mpg poor and binding brakes

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caveman_si
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mpg poor and binding brakes

Post by caveman_si »

IN the morning im going to being some work on the car as theres few jobs that need doing, plus the filters and an oil change. But after having looked at my mpg recently ive discoverd it terrible. Which with the increase in diesel prices isnt good.
So the usually suspects come up, air/fuel filter, tire pressure fuel leaks, leaky turbo pipes, binding brakes, injectors. Oh and winter fuel but im dissregarding this since my fuel figures are from july to date and its all poor.
Filters are a doddle will have a look at them as i remove, stick in a decent oil. As for leaks i'll go over the pipes/connectors to see there condition. I'll slap in some injector cleaner and give it an "italian" work out.
But anyone want to tell me about brakes??? is it just a case of jack up the car and see if the rear wheels rotate freely?? if they do all is ok if they dont problem?
Any easy known fixes if this is the problem? or is it just a case of dismantle clean reassemble and hope? I will be using a haynes and a knowlegeable mate as reference since my knowlege of brakes is limited to middle peddle stops car so please keep it simple.
cheers simon
ralph
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Post by ralph »

If your brakes are binding, your wheels will heat up and will be red hot after a few miles. So that's fairly easy to diagnose.
Brakes need to be stripped and cleaned up as part of a service schedule anyway, you'll need brake cleaner and copper grease to do the job.
But go easy on the copper grease, you don't want it getting onto the pads.
Follow Haynes and use a torque wrench to reassemble bolts.
Finally, if you're not confident, leave it to your mate this time around and learn from him.
It may be dull advice, but as the old saying goes: A car that doesn't start is a nuisance. A car that doesn't stop could be fatal.
Good luck.
bikeboyz
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Post by bikeboyz »

what is the car, engine and the mpg?
caveman_si
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Post by caveman_si »

car is 405 1.9 td on an m plate and as for the mpg cant remember exactly but it was around the 30mpg mark. very poor i know but i have done a lot of city driving the last few months and very little on decent a roads and motorways. BUt not so much that it would drop to that low level.
Dave Bamber
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Post by Dave Bamber »

If it's binding brakes, it's more than likley to be the fronts. If thats the case, the safest repair is new/recon calipers. Check for binding by jacking up the wheel and giving it a spin, it should spin freely with slight contact on the fronts and little to non on the rears, if they are drums. If the rears are discs, they can seaze through lack of use as most of the braking is on the fronts. Your Haynes will be good for repair procedures but if you want further advice, give us a shout.
PeanutOil
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Post by PeanutOil »

A good way to check for binding brakes if you don't want to go through the hassle of jacking up the car, is to pull forward, just after braking to a complete stop, but only get to about 1 mph. Then dip the clutch. If the car rolls on for a good few yards and you barely notice it stop, the brakes are fine, but if it stops very quickly, and you can feel it come to a halt, then the brakes are binding. It can be very obvious when negotiating verh heavy stop-start traffic. If you do have binding brakes, and you have girling front calipers, the culprets are usually the sliding pins. a quick going over with some 600 grit paper, and a dollop of coppergrease and you'll be away again.
Another thing that can cause poor consumption on the xud engine is bad timing. if the injection pump is heavily retarded, this can cause rubbish mpg, but the engine still appears to give good power. If you have a DTI, use the haynes manual for the data (I believe it's all correct) or get it checked out. A surprising number of xud engines have their timing out. (almost every one i've checked)
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