Omega Owners Forum

Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: Alex W on 26 July 2011, 19:58:07

Title: Fiat Punto Smoky Wheel?
Post by: Alex W on 26 July 2011, 19:58:07
The Offside front wheel on my daughters punto gets hot when the car is driven such that when you stop there is a slight smell of burning. The nearside wheel is perfectly cool.

The car was recently serviced by the main stealer and the brake pads have plenty of wear left in them. The discs were replaced by the main stealer about 10,000 miles ago.

The brakes seem to operate properly. There is no noise from the wheels while driving.

Can anyone suggest why this wheel might be getting hot? My daughter is convinced its about to burst into flames and won't drive it.
Title: Re: Fiat Punto Smoky Wheel?
Post by: Omegatoy on 26 July 2011, 20:52:20
more thsan likely a slightly sticking caliper which wont release properly keeping the pads in contact with the disc, easily sorted
Title: Re: Fiat Punto Smoky Wheel?
Post by: Webby the Bear on 26 July 2011, 20:56:26
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more thsan likely a slightly sticking caliper which wont release properly keeping the pads in contact with the disc, easily sorted

i had that. we got noise too. like a whine.
Title: Re: Fiat Punto Smoky Wheel?
Post by: Martian on 26 July 2011, 21:15:19
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My daughter is convinced its about to burst into flames and won't drive it.
Unless the discs look like the pic below, there is no danger of that  ;D

(http://images.loqu.com/contents/856/454/image/2009-02-12/2_6.jpg)

+1 for the sticky caliper on the affected side.
Title: Re: Fiat Punto Smoky Wheel?
Post by: Alex W on 26 July 2011, 21:22:41
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more thsan likely a slightly sticking caliper which wont release properly keeping the pads in contact with the disc, easily sorted
So, how do you stop a caliper from sticking? Is it just a cleaning job?
Title: Re: Fiat Punto Smoky Wheel?
Post by: henryd on 26 July 2011, 22:22:49
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more thsan likely a slightly sticking caliper which wont release properly keeping the pads in contact with the disc, easily sorted
So, how do you stop a caliper from sticking? Is it just a cleaning job?

It will either be the actual piston thats sticking in the caliper body or more likely the caliper slide pins which have stuck,best thing to do is whip the caliper off and see how much force is required to push the piston back and while its off check the slider pins to see if they are free,also check that the pads haven't seized themselves to the caliper frame.
HTH :y
Title: Re: Fiat Punto Smoky Wheel?
Post by: Brikhead on 27 July 2011, 09:51:11
As said, there is no danger of the car or wheel bursting into flames but you do run the risk of having a tyre blow out or having your brakes fail due to boiled brake fluid.
Best check it out...