When I bought it one of the brakes had seized on I think. I had the brakes serviced 2 weeks ago, new brake pipe fitted, system bled, new rear brake hose. Now for the first couple of miles after I haven't used it for a couple of days I hear a scraping noise when I use the brake, from the front I think. Could this be serious? The garage I use is a few miles away so I can't just pop round. Is it ok to drive for a while until I can sort out being without it for a few days?
Your brakes will quickly get a film of rust on them when not used - especially discs. This is normal. If your braking power is OK and the noise disappears after a couple of decent stops, then it should be fine. Still get them checked if you are still worried. This happens to all cars.
Thank you @SkutterBob, yes braking power is still fine, and the noise does go after a while, so I feel reassured now! I'll get them looked at when I take it in for something else in a couple of weeks, just to be sure, but glad there's no rush.
mine always does this when i leave it parked up for a while - especially this time of year, i usually drive up and down my road a bit before i head off.
The most importan thing as that it stops in a straight line under heavy braking, so find a quiet spot and try it - you can do this quite slowly - 10-15mph is enough.
Generally the rust clears off in a short distance. If you have a problem with the front brakes it shows at lowish speeds but the rear brakes can be badly out before you find the problem slamming the brakes on hard at 45 mph. A half working rear brake only causes gentle pulling to one side until you reach a crisis point.
Thank you for the advice. I'll see if it keeps a straight line when breaking hard. If it's just one of those things that cranky old buses do, then that's fine, I've just got to learn what's normal and what's a problem. It's going to take me a while to get used to it's quirks! I'll phone the mechanic and ask exactly what he did to the brakes, but I know he done quite a bit of work on them so I would be surprised if there was a problem. But within 50m of driving it away from the garage for the first time a wire did come off the coil so who knows!
and put your seat belt on... If worried take it back your mechanic should not mind jacking both wheels up and spinning them ,might be a caliper not quite in un-seized..
