Brakes sticking / juddering

almoststew1990 · 6 Feb 2017 at 18:56

My car started juddering through the steering wheel today intermittently on the way home from work when I got up to about 50. I noticed when I was queuing on the motorway that the car came to a stop much more quickly when I was coasting at say 10mph and also that I don't need to apply the handbrake to hold the car still on my slightly sloped driveway. The front nearside disk is very very hot to touch, whereas the offside was "lukewarm to pleasantly warm". For the past few days I've thought I've noticed a slightly "pulse" or oscillation when braking at slow speed but I had put it down to my "it's an old BMW and it's overdue a breakdown" paranoia.

Any ideas what could be the problem? Googling says a range of things from warped disks to stuck calipers.

I was planning on trading it in in a couple of weeks anyway :/ It's an e46 330ci.

Gaygle · 6 Feb 2017 at 19:20

Seized caliper - if you're looking at trading it in, striping it down and sanding down any rust, followed by rubber grease on the sliders should help. If the sliders look ok, it's likely to be the piston which has had water ingress and has seized.

Do it asap or it'll ruin the disc.

shadow_boxer · 6 Feb 2017 at 19:55

Had same issue on my E46 too. Was a seized caliper.

ADT · 6 Feb 2017 at 20:25

I have the same car and same symptoms. Been like this for a week. Am I looking at a new calliper?

Thanks for posting op!!

mrk · 6 Feb 2017 at 21:43

Gaygle said:
Do it asap or it'll ruin the disc.

This! I know this from recent experience and a near four figure bill.

Bigg Red sell piston repair kits which includes piston, seals and all clips. Worth a shot if you strip it down and investigate what's up.

Seized calipers on the E46 are all too common, especially at this time of year. On the owners clubs and FB groups I have seen the very same questions asked a number of times the past month alone.

almoststew1990 · 6 Feb 2017 at 21:49

That's good to know (I guess!) I drove it to my parent's house and I'm borrowing one of their cars for the week. Hopefully I'll go back down this weekend and have a proper look (not that I'd know what I'm doing in the slightest but I have a Haynes manual and youtube...)

Edit- is there anything that isn't a "common fault" on e46s!?

Gaygle · 6 Feb 2017 at 22:45

Tbh, it's not a common fault on an E46, it's a common fault on any car that goes over 10years old.

And it's really not a massive one either, you can get a couple of new calipers for £not a lot. You can get a used caliper for even less.