(VW Passat 02) Rear Brake Pads Rusted. NCT due.

_Puma_ · 24-07-2013 10:34AM #1

I have just bought a VW Passat 02, in great nick mechanically wise, and has a complete service history/NCT pass record. The Car has been parked up for a year under a cover and was serviced before it was parked up for about €1200. The Rear brake pads were replaced with new ones amongst other things.

When Buying the car I noticed a bit of rust on these new pads so I asked a mechanic friend to have a look. He reckons the rust will cause the car to fail the NCT which is due in less than a month.

We both agreed it would be a shame to replace the new Pads again so I was wondering if anyone has any tips for getting the rust off the pads. Should I remove them altogether and have a go at removing the rust by hand, or would it suffice to just try and rub the rust off by using the brakes heavily for a week or two before the NCT?

Chimaera · 24-07-2013 12:04PM

The friction material is not metallic so that won't rust. The backing pads could accumulate some surface rust if the car was in storage for a year. I'd pop them out and clean them up with a wire brush.

I doubt the NCT guys would fail it either if it's just surface rust. They're looking for defects that would result in a safety issue, and I don't think surface rust falls into that category. That said, there are situations where the inspector may form the opinion that the rust could be hiding a more serious defect.

biko · 24-07-2013 12:48PM

Not sure exactly what you're on about OP (pads don't rust) but just drive it normally for now and let nct decide on the pads.

bazz26 · 24-07-2013 01:21PM

Pads are not made of metal so don't rust. Do you mean the brake disc/rotor or calipers?

_Puma_ · 24-07-2013 01:37PM

Of course they don't... my own stupidity when hastily writing up the post :rolleyes: . It is of course the disc I am talking about here. New Pads and discs were fitted, I stupidly got the two mixed up when I wrote this up.

There seems to be a lot of rust on the lip of the disc where the pads make contact. Also on the back of the callipers. I will see if using the brakes heavily for a week rubs it off the disc, as from what I was told excessive rusting can cause the NCT guys to tell you to replace them on visual inspection.

Chimaera · 24-07-2013 01:42PM

Rust around the rim is not an issue. On the disk surface it could be, but that'll wear off after a few km of use.

biko · 24-07-2013 03:52PM

Discs rapidly gets a layer of rust after non-use, it'll wear off as you use them.

kona · 24-07-2013 04:56PM

Did you bring it to a proper mechanic? Or the lad down the road with a mechano set?
If you did he must have seen something if he thought it would fail, maybe he thinks it will cause the disc to cause an imbalance or something when the rust is ground off.

I'd let the nct decide if it fails you've lost nothing.

(VW Passat 02) Rear Brake Pads Rusted. NCT due.

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