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when I brake. I'm assuming the front brakes need
replacement. I'm going to bring it in to my local
Goodyear(in CA) but I'd like to have an idea of
what it costs so I won't get ripped off.
Is there any other service normally done at the
same time?(rotors,etc)
My 98 Grand Voyager has 37k,I bought it at 27k and have not done
anything to the brakes since.
Do the rear brakes also squeal when they need
replacement?
If the rotor does not meet specifications, it should be turned using a caliper-mounted lathe to assure that the runout is zero with the rotor mounted on the hub. This will assure you do not get brake pedal pulsation 3,000-5,000 miles later.
I have easily gotten over 100,000 miles on my cars without ever having to turn or replace a rotor.
1. there is a complaint of brake pulsation.
2. there is scoring greater than 1.5 mm (0.060 in.)
Source: 1996 Aurora/Riviera factory service manual
I been led to believe that even if braking feels fine, rotor surface should be re-textured a little with fine grain emery paper. This this is not required,I would rather avoid it durring routine pad replacement.
One of my friend has a Honda SUV, which also has ABS. But hers doesn't make any noise.
The dealer tried to cheat on me when I went to pick up my car by adding a few hundred dollars to my financing paper. They gave me the seller's copy instead of the buyer's copy. When I went back to talk to them, I found they didn't even give me the sale's order. This is the first time I went to buy a car myself. They didn't explain any thing, just asked me to sign all the papers and sent me out in about 6 or 7 minutes. The way they treated me made me feel something wasn't right. Right now I'm not sure whether they told me the truth about the ABS thing. I don't trust them any more.
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
I'm doing a full brake job on a 1990 Pontiac 6000 SE with Antilock Brake System (ABS) and All Wheel Drive (AWD). Initial problem was ABS light on all the time for over a year according to my son the driver/owner, however car stopped OK. Recently the brake pedal would go to the floor and car would not stop.
Found that left front caliper was blown and fluid was leaking all over the place and caliper would not operate at all.
Disconnected battery and followed instructions to drop pressure in ABS.
Have replaced both L & R front calipers w/pads, flex hoses to calipers and L&R front Rotors. Back disk brakes look good. (Parts from PepBoys: excellent price and warranty).
Started to bleed brakes at right rear wheel and cannot get any fluid to pump through to rear with assistant operating bleeder valve. Brake pedal still goes all the way to floor and Reservoir is full.
What is going on with this system? Do I need to have ABS operational to bleed brakes? By the way, Pontiac dealer says that master cylinder will cost about $2000 because it includes all ABS pumps and valves and is not a repairable unit.
Suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
GASHOG
http://www.ebay.com
I'd also check the BAauto site:
http://www.batauto.com/main_nn4.html
Hope this helps.
I've replaced many brake pads but this is my first on the drum brakes. My question is when I go to put the drum back on, it doesn't fit as smoothly as I thought. The brake shoes seem to be pushed in as much as possible, so what am I missing here??
I don't see any adjustment screw or anything. there are two cylinder one on top, and one on the bottom, each has a pin on it which is pushing in the opposite direction. There are two springs one close to the top and one close to the bottom, connected between the shoes.
thanks for your assistance,
I would think there would be kind of an adjustment screw or star wheel which would need to be turned so that the pad are at the smallest diameter in order for the drum to fit.
Would the emergency brake have to be loosened a little bit to get more clearance?
am happy with it. Recently I got the 60,000 mile
service done at the Nissan dealer. They cleaned the brakes during that service. Since then when ever I hit the brakes and the car is about to make a complete stop I hear the sound at the front right wheel. I took it to the dealer where I got the service done. He basically could not figure out and started telling me that is from suspension and later on started telling me that I need to get the brakes done. I double checked with the
Firestone/Mastercare. The technician mentioned that the brakes are fine and still has more than 60%. But the sound is still there. They say it could be shocks/struts & .... So far no body is able to figure out the problem. Your advise on this greatly appreciated. This has not stopped me from enjoying the comfort of driving this Maxima, its just annoying sometimes.
NDS
Thanks to anyone who can advise.
Questions:
1) Did the left wheel caliper problem cause the chatter marks on the right wheel rotor or are chatter marks (not lines or scoring) normal?
2) Or is the problem in the master cylinder or ABS system?
The brake light comes on while we are driving,The car stops fine. The brakes pads have meat on them and I don;t see any leaks around the wheels. The fluid level seems ok. Any suggestion before I run the car into the shop. My guess is master cyclinder but how do you verify this and what a may the cost be if it is.
Thanks
Now for the bad news:
front wheel speed sensor, about $200.00 (integral with wheel bearing/hub assembly)
Hydraulic modulator, about $1,000.00
It's not the abs brake light but the red parking light. I'm not a car expert but a friend noticed
a slight leak at the master cylinder which probably ran my fluid low but not much but I guess enough to trigger off the sensor, After thinking about it the light went on when we where going up or down a hill, I added some fluid and it seems fine so far, but one thing he said I found interesting that he said master cylinders will leak slightly. Is there truth to this or is it time to replace it. The leakage I saw was very slight.
Again thanks for your time, George
seemed to work ok, but the same thing happened
again and I had it towed to the shop. They worked
on it all day and have come down to the conclusion
that it's either the master cylinder or the ABS
distributor which cost about 600.00 plus labor. The
mechanic said that it appears that the left front
and right rear brakes aren't releasing. That if he
loosens a brake line connection anywhere at all the
brakes release. The mechanic was going to try and
look up some old service bulletins for more info on
an exact diagnoses. If any good mechanics out
there have any ideas, please post a message. Also
what would you think about getting a used ABS
regulator at the junk yard. Would a regulator from
a different year Villager work?
Other possibly more serious causes could be:
Improper machining of rotors causes run out and spreads the pads excessively.
Surfaces of pads "fuzzy" from factory surfacing, and compress during braling. (this will go away)
Loose wheel bearings
Worn mounting hardware
New/rebuilt calipers have air bubbles, did you tap on the calipers with a tool to dislodge any bubbles while bleeding?
Rear brake shoes not arced to drums. Many shops no longer do this as crowned shoes are supposed to wear in quickly, but they do make the pedal soft for a while.
Some brands of pads are semi-cured and will finish curing during use. These can compress a little during hard stops initially.
Something else ??? I found I still find new problems in things I've worked on for four decades.
Harry
transmission from the forward motion during
braking). This is NOT a sharp grinding noise
between metal parts. My dealer already tried to
clean the brakes and lube the sway bar, but that
didn't help. This is the same noise when your car
is stopped on an incline and if you momentarily
release the brakes, the car's front end tends to
make that "eh" noise. Does anybody have the same
experience? Your comments are much appreciated.
BTW, my car now has 1800 miles and it starts to
make this noise since day 1. Will this condition
disappear after the brakes are "broken-in"?
During the break test at inspection station (normal conditions, no ABS engaged)it was found that breaks on my Pont Bonneville'92 are working only on Left front and rear Right wheels( though still providing sufficient deceleration).
I'm trying to understand if it could be somehow related to ABS or is just a regular breaks problem(like master cylinder or air/water in the system?). My breaks are having a "low pedal" syndrome, but at the moment when ABS is engaged pedal stays high while vibrating till car stops. Sometimes after that the "low pedal" syndrome disappears for short time, but it happens very intermittently.
This days everything is covered with snow here so I had a chance to see ABS in work (though i do not know if the car still stops with only those two wheels)
Let Me ask you another thing: in conditions when you apply the break pedal and ABS is engaged, does ABS only provide modulated anti-pressure to prevent locking, or it is also provides positive pressure along with your foot stepped on pedal?
Regards,
ayrat
At 8,654 miles (March 2000), a Pontiac service department replaced all brake pads and resurfaced my rotors. I brought the car into the shop because it was difficult to stop the car when I applied the brakes, and the car would pulsate when the brakes were applied at high speeds.
In November 2000, I again took my car into a Pontiac service department. The front right passenger seat would not lock into place. Also, the rear left bumper is detaching from the body panel (gap between bumper and panel). The Pontiac service department claims that there is nothing they can do to fix the bodywork issue.
At 17,717 miles (December 2000), all brake pads were replaced and the rotors resurfaced again (the car was making a high pitched squeaking noise, which turned out to be an indicator of worn out brake pads). The front right passenger pad was completely worn down to the metal. The other pads were not worn as drastically as this pad was worn. The Pontiac service department claims that there is nothing wrong with the brake system.
Clearly, this is not normal brake wear and tear. Something is wrong with (at least) the front passenger brake configuration to cause the pad to wear down to nothing.
Now, in January 2001, there is a leak coming from the head gasket. Also, an independent brake shop finds potential issues with the regulator valve on the brakes. My car is difficult to stop even with the new brake pads and resurfaced rotors. Again, two different Pontiac service departments claim that there is nothing wrong with the braking system or with the regulator valve. In addition, when I turn off the car and remove the key, a random chime sounds. This only started a couple of weeks ago.
How can it be possible that this many issues are happening to a new car with less than 18,000 miles? Why can't any of the Pontiac service departments fix the brake issue?
I have seen similar issues posted to this board - has anyone actually been able to solve these through Pontiac / GM or the lemon laws?
If GM can offer it in all its cars except some of Lumina and Impala's as standard equipment, Every one else should. We should give GM credit for making the system standard in all its cars. while Toyota wants some $500-800 depending on the models.
With ABS system, you should brake as you do with regular brake, and don't back off. Get used to all the ABS noise, vibration, and pulsation by driving on snowy and icy parking lot for a little while, and get the hang of it.
Do NOT PUMP YOUR BRAKES WITH ABS.
I know that there is supposed to be this squeak noise when your pads get low but I thought it just happened when you applied the brakes. Does it happen when you are driving as well?
Next question: I checked my rotors and they look great and the brakes work great. Is a brake job as simple as dropping in new pads if your rotors are ok? Or is it more involved than that.
Bendex pads will only cost me $35. but the dealer has a deal for $70. Should I do the job myself? is it that easy? BOW, I am mechanically inclined.
Thanks guys
Truck
You need:
a 7.0" Clamp,
sockets or allen wrenches to fit your caliper mounting bolts,
high temp grease to lube your caliper mounting bolts,
brake parts spray to wash off brake dust on pads, calipers, and rotors,
rubbing alcohol to wipe your rotors before mounting the calipers, and
Anti squeal/squeak paste.
Take it easy the first 100-150 miles of driving when you stop. Barke pads need break in period. After the pad replacement, drive up to 30MPH and stop. repeat this some 10-15 times. Hard and sudden stops make your brake pads galze, which reduces brakes effectiveness long term.
Good luck.
I've never worked on Mercedes brakes, but have replaced drums, pads, and rotors on numerous other US and foreign cars. So the question to you folks is: Are there any significant differences from Mercedes disc brakes to GM, Mazda, Fiat, or Chrysler, which are the brands I've worked on before. ? Anything to watch out for so I don't get stranded over the weekend with a car in my garage that can't be moved?
Also, has anyone got experience with non-MB pads such as Bendix or Bosch (do they even make pads?) ?
Thanks...
Maybe the Benz is like most "normal" cars, but I'd sure check. German engineers like to do things twice and complicated as they need to be sometimes...
By the way, I think 38K is outstanding mileage for those brake pads. You must be a careful driver, or at least one who doesn't burn up brakes (or maybe you live on the flats?)
Thanks for the hint on the pistons, I think I ran into that on one of the cars I worked on maybe 15 years ago. I agree on the German design philosophy, which is why I figured I better ask before I start to tear things apart. I've noticed other things on the car that are overdesigned and I'm guessing I'll see more of the same in the brake system too.
I did the math again and yes, it's been 38K since the pads were replaced when I bought the car as part of the Starmark overhaul. I don't consider myself a conservative driver, but I sure don't ride the brake pedal either. I use them hard and then get off them. But you're right, from what I hear, Benz pads are intentionally soft to reduce the overheating effect on the rotors..And therefore don't last as long as harder pad materials.
You'll probably be happy with the better grades of Raybestos, Bendix or Spectra One (made by Ferodo). I put a set of Spectras on my Honda (because I know Ferodo makes good stuff) and am reasonable happy with them. I doubt they'll last nearly 100,000 miles like the OEM (Nissin) Honda pads did but I wanted to try something a little different. The only other complaitn I have with them is that they are a little dustier.
If you want to go high-performance aftermarket, Axxis brake pads (formerly Repco Metalmaster) are a safe bet. They are just a tick better at fade resistance than OEM and are generally quiet and dust-resistant to boot. Raybestos came out with a heavy, heavy duty pad called the "Brute Stop" which I might try if my Spectras wear out. I had heard that these newer, more expensive pads might even have some carbon fiber in them which will make them really good performers ... if
--- Bror Jace
If I have to do another brake job before getting rid of the car, I'm gonna use the Raybestos Brute Stop pads. My original rotors will have well over 100,000 miles on them by then and I won't bother turning them again. So, I don't care how abarasive the pads are. If, for some reason the rotors get chewed up, so be it. 150,000+ miles is plenty to get out of a set of rotors.
I'm fairly surprised mine haven't warped by now. It must be all that highway driving that I do.
>:^)
--- Bror Jace