Wheels as the 'stuck brakes' release. It is a bit of a worry. Is this a normal Disc Brakes thing???

We have a 2007 Jag S Type tin top which does the same 'Klunking' thing after a wash but Jag discs rust up quickly after getting wet or damp and have that electronic auto parking brake thingy.

Neither cars do it any other time.

Frank,
Although only based on personal experience, fairly normal I think. It certainly happens in the case of a Lexus we run and also the 'shopping' Toyota. The latter - which has discs all round but auxiliary drums for the parking brake- often gets used only about once or twice a week and in the interim sits on a flat drive with no handbrake on but parked in gear. My tame auto engineer ( nephew) tells me this is not a major problem- subject to the proviso that if the car is one fitted with traction control and or ABS and the 'stick' is severe, the sudden resistance/ release of pulling away can upset the sensors.

In the case of my 4/4,I've had a similar thing happen when I've washed the car, dried it off, put it in the garage and then come back to it abpout 5-6 days later.

On the other hand, I had the car in a 'Carcoon' for a couple of months last winter and it didn't happen then, so to me at least that points to the issue definitely being one of damp/ rusting discs sticking and needing to be 'cleaned off' by a hard application as soon as the car is in motion

As per GLLHG's post, all too normal I'm afraid.

The two main issues, created by our damp climate, are the pads sticking to the disk ad the disks themselves getting surface rust on them. This is only noticed on cars that don't get driven regularly.

Driving the car should take the surface rust off the disk; however, the pads sticking can create more annoying issues. As GLLHG said, upsetting the ABS sensors but also creating high points on your disks (you'll hear a rubbing that increases in regularity (for obvious reasons) as you increase your speed. This is thanks to the pads rusting to the disk and leaving a pad sized raised rust deposit.

GLLHG's avoidance techniques are all ones I use.

Simon,
A point I should have added in my previous post.
As part of a general brake upgrade on my '4' I not only fitted EBC greenstuff pads but also went for the EBC ventilated discs- primarily to prevent gassing and the build up of high spots.

At the time, Ben Duncan and I had a conversation in which he said that of late he wasn't very pleased with the discs because they were rusting quite badly but we went ahead anyway.

He was right- they were a bit of a disaster. I don't want to be too general on this because it might be that we caught a 'bad batch' and my experience of other EBC stuff has been and is excellent- to the extent that we run greenstuff on all our cars now( not least because there's less brake dust to clean off!)

We've now taken the EBCs off and gone with some AP Racing discs which seem ok so far.

Thanks GLLHG and Simon for those reassuring comments. I feared something untoward was going on.

I met another owner at Cliveden today and he had the same experience. I will change my garaging habits. I have decided to stop doing that anyway and on wash days I will stop throwing the last rinse water through the hubs.

I also wondered if Switching the engine off while heavily depressing the foot brake, which is what I do, semi locks the servo Pressure on??? does that sound feasable?

"semi locks the servo Pressure on??? "


Frank,
thats no problem. The servo assist is released and brake pressure goes to nil as soon as you release the brake pedal. It is in this respect completely independent of electricity or engine running. It´s a good idea to stop soaking the brake before garaging the car, unless you drive a few miles after washing it, so the brakes get dry.
Andy

Hi,

My normal practice after washing any car with disc brakes is to go for a short drive (500m or so) and brake firmly e route to dry the disks off before returning to the garage.

Definitely stops the disks rusting up or worse.

Thanks guys and such a simple idea. (the best ones are usually the simplest)

Another excuse to go out for a spin.

Steve, this is a terrible idea!













...you've just washed the car, why would you want to get it dirty!

Dear Simon,
Steve´s idea is a great idea, just in-line with my humble opinion. There is nothing better than to take the clean car out for a little ride . Everything dries up nicely, and you see if you fouled something. The car gets dirty anyway, even in the (at least in my) garage.


... and maybe the Kiwis have clean roads, like we do

Not serious,
Andy