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Pontiac Grand Am Brakes
I am trying to sell my 2002 GT1. Beauty of a car, but the sale was held up today because of a grinding noise when the potential buyer used the brakes. Now, I have been living with this for quite sometime; and have had it in the shop for grinding while braking & turning (under warranty - lucky me!) and the tires were replaced because there was a "bulliten" on the tires, and also at 16000 mi the pads were replaced and rotors resurfaced in the front only. So what I need to know is does anyone else have grinding brakes? :confuse:
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Not much had really changed with this car over the years, mostly its ugly cladding. That's why they discontinued it, because its name was (is) synonymous with low quality, UNRELIABLE junk priced in same range as 10 times better Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans and Mazdas.
G6 is its replacement. It is loosely based on German Opel, but with too much of Grand Am legacy, especially seemingly same engines and transmission (old fuel thirsty pushrods.)
Every morning, early in the morning, after rolling down a hill on the way to work, I need to stop. Usually, I roll through the stop because the girl’s breaks (like an anti-lock thing kicks in) grip and release until I’ve pressed her break pedal to the floor and her legs, sorry, breaks finally grip and hold.
Trish will also play these games RANDOMLY during the day and night. She usually likes to tease me when I’m parking, or when stopping at a traffic light.
We have had this problem for three years. There have been many mechanics in our life, but none that could provide us the diagnosis we need for a healthy relationship.
Usually, the mechanic will rework the breaks, which does not solve our problem. We’ll go in for a follow up, only to be told that we are healthy and he/she can’t see anything wrong with Trish.
So now I’m wondering, is it me? Am I pressing to hard on her pedal?
Symptoms:
-Heavy pulsations (break-release-break-release) until pedal is pressed to with all my might
-The pulsations are very aggressive/serious/loud, very scary for passengers
-Always in the morning at same intersection, and randomly throughout the day.
The problem is, the dealership is going out of business, and I can't get a hold of anyone. Do you think it's possible that another Pontiac dealership will honor the Pontiac brake warranty?
How dirty is the brake fluid in the reservior?
More details needed.......
If the cars brakes were still working, except for the grinding, your calipers are fine. they need to be replaced when they leak or start rubbing.
You can bypass the rotors if you want too depending on how long they were grinding. Anything more than a couple of days, they need to be resurfaced/replaced.
Sounds like a load of crap from merlins.
I don't even know how you could put the brakes on the wrong way.
The grinding noise is from safety clips on the back of the brake pad to let you know it is time to change them.
When the pad gets to low, the clips start rubbing against the metal rotor and you get the grinding noise.
These clips dig into the rotors and cut them up.
If only one brake pad was working, the car wouldn't stop!!!!! Brakes work by putting pressure against the rotors on both sides like a vise to slow the car down.
the harder you press the brake pedal, the higher the pressure is against the rotors.
And unless cows started jumping over the moon, Calipers are always locked in one position, it's the rotor that spins freely.
Your getting taken for a ride!!!!!!!!!!!!Run fast
Thanks!
:confuse:
You should also look at the mounting bolts and make sure they are not bent. They are cheap to replace.
Hope that helps
Does anyone have any suggestions on what might be causing this problem, because I'm taking it in to the dealership tomorrow to have it looked at.
Last week, I was rearended from behind about about 5 miles and hour. No damage, but when I was driving home, my ABS light, Trac Off and Service Vehicle Soon (not the Service Engine Soon) lights all came on. They come on now at sporadic intervals after I start up the car ranging from after 25 mins of driving to right when I start the car, but once they go on they remain on until I shut the car off.
I took it to Auto Zone and had them hook it up to their computer but there were no codes. They also tested the Charging System. Then I took it to a mechanic and still no codes. Both places tried with the car and and off to test the codes and they couldn't figure out what was wrong.
I then took it to the Pontiac dealership and they told my it was most likely my Hub and Bearing Assembly and it would cost $400. (But the mechanic couldn't hear anything wrong with the bearings before.)
I tested a theory today (it just snowed) and hit the brakes. The lights weren't on at the moment and I could feel the ABS working. A few seconds later, the lights were on and when I tried them, the ABS didn't work.
Can anyone tell me what's wrong? Is it really my hub/bearing assembly or something else. I don't want to pay $400 if it's just wasting my money.
Thanks.
I have an 04 GT now, with 46K miles. Haven't had to do any brake work yet. I just checked the front pads last weekend and they're at about 25% useful life left. Rears are around 80%.
If your buying those $25 rotors at the auto parts, be aware that most of those are made in China or South America. They're made fast and cheap, which means that they aren't left in the molds long enough to anneal properly, resulting in fast wear and warping. I've found that good rotors are going to run $40+ each.
I only put raybestos parts on my car (never tried Brembo), the problem is continual though. I must admit when I put the raybestos rotors on the warping to longer to manifest but in time they still warped. As for the calipers, I lube slider pins each time I rotate the tires. The calipers make an extremely lound creaking noise every time they are applied. With the original set the dealer said there was to much play (this was after they cleaned and lubed them the first two times the problem arose). They agreed to replace the calipers if I paid half, so I did thinking that it would solve the problem. Not even 20K after that the brakes are making the same noise again, although it may even be worse this time.
Not sure what to do ... I am at a loss ... an aftermarket overhaul to brembo is nearly $1500 (CDN) for the whole system. Not sure I want to spend that much but it might resolve the problem once and for all
I ran Powerslots with performance friction pads for quite awhile. Good combo for stopping, but very dirty. Eventually ate up the Powerslots, but they lasted much longer then factory parts. (I am extremely hard on brakes, and I have a heavily modified suspension).
I've also replaced the front calipers before (done at home) for creaking and *crunching* noises. As in when you press on the brakes, you hear a crunching metallic sound. While I had the pads and rotors off, I was compressing the piston back into the caliper, and it made the noise. Lubricated the piston sides with grease, but it came back eventually. (The local Pontiac dealer acknowledged that short of replacing the calipers, they've been largely unsuccessful at getting this sound to go away permenantly, but they also grease the piston, as per a TSB from GM) So I replaced the calipers with remanufactured units. Sound went away for awhile. Eventually started again on the new calipers, comes and goes, but I always add a bit of grease to the sides of the piston while I have the brakes torn down. And always grease your slides, as they can hang up.
GA's also are known to wear one pad more so then the other, usually the outside pad on the fronts. Not uncommon to wear down the outside and then pull the pads only to see that the inside has half the material remaining. It's pretty normal, and doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong. Wear should be even from the front to the back of the pad surface.
I've been through a few kinds of pads now. Including the original set, I've had 5 sets of front pads by 65,000 miles. I can tell you the factory pads weren't all that bad. Good compromise between grip and dust. Performance Frictions (which I came back to again and am currently running) stop hard, but generate a lot of dust. Bendix semi-metallics wore quickly and didn't stop very hard. Bendix Ceramic CT3's stopped better, but still wore too quickly.
I've never had this confirmed, but I was once told a hypothesis that these brakes creak and grind so much because of the aluminum design of the calipers. It makes them more vulnerable, whether through different temperature ranges and expansion rates, or something else. It could make sense I suppose, depending on what material the piston itself is made of.
1. Does it matter which line goes to what wheel?
2. If it does, from the front of the cylinder which line goes to what wheel?
Thanks for any help
Robert befudled in Iowa
Why is that. I was told they are near impossible to destroy.
I am working on my second drum in 2 years.
Can anyone help?
What is the typical cost of rotor replacement ( ball park) and would it cost less if I could pick the rotors up myself and if so, what would I need to know about buying them?
Thanks much!
That's what's happening, I brought her in and they are doing both rotors ( both warped) and pads. Incedently, my calipers had to be done as well a few years ago. I'm also replacing all my tires.
From these posts, I see these are very common problems w/ GA's. Anything else I need to know before I invest more $$$?
Thanks a mil!
If you drive in a lot of traffic then slow down and keep off the brakes as much as possible. N-body cars (Grand Am, Alero, etc) are hard on front brakes to start with. GM didn't help by buying cheap rotors to start with, but that's water under the bridge now.
But THAT is not the half of it.....
I picked up the car to see the front bumper damaged. I was so upset and bottom line, the owner said I did it and it was all my fault. I was so livid and finally gave him his check. I contacted an attorney and he said my word against his. I reported the garage to the BBB and they are unable to help, they said out of their jurisdiction. So, now this rotor problem has turned into a body problem...Geeeesh ( btw- they didn't have any insurance, only for the garage not the property, I guess this is legal)....
Lesson learned....your family mechanic might be more expenny, but in the long run they know how to take care of your auto after repair.....
i have a 2004 grand am se with a 2.2L in it. just bought it second hand. the brake pedal is kinda soft. i have to push it down to the metal to get reaction from it. the car has about 22 kmiles on it so i guess it sat around quite a lot. maybe some contamination in the lines? air trapped in the lines? some mechanic was saying something about the master cylinder being bad, something common for these cars. does any of you know if this might be the case?
thanks!
sorin1