1998 Spider front brakes

[shay1000]

Had to change to front brake pads on Saturday, 1998 Spider. For a little while now I have had the brake warning light faintly flicker. got the pads (and that in itself was a hassle) but the pad change seemed to go ahead with little or no (well, no, to be exact) problem, but whilst the front wheels were off I did see a few strange things...

1/ the cable for the pad sensor was broken in the length of cable that connects to the pad cable. passenger side)

2/ a sensor on the driver's side (on the hub) was loose. Fastened with a small allen bolt, which I tightened.

3/ both rubber boots over the front shocks have gone west.

Now, did I say no problem? We do have one, and that is the driver's side pads are most certainly dragging, could this be related to 1/ or 2/ above?

I like this car but the trouble with the Italians, when they get too complex, it just seems to mean there is more to stuff up.

I miss my FIAT X1/9      

[colcol]

You might want to take your calipers off and give them a good clean with some truck wash and put some copperkote on the calipers where they slide on each other, Colin.

[shay1000]

 "copperkote on the calipers where they slide on each other"

Sorry, not to sure what you mean by this. As far as I can see the only thing that is supposed to move is the piston. I had my daughter apply a little pressure to the pedal whilst I had each wheel off, I did not see anything sliding over anything else, so I am assuming you mean piston, so that will mean a brake bleed surely? Also if that is the case, on bikes I always use flourinated grease.

I have been doing my own brakes on both bikes and cars for far longer than I care to remember, and this is the first time I have aver had a hassle post job.

Gloss of Alfa ownership definitely starting to fade 

[Cool Jesus]

1/ the cable for the pad sensor was broken in the length of cable that connects to the pad cable. passenger side)

2/ a sensor on the driver's side (on the hub) was loose. Fastened with a small allen bolt, which I tightened.

3/ both rubber boots over the front shocks have gone west.

.... could this be related to 1/ or 2/ above?   

1/ I stand to be corrected, however I believe only one side has the pad warning connector, to plug in the cable from the pad. If it is the passenger side its possily old or installed incorrectly. On a side note the cable just provides an earth for the sensor which is why the light flickers as its nearing its wear limit, as its just embedded in the friction material, the cable could also just fall out of the pads if very worn too.

2/ thats the ABS pickup sensor, yes it shouldnt be loose

3/ missing boots, thats normal dependant on if shocks were changed and no boots supplied or old ones not reinstalled or poor maintenance by previous owners

1 and 2 are unrelated to your dragging pad and as neil and col mentioned you have a sticky caliper. How dirty were they? I bet the calipers are caked in brake dust and other oily fluids as mine were. They haven't reinvented the wheel here with the front calipers, no different to the rest of the motoring industry. They have a pair of slide bolts so the caliper halves open and close with piston pressure. The pads also slide along castings in the caliper to keep the pads from moving out of place. These are the two areas that require lubrication. Lets not forget that the piston may be seizing from poor maintenance, rust from lack of brake fluid flushing???

Lastly Steve, remember that you picked up a cheap Alfa with very poor to none service history. It was not cared for by previous owners and you will have issues pop up that require attention and unless you systematically give it a full and thorough service and replace most if not all consumables your going to have to be content with them popping up every now and then. By doing the major service as I mentioned, you can be certain that the item is in working order. Soon after purchasung my alfa, I fully refurbished, flushed, renewed my entire brake system. Now I know its lubed, new seals, hoses, pads, rotors and fluid. I also gave them a new lick of paint while I was at it... but this is dependant on funds and having the time to do it too...

[shay1000]

ok, got it now, lube the sides of the 2 torx head bolts, no problem there. I did actually clean the entire brakes prior to disassembly and again when I had them apart. Actually they were surprisingly clean.

I have cables connecting on both sets of calipers, the length of cable I need is about 6 inches long and goes from the caliper to another connector further up in the wheel arch. Yep, the light stopped flickering and yep the pads were indeed worn. I would like to replace the brake lines, at least from the caliper to the next connection. They look well past their sell by date.

[colcol]

I have heard of brake hoses collapsing internally, stopping the fluid flowing back to the master cylinder and pulling the pads off the rotor.
If you say the hoses are cactus, just replace them and bleed the brake system and bleed the clutch while you are at it.
Just wait until you have to do the rears and you have to buy a piston wind back tool, [if they are like a 156], difficult for me the first time, but now its done and it gets easier, Colin.