I had my rear brake pads and rotors replaced late last year by a mechanic that had never worked on a MINI before.

After the install, I had an intermittent squeaking from the right rear. It occurred when going over bumps, but not always. e.g. a severe bump could yield no noise but a minor would could.

Lately I've been having difficulty braking as quickly as I remember being able to brake. Even today at fairly low speeds (less than 35mph) when I had to make a sudden stop, it felt like I was still slipping forward even when I put the brake pedal to the floor.

I inspected this evening and saw a few things that bother me.

For one, one of the springs on the rear right brake caliper (the one that was squeaking) is broken. Looks like corrosion helped.

The wear pattern on that rotor looks really weird. There's a bunch of "streaks".

The wear pattern on the rear left rotor looks strange as well.

Both front rotors are in comparably much better condition. There's no rust on the caliper and the rotors look worn down smoothly and evenly.

I've observed that brake dust is accumulating on the front wheels (white) about ten times as fast as the rear wheels. I've never seen this before.

My theory is the rear brakes either aren't functioning at all or at severely reduced capacity. This makes my braking suck, and it makes my front brakes work harder, which is why there's so much brake dust.

That said, I don't know what all is wrong. I uploaded pics to illustrate.

1. rotor wear on the rear right
2. broken caliper spring on the rear right
3. rotor wear on the rear left

 

Just for the fact you state he never worked on a MINI before I would of been a little concerned. The rear caliper piston can not be pushed in like some other cars. when replacing the pads you have to screw in the caliper piston. So if he tried to force them in with a c clamp or something similar he could of damaged them causing them not to work.
As far as brake dust, the fronts will always have more as they do most of the braking.
I would pull the wheels and inspect the calipers and pads. Then you will have a better idea on what might be wrong.

 

Screwing in the caliper piston is not unique to MINIs, it's common to most cars with 4 wheel disc brakes which is pretty common among cars these days. I seriously doubt that this is the problem. In all honesty, changing the brake pads on a MINI is pretty much like changing pads on any car. I don't see anything from the pictures that would make me worry other than the corrosion and that retaining wire being busted. I don't have nor have I ever owned a Gen 1 MINI, but I'm sure that retaining wire should be replaced along with the pads especially for people that live in rust prone areas as you evidently do. My sense of this is that your mechanic may not have replaced it.

If you're not comfortable working on your own brakes I suggest you take it to another mechanic and get his opinion. It's a pretty simple DYI repair though, and here's a fantastic thread on this forum for working on the Gen 1 MINI rear brakes: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...beginners.html

 

Even though the breaks are fairly easy to do.. If there is something I cant do because im usually just to busy at work I always ask my mechanic if he has ever done what ever I need done on my MINI... If he says no...then I just say thanks for your time..lol

 

I'm not a mechanic..."but i play one on tv", not... I can't help but wonder if something got on the pads or rotors and is contributing to the weird pattern of streaking. I wonder if a good cleaning with alcohol would take care of that? The spring I cannot speak to but I think I would want it corrected with a new one.

 

Here is the rear brake caliper . Up to 4/2003 production.


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/34216757247/ Rear left caliper.




http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/34216757248/ Rear Right caliper.



Check the rear caliper out if your mechanic or yourself pulls it off the MINI.

The piston can stick over time and then have to be worked back it while turning it at the same time.



If it dust boot is deteriorated and corrosion is around the piston and cause it to stick slowly. There is no replacement seal from MINI for the inner seal. Just the boot.



Have not seen a retainer clip rusted that bad in a while. That's a must for replacement, do the rear left , rear right at the same time.


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/34216762749/




Another thing to check since you have shown some rust is the rear bushing guides. Rust can build up between the rubber and the caliper causing the slider pins not to move like they should. Pop the old guide busing out , clean the rust and corrosion out and then pop the new guide busing in.

One set for each caliper.


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/34111157038/ES59450/ BMW/ MINI brand


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/34111157038/ES1966737/ Ate brand





Here is the bolt for the, 2 needed for each caliper.


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/34111157041/ES2574677/




That should help you with the most common problems along with the install link they posted above.

Thanks

 

from what I've read that outside spring is there primarily to stop vibration of the two caliber parts - so without it having good tension your caliber and pads are possibly floating too much. Not a hazard but I' put new ones on all around. {I've never see one rusted away like that - but I live in FL now thankfully!}

I don't see the wear issue - well I don't think I see it anyway, what I do see is reflections . . .

fronts ARE supposed to do most of the work - that's why they are bigger - and will dust more accordingly

on the other hand if you are putting the pedal to the floor you've got another problem and it is BIG. I would not drive the car until I found the cause. Check the fluid level, check all lines for leaks and have the system bled . . . The pedal should never go to the floor. Mine does for one pump after changing the pads and by the second is plenty stiff and fully engaged at about 1/2 the possible travel.

 

Maybe I worded that poorly, then. I don't think my brake pedal literally went to the floor. I just got mediocre braking response from putting as much pressure as I could on the brake pedals when I needed to come to a sudden halt. The brake pedal still "pushes back", although I remember getting more braking from lighter touches in the past.

It's not impossible that my current tires are contributing to the lack of stopping power as well. They're not quite dead but they're toward the end of their life, and wearing irregularly due to other suspension issues I've yet to deal with.

I got two new clips for the rear calipers. (The front calipers don't have any noticeable rust or corrosion for some reason, so I'll deal with them when I work on those brakes.) I also got new dust boots, the OEM brake pad grease, and the piston tool. Also ordered an electric vacuum for dusting.

I went aftermarket on the bolts/bushings and got the Tyrolsport metal bushings.

I'm basically just going to reseat everything and see if that doesn't help.

I considered splurging and doing pads/rotors/calipers/lines all around, or some combination thereof, but I have too many other projects taking precedence to justify that cost.

Replacing the brake lines is definitely something I'm considering doing soon, though, given the mileage and corrosion.

What I don't get is how the pics of my rotors could seem normal, I thought that normally worn rotors have very fine, concentric grooves kind of like a record, and that anything else was bad? In the first pic there's very large, concentric "streaks" all around the rotor, and the right side rotor has diagonal markings across it. Neither of the front rotors have irregularities of this sort. I know my photos aren't amazing, but I thought there was enough there to get a glimpse.

 

It could be your master cylinder too. Or may just need a brake bleed (along with replacing that spring clip).

Strongly suggest taking it to a good mechanic for a diagnosis before spending money unnecessarily.

 

Sometimes one rotor might have more rust...so streaking, etc is different. ..park next to a sprinkler?
The rear rotors on my car DID Fail...severe rust around the edges...after about 40,000 miles....5 years of nh salt...but imo if you take everything appart to clean, and fix...spend the $20 on a new set of rear pads.....better ones are more, but I bet the pads are not wearing evenly...so reusing them would be a waste.

 

I had been eying the EBC Greenstuff as I heard they're pretty decent. I try to go aftermarket when possible. Just didn't know if I needed to replace them or not. I also have no idea how long that clip has been broken. I'd never really looked prior to a few days ago.

 

Rear pads on a mini don't do a lot...green stuff is not bad, but if you need tires too....and you eluded to "uneven wear due to other vehicles issues", I would get the rear brakes back to decent condition, then spend extra $$ where it needs to be spent. Ebc has a table around....basicly said ebc greens on the fronts with oem/equivalents on the rear was ok...basicly keep the pads front to back within one grade....so hot/fast street (green) Is one up from oem...plus after the repair you can monitor what is going on on the rears. ...a stuck caliper on the rear, needing a rebuilt one will need newvpads in a few weeks if you see one side of the rotor rusted and not getting polished. ..rears are a bit more of a mx issue due to the extra mechanism inside to let the parking brake/ebrake work.

 

Well what brake pads should I get for the rear? You said I could get OEM for $20 but something better for a little more; what's between OEM and EBC Greenstuff?

 

A friend helped me with this yesterday. We took off the rear/right caliper. We couldn't get the old clip out, it's bound to the caliper. PB Blaster didn't seem to loosen it. Tried punching it out from the inside of the caliper, and that didn't work either. The clip wouldn't come free from the top or the bottom of the caliper.

He has rear calipers with low mileage that have never seen winter that he might sell to me. Until then I'm riding with a busted clip. I didn't throw on the new bolts/bushings, dust caps or anything.

That said, multiple people/mechanics have remarked that my rotors/pads are fine.