Brake pads look like they're not flush to the disc

[Dr T]

Hi everyone, first post from me.

i had my front pads changed by the dealer (not an audi dealer) i bought my A4 1.8T 190bhp saloon from. however the brakes squeal a lot when pressed, i had a look and the front pads don't look flush to the pads when i look down on the caliper (all still on teh car) it looks like the inside is almost touching the disc but eh outside edge of the padis a good 4mm or so away from the outside of the disc. I admit that i haven't tried this with the brake pedal pressed yet but i still wouldexpect the pad to come away from the disc square. or is the pad not a uniform shape all the way down, i.e. is there a step in teh pad material that i can't see whcih means it is sitting flush and the squealing is unrelated?

[mikeybutch]

The squealing indicates problems and I would get back to them asap.The pads are uniform and sb touching the disc with the full face so if one edge is not they may have jammed them in at an angle cos they did not fit them correctly in the carrier.These tasks are often left to Apprentices who dont know or care much

[frankc]

Second above post,

also get the caliper guide pins checked out - ideally need to be cleaned & lubricated as part of annual service. When these cease they will prevent the caliper applying even braking force and can cause ceased & overheating brakes.

Frank

[technohippy]

new pads arent flat on the braking surface they're slightly bowed outwards i think so that the pad wears into the disc evenly, so they will look like that, but the squeeling would suggest they havent taken much time when cleaning up and seating the new pads, take it back and get them to clean the calipers up and slap a bit of copper grease on the backing thatll sort it.

[Crasher]

New pads on worn discs. They should bed in eventually.

[keicar]

Fitted new pads and discs to my A4 about 400miles ago, only now are they fully touching the disc

[dan.taylor.1]

As above mate, if your worried take it back, all parts come with 12 month warranty regardless of manufacturer (well unless you buy off ebay etc!), and i would agree that if its new pads on old discs itll take a while to bed in, plus most new pads have a chamfer on the back and front edges which goes about 5mm deep into the pad and 10 mm along the friction face.

Dan

[Dr T]

Hi everyone,

after a spot of googling this morning while i waited for the garage to open i found a picture that showed a angle to the pad material at the edges. Had a closer look/feel of my pads with a paper clip and sure enough the pads are sitting flush, so that's the most pressing issue address.

I think the new pads and old discs post above is probably spot on, that and the fact that the pads are probably less than top dollar since the garage did it FOC before i picked the car up.

I'll give them a while to bed in but i can deal with less than perfect, it's the possibility that it was dangerous that had me concerned. Eventually i'll replace all discs and pads all round with EBC items anyway.

Thanks a lot for everyone's help, i've been using e46zone for last few years as a 318 owner, but i got tired of getting trapped by snow, oh and not having a turbo.

[technohippy]

my friends e46 was brilliant in the snow! well unless you actually wanted to go somewhere then it was terrible....
did make empty icy car parks a whole lot more fun though

[Dr T]

e46's have a great chassis, loads of feel, mine's lowered on coilovers too which has made is razor sharp. going side ways in the snow was fun like you say but hills starts and even steep cambers presented a real problem. My mates A3 quattro was so good even on 19's and summer tyres last year my mind was set, next car had to be an audi quattro. Still got the e46 but it's in the process of being stripped out for a life being a fun/weekend car