BRAKES

Simple disc/drum set-up can suffer from the usual age-related wear — warped or corroded front rotors, oval drums, seized rear wheel cylinders and rusty brake pipes. Poor rear braking and an ineffective handbrake point to failure of the wheel, while a vibration through the steering wheels and a clicking noise under gradual braking points is a sign of warped discs. OE-spec replacements are cheap and plentiful – a complete set of discs, pads, drums and shoes costing as little as £120. On cars with ABS, don’t be concerned by a pinging noise as you pull away — it’s the system’s self-check function which opens and closes the valves at just over 2000 rpm in first gear.The ABS light should come on with the ignition and quickly go out, but if it stays on and the system seems fine then the cause is probably a dirty sensor, or the pads and discs are on their limits.