My Brakes Are Crap

[Basti]

hey guys ive got a few problems with my brakes and id like some help on how to fix em

No 1: the biggest and most concerning one. i have almost no braking power. it does shit all decelleration wise when i press the pedal up to about 3/4. i get almost no response until im at the very end of the pedal's travel with a very slight effect in the last 1/4. and even then it isnt that strong. ie i can hardly lock my wheels going from 60 to 0 (it happens, just very late). cos of this i usually end up very close to other cars in traffic.

No 2: less dangerous and more annoying. when im stopped at the lights and i try to let the car creep forward slightly i get a shuddering groan. dissapears if i let up the pedal a bit more but its always present at the point where its a comfortable slow movement forward.

No 3: ive got a very loud squeal when reversing. sounds like its coming from the rear calipers. its not present on froward movement

whats wrong and how can i fix these things? my car is a '95 r33 s1. stock except for catback so its not power overcoming braking (esp 1 and 2)

[Eug]

sounds like you need to rebleed your brakes.

[tacker]

You could try to renew your brake fluid and a good bleed to see if there is air in the system and you get a better pedal feel.

Or you may need new brake pads take the wheel off and see how much pad material you have left, if you have to put new pads in get your disc skimmed to get the best out of the system.

Or your may have a stuck capiler piston or two, if your not confident to look at these yourself get a mate who is or failing that get it to a good workshop brakes are brakes so it doesnt need to be a skyline specialist to look at these for you.

[sewid]

You have air in the brake lines. You should either think about bleeding the brake system until your braking has improved yourself or taking it somewhere and having it done.

A brake shop will charge 1hrs labour + fluid to do it. So if you have your own fluid they just charge labour so it will be between 40-80 dollars depending on where you go.

[Green_s13]

yup as stated you just need to bleed your brakes, i would also check to make sure you dont have any leaks, and also check the fuild level to make sure that hasn't changed

[Basti]

thats odd cos i got my mechanic to do a bleed with my last service and there wasnt much improvement. i'll try it soon. theres a tutorial on here somewhere. do you guys recommend that i completely repalce my fluid or just top it up?

tacker what do you mean 'get my disc skimmed'? do you mean machining? i've heard of this but i dunno what is involved. where can i get it done and is this gonna put my car off the road for long?

thanks for the replies guys

[Eug]

no you cannot just top it up, if you have air in your brakelines they need to be completely bled.

[Basti]

what i meant was when i bleed, do i drain all the old fluid, fill system with new and then get all the air out or just bleed, and top up whatever is left in the resevoir.

i guess thats gonna be clearer to me once i go look up those DIY threads.

[tacker]

Yes i mean machined discs and some new pads.

Any brake shop should be to do this for you and you remove them and re install them to save costs. I found when i changed my brakefluid i just opened the bleed nipple on the caliper and waited for the new fluid to run out. I didnt even need to pump the peddle.

[blind_elk]

If the brakes have been bled with no improvement, then I think you need to start looking into the possibility that tacker raised that you have several jammed pistons. A caliper reco kit should fix it.

[Basti]

hmmm. this sounds too complicated for me to be messing with. id love to save costs but not confident at all doing things to my brakes. so ive now gotta take off calipers and rotors and take the lot to a brake shop? they'll do all the reconditioning and stuff for me right? no need for a caliper reco kit.

thanks guys. your help is appreciated

[[mez]]

Once you bleed the brakes properly and then if they're still not right i'd be taking it to a brake specialist (if you're not confident about looking further yourself) - Brakes are a safety thing and if you're not 100% confident working on them yourself -> DONT!.

I'd be saying more along the lines of a piston or split seal/cup problem in your brake master cylinder.

I'm guessing, (providing bleeding doesn't fix this) due to your pedal being able to be pressed far in before any braking force becomes available, that it could be a problem with your master cylinders secondary piston - having no braking force until the secondary piston butts up against the end of the master cylinder... leaving you with only 40% (or less) braking force.

Usually front engined rear-wheel drive vehicles have a front and rear split braking bias (meaning if your secondary master cylinder piston seals/cups are gone - you will only have the rear brakes).

More info here: http://www.howstuffworks.com/master-brake1.htm

If bleeding doesn't fix it - take it to a specialist mate. If you're not confident working on them yourself - don't touch em!

[[mez]]

No 2: less dangerous and more annoying. when im stopped at the lights and i try to let the car creep forward slightly i get a shuddering groan. dissapears if i let up the pedal a bit more but its always present at the point where its a comfortable slow movement forward.

Can you narrow down where the groan is coming from?

Is your car running roughly when you press the brake pedal in?

Is your car Manual or Automatic?