Had the Focus serviced yesterday....
Discussion
And, I'm pleased to say they did a pretty good job.
I was supposed to get the Brake Fluid changed last service, but as they didn't phone me when the car was in to see if I wanted it done, it didn't happen, so they did it this time. £26 and the brakes are transformed!
They phoned to say that the squeaking noise on tickover was infact the alternator belt, after 37,000 miles this surprised me a bit, and conveniently, the Manufacturers Warranty only covers belts for 1 year :rolleyes: They wanted £73 to fit a new. They got told to :censored: off!
They also said the brake discs were excessively worn on the inside and that I needed new pads and discs. Fair enough, they are the originals, how much??
£163 :yikes:
So that would have been a bill of £230.
Needless to say I didn't take them up on that offer.
Fair play to the chap he did tell that neither of them needed to be done by the dealer to maintain the warranty, I just needed to get a receipt from a garage to say they had been done incase any warranty work was required. :thumbup:
This was its first major service, and was only 50 miles off 37500. The Spark plugs were done this time and its got its punch back :bounce:
So all in all £26 well spent :)
Full Marks to Arnold Clark Ford in Kilmarnock!
I was supposed to get the Brake Fluid changed last service, but as they didn't phone me when the car was in to see if I wanted it done, it didn't happen, so they did it this time. £26 and the brakes are transformed!
They phoned to say that the squeaking noise on tickover was infact the alternator belt, after 37,000 miles this surprised me a bit, and conveniently, the Manufacturers Warranty only covers belts for 1 year :rolleyes: They wanted £73 to fit a new. They got told to :censored: off!
They also said the brake discs were excessively worn on the inside and that I needed new pads and discs. Fair enough, they are the originals, how much??
£163 :yikes:
So that would have been a bill of £230.
Needless to say I didn't take them up on that offer.
Fair play to the chap he did tell that neither of them needed to be done by the dealer to maintain the warranty, I just needed to get a receipt from a garage to say they had been done incase any warranty work was required. :thumbup:
This was its first major service, and was only 50 miles off 37500. The Spark plugs were done this time and its got its punch back :bounce:
So all in all £26 well spent :)
Full Marks to Arnold Clark Ford in Kilmarnock!
tvradict said:
I just needed to get a receipt from a garage to say they had been done incase any warranty work was required
Aye, thats right as long as the garage is VAT registered and you've used genuine ford parts (and have the invoice with the part number on) you'll be covered by the fitted in service warranty.
>> Edited by nighthawk on Tuesday 26th July 20:40
Sorry m8,
FEAD is just a term
Front End Accessory Drive
You'll be buying an item at at it's most basic level, as long as that item isn't damaged by you during it's fitment to the vehicle it's warranted to work correctly for 12 months from purchase date.
The only time you'd ever come up against a problem, would be IF the dealer submitting the warranty claim on your behalf could prove that your fitting was at fault, or something else on the vehicle has caused the component to fail.
BUT......why are we talking about warranty issues, it's not a difficult job to replace pads and discs and as long as they are subjected to NORMAL use genuine parts shouldn't give cause for concern.
My key tips for fittment would be
Clean the hub flange so the disc sits flush against it
Torque the road wheels to the correct spec at the end of the repair.
They are the main causes of distorted brake rotors.
FEAD is just a term
Front End Accessory Drive
You'll be buying an item at at it's most basic level, as long as that item isn't damaged by you during it's fitment to the vehicle it's warranted to work correctly for 12 months from purchase date.
The only time you'd ever come up against a problem, would be IF the dealer submitting the warranty claim on your behalf could prove that your fitting was at fault, or something else on the vehicle has caused the component to fail.
BUT......why are we talking about warranty issues, it's not a difficult job to replace pads and discs and as long as they are subjected to NORMAL use genuine parts shouldn't give cause for concern.
My key tips for fittment would be
Clean the hub flange so the disc sits flush against it
Torque the road wheels to the correct spec at the end of the repair.
They are the main causes of distorted brake rotors.
£166 seems a bit steep for the brakes... I've just bought the discs from ford for £71.32 and got some Ferodo pads from Halfords for £31.99. That leaves over £60 for fitting, and if it takes a trained ford technician more than 20 mins to do the job, then they are as lazy as lazy things!! so that's £180/hour labour charge...
Paul.
Paul.
Just a quick question on fitting pads a discs.
I haven't been able to get a Haynes manual for the car yet. I wasn't planning on doing any DIY stuff on it for a while.
Anyway, just had a look over the calipers, can't see a quick release system similar to the calipers of the Escorts of old, so am I right in thinking that the 2 allen bolts covered in a black plastic cylinder need to be undone to release the caliper from the mounting. By the looks of things, releasing this also frees the disc?
TIA
Stuart.
I haven't been able to get a Haynes manual for the car yet. I wasn't planning on doing any DIY stuff on it for a while.
Anyway, just had a look over the calipers, can't see a quick release system similar to the calipers of the Escorts of old, so am I right in thinking that the 2 allen bolts covered in a black plastic cylinder need to be undone to release the caliper from the mounting. By the looks of things, releasing this also frees the disc?
TIA
Stuart.
tvradict said:
Just a quick question on fitting pads a discs.
I haven't been able to get a Haynes manual for the car yet. I wasn't planning on doing any DIY stuff on it for a while.
Anyway, just had a look over the calipers, can't see a quick release system similar to the calipers of the Escorts of old, so am I right in thinking that the 2 allen bolts covered in a black plastic cylinder need to be undone to release the caliper from the mounting. By the looks of things, releasing this also frees the disc?
TIA
Stuart.
Hi m8
You will need to undo the allen headed slide pins to allow the caliper to come away from the bridge.
Then remove the bridge assembly and the disc will have nothing in the way of it, some discs have a phillips screw through them to hold the disc against the hub flange, some don't.....if it's there fit it, if not don't worry as it's only an installation aid.
The disc is held in the correct place by being clamped between the hub and the wheel.
if you need any torques or detailed guidence, gimmie a shout with the cars details.
Cheers Brian 
Pretty much like I thought, I've looked at the discs, no screws through the disc, although, I thought there probably would have been.
One thing I did notice is that fords definition of excessively worn seriously differs from mine.
They said the inside of boths driscs is worn, IMO, the inside is no more worn than the outside, there are no pits, scratches or scoring on either discs, and I would say there is roughly half the pad left on all four pads!
I'm buggered if I know why they wanted to change them!
Pretty much like I thought, I've looked at the discs, no screws through the disc, although, I thought there probably would have been.
One thing I did notice is that fords definition of excessively worn seriously differs from mine.
They said the inside of boths driscs is worn, IMO, the inside is no more worn than the outside, there are no pits, scratches or scoring on either discs, and I would say there is roughly half the pad left on all four pads!
I'm buggered if I know why they wanted to change them!
There is a specified measurement at which point the disc is considered to have reached the minimum thickness.
I can't remember the exact MM at the momemt, but i'll check it tomorrow. The tech might have had a good idea that the disc would be either at that point by the time the pad is worn to minimum, or that the disc will exceed the minimum before a new pad had worn out.
It's a tough call tbh without either seeing the car or knowing the thickness.
I can't remember the exact MM at the momemt, but i'll check it tomorrow. The tech might have had a good idea that the disc would be either at that point by the time the pad is worn to minimum, or that the disc will exceed the minimum before a new pad had worn out.
It's a tough call tbh without either seeing the car or knowing the thickness.
Well, I got them changed, took me 45mins, but that was 'flying blind'!
O/S pads and disc were ok, if a little worn out. N/S were pretty much shot. Not much left on the pad, disc seem to be ok. think I might try and source one of those thickness measuring tools for the future.
One Question, the 2 allen bolts that I had to undo, I've noticed that they are the only thing resisting the braking force applied by the piston. When do I need to recheck them?
Is the running in time for new pads and discs still 120miles pads, 200miles discs?
edited cos I said though alot
>> Edited by tvradict on Monday 1st August 22:53
O/S pads and disc were ok, if a little worn out. N/S were pretty much shot. Not much left on the pad, disc seem to be ok. think I might try and source one of those thickness measuring tools for the future.
One Question, the 2 allen bolts that I had to undo, I've noticed that they are the only thing resisting the braking force applied by the piston. When do I need to recheck them?
Is the running in time for new pads and discs still 120miles pads, 200miles discs?
edited cos I said though alot
>> Edited by tvradict on Monday 1st August 22:53
A micrometer is the tool your after, 0-25mm, but really unless your going to be doing a lot of measuring for the sake of a few quid it's not going to be cost effective.
The slide pins don't resist the force of the piston during braking, they resist the turning effort of the pads clamping against the rotor. Your on the right lines though.
There is no period of time to recheck the pins, they should still have had a dab of threadloc on them which will be OK as long as you've given them a good tweaking with the allen key
If your worried about them, set the wheels on a full lock and give them a nip with the allen key. no need to remove the wheels again.
Discs and pads should be allowed to bed in with gentle braking for the first couple of hundred miles, the pedal feel will increase over this time.
Avoid locking the brakes during this period.
The slide pins don't resist the force of the piston during braking, they resist the turning effort of the pads clamping against the rotor. Your on the right lines though.
There is no period of time to recheck the pins, they should still have had a dab of threadloc on them which will be OK as long as you've given them a good tweaking with the allen key
If your worried about them, set the wheels on a full lock and give them a nip with the allen key. no need to remove the wheels again.
Discs and pads should be allowed to bed in with gentle braking for the first couple of hundred miles, the pedal feel will increase over this time.
Avoid locking the brakes during this period.
I try to avoid locking the brakes at all times, I find that its the quickest way to 
a set of tyres, and with tyre fitters selling P6000's at £90 a corner, locking brakes can turn into a very expensive mistake!
I'll nip into the workshop tomorrow and nip the bolts up over a pit. Save me crawling about under the car.
I noticed that brake fluid had spilled over the side of the reservoir, I take it over time this will need to be topped up as the pads wear?
As you can probably tell this is my first major dealing with brakes! I've done discs before, but this feels like a whole new ball game!
a set of tyres, and with tyre fitters selling P6000's at £90 a corner, locking brakes can turn into a very expensive mistake! I'll nip into the workshop tomorrow and nip the bolts up over a pit. Save me crawling about under the car.
I noticed that brake fluid had spilled over the side of the reservoir, I take it over time this will need to be topped up as the pads wear?
As you can probably tell this is my first major dealing with brakes! I've done discs before, but this feels like a whole new ball game!
If the fluid is at the maximum level with new brake linings, it will drop as the pads wear and the pistons extend further towards the disc. The res will usually have enough fluid to ensure that the level doesn't drop below the minimum level, if it does the red level warning light will come on during driving.
Any spilt brake fluid should be washed off with cold clean water as soon as it happens, it's great for getting paint off metal!!!
Fluid should be replaced as an extra to a service every 2 years,to ensure the water content remains within safe limits.
Any spilt brake fluid should be washed off with cold clean water as soon as it happens, it's great for getting paint off metal!!!
Fluid should be replaced as an extra to a service every 2 years,to ensure the water content remains within safe limits.
tvradict said:
I try to avoid locking the brakes at all times, I find that its the quickest way to
I noticed that brake fluid had spilled over the side of the reservoir, I take it over time this will need to be topped up as the pads wear?
As you can probably tell this is my first major dealing with brakes! I've done discs before, but this feels like a whole new ball game!
Few points:-
1) Main dealers seem to always tell customers things need replacing before they do...but the bugger is most people don't know any better...and even fewer know how to check more than the most visible items.
2) Tyres - P6000's should be nowhere near £90 a corner...£90 a pair I could believe...but even then I'd shop around. And besides...P6000's are a very old tyre design, and aren't as good in the wet as other tyres for similar cost.
Try Toyo Proxes T1-S, Eagle F1 GSD-3 (or even -2), Vredestein Ultrac/Sportrac, Uniroyal Rainsport...see what's a comparable price...all should be close. All will offer much better wet weather grip and aquaplaning resistance, and the first 3 I've mentioned should offer a bit better drive as well (turn in and dry grip)...although the ride will likely get a little harder (but in a stock Focus on 15" alloys you'll hardly notice it).
3) Brake fluid...avoid any prolonged contact of this stuff on the paintwork...I'd rinse any that's leaked off with lots of water...it's not a problem under the bonnet, I just don't like having it around.
And yes, you MAY need to top it up as the brake pads wear...keep an eye on it, and if it drops more than 1/2-3/4 of an inch from properly full, top it up...but remember the "plunger" (describes it well enough) attached to the cap will push the level up when it is fitted. I check mine every fortnight with the rest of the fluids, but to be honest pads wear so slowly that if you see a drop in the level it usually indicates a problem.
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