Hello,
I have a 94 cavalier with a very unusual breaking problem, it looks like the pads are overheating quite easily, whenever I drive for 1 hr or so with a lot of speed bumps, etc, etc, suddenly the break pedal starts going deeper and deeper, until it reaches the floor and the car simply will not break, now I`ve been told that the problem is not the master cylinder because it happens only when the breaks are hot. The fist time this happened to me I changed the front pads but then it happened again, I had the break fluid checked and the mechanic told me that there was no need to change it (I have had this car for 1 year and I don't know when was the last time the fluid was changed), after reading the forums it would look like I need to change the fluid, because of the moisture, I think, I was also thinking on using dot 4 fluid but in the fluid deposit it says clearly that I should not use any other than dot 3 fluid, so i`m not sure if it is safe to use dot 4 fluid. I was wondering if any of you guys has had this issue before, any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.
I know that the title should be "break failure", sorry about that.
StrippedCav98 (Now Quotable) wrote:Gustavo Cruz wrote:I know that the title should be "break failure" "brake failure", sorry about that.
Awesome. Way to help the guy out, good work.
Anyways, it sounds to me like your calipers are grabbing the rotor tighter than they need to, causing more friction, which is causing more heat. And, causing brake fade.
I would start with replacing your brake lines, drive it and see what happens.. if that doesn't fix it, try some new calipers.
1983 Camaro Z28
Easy now, Try to flush the system first. Screw that mechanic have it done anyway it's not going to hurt nothing, whenever you get a used car change ALL the fluids just so you know what you got.
If you flush the system and the problem is still present, pull the caliper off and lube the rubber grommets that the caliper slides on to make sure there not sticking.
Well what I really think this might be is the rear brakes. Cause lets face it the car is old, and most people don't do anything to their rear brakes ever. I agree that the fronts are over heating, but I think they are because the fronts are doing all the work. To help keep the brakes cooler I would upgrade to Crossdrilled and slotted rotors/Slotted rotors with better pads on them. The 10-20 more in the pads gets you more then you think when you buy them, and also make sure you are not riding your brakes to much. Going to fast before speed bumps then slowing way down is not good cause that will help to warp them faster. Best thing I can say if you don't want to spend any money is be smooth and try not to use them to much if you are going over a ton of speed bumps.
bleed em out first. If theres air in the lines the fluid is more likely to boil, if that doesn't fix it, look at other options.
-Chris
