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Maintenance & Repair Stop here! Let's talk about brakes
1867 messages, Last post on Nov 26, 2009 at 6:20 PM
You are in the Maintenance & Repair Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright
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Replying to: burdawg (Aug 14, 2008 12:51 pm) |
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Replying to: prelude884ws (Aug 14, 2008 8:18 am) This is because when you sqeeze back a caliper, the surfaces which USED to be sitting in old brakeFluid are now expected to be shiny-clean so the piston will slide easilly. The reason all cars should have brakeFluid replaced every 2-3 years is to purge out any moisture that has accumulated in the system. If not replaced, then raw water droplets will migrate to the lowest part of the brake-system (the calipers!) and cause internal rusting. |
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| This has happened about 4 times in the last two months. Problems starts less than 10 miles into the drive. Vehicle feels like its pulling a ton of weight, RPM's rev up, brake pedal is hard. Turns out, its the front brakes locking. Very hot, smell of burn. Pull over on the road for about 20 minutes, continue driving and have driven as long as 1 1/2 hours w/o problems. No lights come on to signal any problems. Have taken in for service, they are just guessing. Replaced brake fluid, lines are good, replaced brakes. Still happening. Anyone know the problem/fix? Would like to eliminate the guessing ($$$). | |
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Replying to: dms11 (Aug 15, 2008 3:57 am) There is a chance that it's another problem, but most commonly it's the calipers...and the parts are relatively cheap. I usually just replace them on every 2nd brake pad change as a normal maintenance item, just to avoid problems. There are no return springs in disc brakes, the pistons just 'float' back when hydraulic pressure is released. So it doesn't take much crud or rusting behind the piston to bind the piston, preventing it from releasing completely.
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Replying to: kiawah (Aug 15, 2008 5:40 am) The odd thing is both sides doing it equally. Possibly the calipers both are doing the same thing, but I would do some asking at a dealership if there's something gone wrong with the ABS unit, e.g. The calipers rely on the seal around the piston flexing when the pistons are pushed out and then pulling back slightly to give a little play when the brakes go off. And the bumping of the wheels moves the parts back in. Aged, heated seals may be bad, especially now that everything has run exra hot from dragging. Even if the calipers weren't bad before, in my opinion they are now, so the best test would be replacement. |
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Replying to: dms11 (Aug 15, 2008 3:57 am) If only one brake drags, the small rubber hose at the caliper could also be collapsing internally. If you go to the expense of replaceing those front rotors, I sure would add the extra expense of a couple of rubber hoses. If the brakes have dragged much at all, the pads might need replaced again. You need a brake/front end alignment shop that sees a lot of cars and knows what they are doing. Whereever you took it to should have been able to successfully repair it. I'm not sure I would trust them for further repairs. If only one side was dragging, I might consider a complete rebuild - hose, caliper, pads on both fronts. I just went to the OReilly's web site - a rebuilt caliper, with pads, is $78 per side. A new caliper, with pads, is $97 per side. So, at least here, a caliper comes with new pads. |
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In our 1997 Windstar the brakes pulsate when coming to a normal stop. It happens just at the end as the car is going from maybe 5 mph to 0. Prior to the very end of the stop the pedal feels normal. It feels sort of like abs kicking in, only a lighter/milder pulsation than I am used to feeling from abs and these are not stops where it is anywhere close to needing abs. Any ideas?
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Replying to: dms11 (Aug 15, 2008 3:57 am) A common way for a brake-booster to fail is when the internal valve leaks vacuum. This will tend to 'pull' the brake pedal twards the floor and apply the brakes while you are driving. Somtimes the internal valve can be cleaned... other times the entire booster has to be replaced.
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Replying to: jeffyscott (Aug 15, 2008 4:52 pm) |
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Replying to: bpeebles (Aug 15, 2008 6:03 pm) I do know, for a leak, let the car idle in park. Push on the brake. In many cases you will be able to hear a 'whoooose' from the leak. Also, the idle speed should significantly slow down, as the leak lets a huge amount of air into the intake, which causes a lean air/fuel mix and drops the idle.
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