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For this brake issue, I'd alter his recommendations slightly. Before the hard stops, just drive for a bit - maybe 3 miles or more. Then beam the LED aimer at the brake rotors. (You can be several inches away - makes no difference to the reading.) This will tell if you have a dragging brake (stuck caliper) on one side of the truck. Then do the several stops thing, and beam them again.
1)Drive at highway speeds for a few minutes
2) pull into a "rest area" and use the EMERGANCY BRAKE to come to a stop. (do not use brake pedal)
3) Gingerly feel the LUG NUTS of the 2 front wheels. The presense of any heat on the lug nuts indicates dragging brakes on that side.
ALTERNATIVE: jack up each front wheel and spin it by hand. If it is not easy to spin the wheel -- the brake is sticking on that side.
Lets not forget that the original poster has already declared that the caliper is not sticking. We have to assume they know what they are talking about when they make that statement.
In any case , following my step-by-step process above will GUARANTEE a sucessful diagnosis of this "pulling" problem.
He should still do the multi-stop thing that Alcan suggested, and compare the two sides. Here, the thermometer is nicer as you don't have to judge between 100' and 150' with your hand.
Please try not to do duplicate posts. We'll answer your question in the Maintenance Costs forum where you also posted.
thanks
Host
I have a 92 Lesabre & the ABS light is on. I have a GM code reader that decodes Treves II , Bosch 2s &2u. My car uses Treves IV abs. Can i still use the code reader? (code reader manual says "for GM 82 to 95 cars", but does not list Treves IV ) It reads the ECM codes fine. But when i try abs the light blinks off then stays on, and thats it. The ABS light came on after a hard & fast stop, and has not turned off. Any help would be great.
Thanks,
Eric
Is Teves II ABS different from Teves IV ABS, in code scanning?
If there are no external leaks beyond the master cylinder, then the lines and brake-components at the wheels can be ruled out as the problem. That means your problem is either an internal leak of the master cylinder or air in the system.
The above is assuming that there is no "squishiness" of the pads and the rear drums are assembled and adjusted properly.
VW uses a spring-loaded wedge as the automatic-adjuster in the rear. (rather than a starwheel) This means the the EMERGANCY BRAKE must be applied to adjust the rear drums. (unlike braking in reverse for a starwheel design)
Was it pressure-bled -or- vacuum-bled after all the work was completed?
Have you considerd that the brake-booster may be the problem?
Another "test" to perform is the see if the brake pedal will "pump up" with successive pedaling. If it does "pump up" and become a solid brake-pedal, that is a sure sign of the rear drums being mis-adjusted. (The shoes are so far away from the drums, that it takes several pumps to make them contact the drums)
Somtimes, hard braking on a dirt road while somone is observing the wheels can help isolate which wheels are not receiving the braking forces. Keep in mind that VW uses an "X" plumbing pattern for the brakes.
Also, when it comes to replacing parts on any machine, it goes without saying that "New does not mean good" I have often seen new parts that are bad right out of the box.
I shudder to think of Stan and Ollie (or their grandkids) bleeding my brakes.
Unacceptable way to work on a safety-related item on a modern car! A shop shouldn't be allowed to do brakes like that IMO. We're talking lives here, and one air bubble can do a lot of damage. This is a nearly new Jetta, not a Model A Ford.
I'd take my business elsewhere.
I use it not only for bleeding brakes, but also for bleeding hydrolic clutch systems and for sucking fluids out of things. (such as sucking the power-steering fluid out of the resivour) It can also be used to suck the oil out of a gearcase such as xfercase or differential.
Do not forget that ABS systems also need "special attention" when bleeding them. There is often extra bleeder nipples in the system and somtimes a small lever to push so the ABS system gets properly bled. Just bleeding the wheel nipples will not do it.
My VWs actually "share" the brake fluid with the clutch fluid. That adds some more "special attention" to the mix.
Kit 06820 looks real strong. I got mine from J.C.Whitney many years ago.
http://www.mityvac.com/kits.html
http://www.speedibleed.ca/
Brilliant! Never heard of that trick. You rescued a really rare car, too - the Geo Metro Convertible is sorely missed here in So Cal.
Beware that each type has its own plusses and minuses. Some vehicles actually SPECIFY which type to use.
Re: left front brake binding on 91 geo metro conv. [alcan] by ecotrklvr
I only use the truck right now for the mail route a couple days a week plus light driving around town (I don't have a Sirius adapter for my other car yet, so I find a reason to drive it).
Thanks for any responses.
Steve
Dothan, Alabama
Here is a site to get you started.
http://www.bmwmarketplace.com/v3beta/bmw/tips/general/brakepads.cfm
For more radical improvements, bigger brake pad and rotor kits are probably in order. You of course know that you may/may not want or have to change tires and rim combinations to allow for whatever bigger pad and rotor combination you select. Then you will probably find you do not like the stock strut and shock combinations and want to add upper and lower strut bars and rear upper shock bars.and rear sway bar
For instance, if you are running turned rotors and you run into a specifically bad situation (rare but possible) of say running down a long hill and then hitting some standing water, that is likely to warp a hot rotor.
I have priced the GM oem rotor replacements and a cursory call to the local Napa Parts store indicated a far cheaper price.
I am also impressed with the Brembo line per se. However for the VW Jetta TDI application in the Brembo replacement line, there seems to be a higher rate of warped Brembo replacement rotors. Two of the folks that registered these findings I happen to know personally, so there is some question in my mind.
Brakes and tires are where all the money should go, because without those, the rest doesn't matter.
To be fair, when assessing rotor warpage and reasons therein, one has to look at the vehicle itself (weight, power, and size of rotor spec'd by factory) and also people's driving habits.
I was just following a big fat SUV the other day down the mountain, and that brake light was on for I swear 2.5 miles without a let up. Now really, what chance do those rotors have (or the pads) for long life? I bet if it was night time I could have seen them glowing red.
"the brakes were defective..I pressed and pressed and nothing happened. It's not my fault. This car is dangerous!"
---another is that road dirt can clog the drilled rotors rendering them no better than ordinary rotors.
Also how the rotor is ground is important as is the metallurgy. It's quite a science and not all aftermarket rotors are equal.
Little Known Fact: did you know that if you increase your tire size 1" you increase your braking distance as much as 10 feet?
So probably a lot of street racers out there have totally negated their fancy brake upgrades by using larger tires!
Of the current brake pad product line, depending again on ones goals, the aftermarket has developed sort of a loose code, which they refer to as "rotor" friendly all the way up to "full aggressive" race pads that operate well at up to XXXX temperatures. (i.e. verboten:CAN TRASH ROTORS ALIVE at one sitting)
If you want to stop real fast, reliably, time and time again without fade, you are going to eat rotors for breakfast.
If you want quiet brakes, nice soft cushy feel when cold, a velvet pedal that you don't have to push real hard---you aren't going to stop real fast, reliably, time and time again at high speeds, but you'll get longer rotor life.
Take your pick, I say, or, like many of us here, we go somewhere in between.
On my car (Porsche 928), I plan on ditching the rotors at each pad change. I don't always have to, but I plan on it. That's the price I have to pay for what I want, as do most porsche owners. If you complain because your Corvette or Boxster doesn't get long rotor life, then you haven't fully understood what the engineers of your car intended.
Sometimes, however, it wasn't the engineers, but the bean-counters who intended to save $5 a car and give you rotors for "average use and high comfort".
Enjoying the beauty of not owning a Jeep after having 2 of them for a 5 year period. GMC Envoy is not the greatest vehicle in the world, but IMHO much better than the Jeep. These new vehicles are convincing me that a factory backed extended warranty at a reasonable price may be just part of the cost of ownership.
Bill