[Paul B]

I've emailed you James in case you want to borrow the charger. I'm not here as of Monday but my wife is and I can easily leave it with a neighbour or somewhere secure.

[James Malloch]

Thanks Paul, I really appreciate the offer but I’m visiting their house in Cumbria rather than at home in Skipton, so a bit far this time.

There’s a garage down the road which has them in stock for £80 so I’ll just sort a new one out as it would be a pain for her if it went again.

And thanks for the additional info Lopez, very useful to know!

[James Malloch]

On her breaks, she always parks in gear without the handbrake on if she is leaving the car for more than a few days.

Though this time they have stuck anyway.

She was told it would be a massive job to fix. Is this really the case? It seems annoying to me and something I would try to sort out…

[Paul B]

Depends what's stuck? It's labour intensive rebuilding calipers (watch M539 do it if you've got the time). You could try a can of Holts!

I've had the parking brake fail on my E46 at Manchester Airport from a cracked shoe. Likewise, my Dad needed two calipers rebuilding when he wintered his TT in my garage.

[Lopez]

Brake calipers are actually some of the simplest and most straightforward repairs/rebuilds you can do on a car.

It's just a lump of cast iron or aluminium, with 1 moving part (piston) which is connected to the bracket wth 2 sliding pins so the caliper can move.

If it's seized it's because one of those 2 things (piston or sliding pins) are not moving freely. If the parking brake is cable operated sometimes the problem could be a frayed cable, but sems not to be the case here.

Very easy to remove the caliper to check the pins. Remove wheel, disconnect hoses/cables from whatever fixing brackets there are (just to get more movement. No need to disconnect from caliper), undo brake fluid reservoir cap (don't leave it open too long. It absorbs moisture from the air and gets f*cked), use a screwdriver between pads and disc to compress piston and get some clearance, close reservoir cap.

Now just remove two rubber caps at the back of the caliper, that give you access to the pins. The pins come out with an allen key through the hole the caps were protecting. Unscrew the pins out, and the caliper can come out with a bit of wiggling.

Now just reinsert the pins in the caliper and check if they move freely by hand. They go into rubber bushings which chances are will be dried and perished preventing free movement. (Replace rubber bushings, clean pins, and reinsert them with a load of lube. Job done)

Check the rubber boot on the piston. If it's cracked, ripped or perished chances are the piston is full of crap inside and rusty, preventing free movement.

Removing/replacing the piston is a little more involved but it only takes 5 minutes. Plenty videos around or we can run you through it if you want to go that way. Only thing with that is the brake fluid will need filling, bleeding and flushing, which is not a bad thing and should be done every 2 years at most anyway. (Absorbs moisture and gest f*cked, etc) but needs a bleeder ideally (cheap).

Rebuild kits can be bought everywhere and are cheap.They can be a basic kit of just gaskets, sliding pins rubber bushings, red grease to lubricate them, caps, etc. Or you can get them with new pistons as well. These guys are the go to for kits and they also have an ebay shop https://www.biggred.co.uk/

What i do with all my cars, i buy used calipers on ebay for peanuts. Rebuild them, and then do a straight swap. And so other than not having the car unavailable while rebuilding (i take the chance to paint them) i also have a second set ready at all times.

Some cars need a piston winding tool for the rears. If you want, i got one one i've been trying to get rid of for years that you can have
 

[spidermonkey09]

My Subaru Legacy has developed a very loud jet engine type noise. It drives completely fine but above about 30mph a whine develops which gets louder and louder the faster you go. It is worst around 60mph and then dies off a bit about 70. Its just about ignorable when driving but apparently for rear passengers its fairly deafening. Internet research/asking knowledgeable friends suggests this is likely to be either the rear diff or wheel bearings. The latter seem particularly bad on Subarus, but there is no discernable change in the pitch of the noise when I change lanes/ go round corners. However I'm not sure whether this would be as noticeable in the rear bearings as the front. There is also no change in the pitch/volume when I shift into neutral. As I brake the noise decreases.

Obviously I would prefer it to be the bearings as the expense of replacing a diff is likely to be more than the car is worth. Anyone got any suggested methods of diagnosis that I can do without getting the car on a lift? Is it worth taking a punt on it being the bearings and getting them done? Will changing the diff oil make any difference to the noise?

Currently my plan is just to drive it til something breaks and ignore the noise but I feel like it might be worth the gamble of spending a bit more money on it as its only done 110k miles and has hopefully been reasonably looked after as it has a full service history. All input appreciated!

[Johnny Brown]

Sounds like the bearings to me. I've had two replaced in the last year or so on my Audi, would do it sooner rather than later as they are not expensive and replacements should see you out, while I had to pay for the epic labour to drill the corroded bolts out at 16 yrs/ 150k. The remaining two are now making similar noises as you describe but not as loud - they checked them for play at recent MOT and said they were fine.

[Fultonius]

As per JB, if braking makes it go down it's more likely to be bearings.

One thing you could try, at very minimal cost, is a diff fluid exchange and analysis. Should be easy enough DIY, and quite cheap at a garage.

Analysis can be free (look at oil, see if it's full of metal shiny particles/chunks etc.).

If you are planning on keeping it a while, worth doing gearbox oil at that age too. Manufacturers don't put gearbox oil in their service schedule, but it really isn't a "life long" fluid, unless you want the car life to equal the gearbox life...

If the diff was going, new fluid would shut it up for a while. If it then turns out to be bearings, your diff will last even longer.

[Paul B]

Didn't Reeve have an 'exciting' motorway incident many years ago due to a wheel bearing?