Hi everybody, i'm in need of some advice.

I have an 03 wrx which seems to have picked up a problem which i cant put my finger on.

The car seems to be holding back and engine having to work harder than it should, as if the hand break is sticking or breaks are binding. There is also a whinning noise coming from the rear, at 62/63mph or at very slow rolling speed. Also if i'm driving and knock it into neutral, the car will slow down a lot quicker than it should. It just doesnt seem to roll freely.

I have had the breaks checked all over (new discs and pads at the front), they've bin bled and the hand brake has been checked also. I was told everything is fine.

I dont know if this could be a rear diff problem or anything related to that.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated, thanks.

 

go a spin when u get back pee on the brakes and if its all steamy and hot lookin then they be binding..if not then your problem lies elsewhere

 

Or to avoid the smell of boiling pee you could always jack up the rear of the car after chocking the front wheels then spin rear wheels, I should think that if the brakes where binding the wheels would not spin freely

 

lol if they are binding youll need to tAke calipers off and clean and grease the piston slides..had that on a few cars especially about this time of year with all the salt and other crap on the road

 

ok, cheers, will get the car up over the weekend and have a play...

i arent gonig to **** on the breaks though lol. breaks dont seem hot after a spin any way

 

if they arent heating up it must be somethin else holdin the car back..if it the diff or gearbox it should be making some kinda noise

 

I've had similar issues with my 04 wrx, including a horrible squeal when reversing or moving off after being parked for some time, also a clunk felt
when coming to a stop & when moving off again & i needed to use slightly more revs to pull away.

Had a oil & filter service booked in november at API, so had them look at it.

They found :
1. There was a small amount of surface rust in the handbrake
assembly, so they cleaned it up .


2. At least two of the pistons in the front callipers were
sticking so they rebuilt them with new seals & pistons.
I also had new discs & pads on front.

3. My center diff is knackered. not got round to having a
new one fitted yet.

So brakes now are good, no nasty noises & it moves more freely. still got the
clunk (felt rather than heard) & binding when manovering, but thats down to the diff.

Hope your fix proves less expensive than mine!