Hello from Croatia!

[steve_earwig]

Hi there, I'm a Brit living abroad. I'm sort of retired (i.e. I figured out how don't to go to work for someone else anymore).

Anyway, after thrashing about in a '98 2.1 estate for three years I decided to get a newer one, hence '04 2.0 HDI estate (I can't understand why people buy saloons or coupes - like you'd buy trousers with no pockets?!) which makes the old one feel like a wheelbarrow with a flat tyre.

Issues:

Warped rear disks - they both did it.
Manual brakeshoe adjusters - in this day and age?
Rear brake backplates rotted through ('98) - first time I ever saw that! (they don't salt the roads here, before you ask.)
(Btw did anyone ever come up with a fix for the oh-so useless handbrake?)
Dead speedo ('98) - it's the control box!
Airbag warning light ('98) - control box again (at least it didn't go off in my face...).
Once only trim fastenings - grrr!
Microscopic speakers in the rear pillars - but holes for decent ones behind tailgate trim.
Door window trims keep falling off ('98) - much better design on the '04.
Rubber seal along the bottom of the doors rediculously easy to remove with your shoes and the clips break. Another new one please.

I'm sure there's more but that's all I can think of just now.

[mjb]

Welcome.

Warped rear disks - they both did it.

Which is why ppl should hold their car on the handbrake not the footbrake...

Manual brakeshoe adjusters - in this day and age?

Don't forget you've bought a 1998 (mostly electrical) update to a mid 90s design! (I'm counting design date, not production date here)

(Btw did anyone ever come up with a fix for the oh-so useless handbrake?)

New discs and pads did it for me.

Microscopic speakers in the rear pillars - but holes for decent ones behind tailgate trim.

I've been more than happy with the stock ones in my estate. The main issue I have is with things rattling on quite a few lower frequency notes. It is tempting to shove a small sub somewhere though...

[steve_earwig]

Which is why ppl should hold their car on the handbrake not the footbrake...

I'm not sure if that would make any difference, the footbrake squeezes the disk while the handbrake, if over-applied, will deform the whole thing. I think the problem is heat, that and shoddy materials - on the D9 the l/h had a distinct "wobble" in it so bad that on one side it had gone rusty for about an inch where the pads weren't touching the disk.

Don't forget you've bought a 1998 (mostly electrical) update to a mid 90s design!

My 1972 Hillman Avenger had automatic adjusters!

New discs and pads did it for me.

Shoes, surely? Changed disks + pads, adjusted and greased everything on the D8, marginal improvement. Will change the shoes on this one though.

I've been more than happy with the stock ones in my estate. The main issue I have is with things rattling on quite a few lower frequency notes. It is tempting to shove a small sub somewhere though...

But they're not loud enough and there's no bass from the back end! I'd go for a sound shelf but the parcel shelf fixings are a little too, erm, wierd for it.

[mjb]

Which is why ppl should hold their car on the handbrake not the footbrake...

I'm not sure if that would make any difference, the footbrake squeezes the disk while the handbrake, if over-applied, will deform the whole thing.

But the centre of the disc is always relatively cold since a) the main braking isn't done there and b) it's got the hub as a heat sink. Warped discs usually come from a high-pressure grip on a red hot disc from the caliper whilch causes that section to cool down at a different rate to the rest of the disc

New discs and pads did it for me.

Shoes, surely?

You know what I mean...

But they're not loud enough and there's no bass from the back end! I'd go for a sound shelf but the parcel shelf fixings are a little too, erm, wierd for it.

Not loud enough? I consider 'loud' to be about half the volume it takes the stock speakers to distort at, and that's the sort of volume level you get right by the speakers at a concert... Then again the music I usually listen to isn't particularly bass-heavy. Slip some Rob Dougan or Faithless in though and all I can hear is Pug internals vibrating away, long before the speakers start farting

[mjb]

2 things I hate about my Pug today:

1) The ultrasonic alarm sensors. Whose stupid idea was it to mount them right where you're guaranteed to knock them out whenever you move the sun visor to the door window?

2) The inaccessibility of the heating stuff. I really don't want to faff around taking the whole dashboard out to see what's wrong, put it back together, get the new parts, take the whole dashboard out again then put it back together after... Still if I can find whatever's rattling down there while I'm at it, it's got to be good eh? And if I don't find the rattle I'll take a sodding sledgehammer to it

[steve_earwig]

But the centre of the disc is always relatively cold since a) the main braking isn't done there and b) it's got the hub as a heat sink. Warped discs usually come from a high-pressure grip on a red hot disc from the caliper whilch causes that section to cool down at a different rate to the rest of the disc

Interesting point! Then, I have had cars with a similar arrangment (no option on my BX either, handbrake pushes the pads) so all I can think is shoddy materials.

Not loud enough? I consider 'loud' to be about half the volume it takes the stock speakers to distort at, and that's the sort of volume level you get right by the speakers at a concert... Then again the music I usually listen to isn't particularly bass-heavy. Slip some Rob Dougan or Faithless in though and all I can hear is Pug internals vibrating away, long before the speakers start farting

Sorry, not into "easy listening"