no brake pressure?

91foxbod50 · Oct 8, 2009

I went for a cruise last night on the hw and since it was empty I decided to hammer down. When I made my way back to town my brakes weren't engaging until about a quarter off the floor. I have had warped rotors for a while and was planning on putting slotted rotors on when funds permit. But I have a feeling something isn't working correctly. I checked the fluid and its good. When I compress them the rear brakes make a lot of noise, more of a clicking sound than anything. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

87GT Drop Top · Oct 8, 2009

How badly warped are the rotors?
If the rotors are warped really bad they will compress the caliper piston in further then necessary. That in turn will make you have to push the pedal down further to get them to come out far enough to reach the rotors.

91foxbod50 · Oct 8, 2009

87GT Drop Top said:
How badly warped are the rotors?
If the rotors are warped really bad they will compress the caliper piston in further then necessary. That in turn will make you have to push the pedal down further to get them to come out far enough to reach the rotors.

Well I don't think warpage would have to do with pedal pressure, I was thinking along the lines of a failed master or a leak in a line causing air to cause faulty brake pedal pressure.

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Mustang5L5 · Oct 8, 2009

You have a failure somewhere. DOn't drive the car again until you locate it.

VISUALLY inspect as much of the brake system first. Have someone pump the pedal while you are looking over each brake.

Still stock brakes I assume? Pull your drums and check your wheel cylinders

87GT Drop Top · Oct 8, 2009

91foxbod50 said:
Well I don't think warpage would have to do with pedal pressure, I was thinking along the lines of a failed master or a leak in a line causing air to cause faulty brake pedal pressure.

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Think about it. If the rotor is running true, the pads are right up against it. When you push on the brake pedal it in turn pushes out the caliper pistons. When everything is the way it should be the pistons only have a very short distance to travel. That would make them grab when the pedal is high. If you have really bad warped rotors as they spin they will push the piston in further. When you step on the brake the piston has furter to travel and that will make the pedal go down further before it grabs. I'm not saying that is definitely the problem, but it's a possibility.

91stalker · Oct 8, 2009

Think about it. If the rotor is running true, the pads are right up against it. When you push on the brake pedal it in turn pushes out the caliper pistons. When everything is the way it should be the pistons only have a very short distance to travel. That would make them grab when the pedal is high. If you have really bad warped rotors as they spin they will push the piston in further. When you step on the brake the piston has furter to travel and that will make the pedal go down further before it grabs. I'm not saying that is definitely the problem, but it's a possibility.

The rotors are spinning as fast as the car is going. So even if the rotors are .060 inch warped, the pedal will not travel any further...the pedal will shake like crazy, but the pedal will not travel further before it catches. No matter how much the rotor is warped, the piston is going to hit the high point on the rotor first, its not going to move further to hit the low spot and ignore the high spot.

It sounds like your master cylinder is on its way out. Try this, with the car off, slowly press the brake pedal. If the pedal goes to the floor, and no fluid is escaping, release the pedal and stomp on it as fast as you can. If the pedal comes back stiff and doesn't move as far, replace the master cylinder. If the pedal still goes to the floor, you're leaking fluid somewhere.

91foxbod50 · Oct 8, 2009

Alright so I went out to pick up my dress blues from the cleaners and on my way here my rear drivers side drum is making a lot of noise. As are the rest of my brakes. But the drum is very bad, I still have to get the car back to base. The fluid is fine however it is very dirty. I think the rear drum didn't disengage and now its finally taken a crap.

Mustang5L5 · Oct 8, 2009

Wow, you really drove the car again without looking it over? Pleae don't drive it until you fix it. You're wheel cylinder is prob gone. If it fails while driving, you will have no brakes. Is your dress really worth that?

91foxbod50 said:
The fluid is fine however it is very dirty.

Brake fluid is honey colored. The fact that it's black suggests something in the system has corroded and possibly failed. Usually i find black fluid on cars with failed wheel cylinders or seized/siezing pistons....or just on cars with 15+ year olf brake fluid

Lawbreaker5.0 · Oct 9, 2009

no to the theory that rotors being warped would cause the pedal to go down close to the floor. the rotors would have to be so thin like a quarter inch thick.

yes to the guy who thinks you should park your car and inspect it. Don't procrastinate with brakes. I wouldn't be surprised if the shoes are so worn that its ridding on rivets. hence making the noise

2000xp8 · Oct 9, 2009

Before you take it apart, save yourself some trouble and get yourself some new drums, shoes, cylinders and spring kits.
Sounds like your rear brakes are shot, and most of the parts are so cheap you might as well replace every thing.
Besides if they are making noise, a spring probably broke and is getting ground up in the drum.

You don't want to disassemble drums without new parts handy, the hour it takes you to get to the store and back is a long time for your memory to keep track of how to put it back together.

91foxbod50 · Oct 9, 2009

2000xp8 said:
Before you take it apart, save yourself some trouble and get yourself some new drums, shoes, cylinders and spring kits.
Sounds like your rear brakes are shot, and most of the parts are so cheap you might as well replace every thing.
Besides if they are making noise, a spring probably broke and is getting ground up in the drum.n

You don't want to disassemble drums without new parts handy, the hour it takes you to get to the store and back is a long time for your memory to keep track of how to put it back together.

Could this be the problem with the brake compression?

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Lawbreaker5.0 · Oct 9, 2009

if you broke a spring thing yes as you press the brakes the wheel cylinders are going to compress all the way out which will make the pedal go down

91stalker · Oct 9, 2009

When you do rear drum brakes the first couple of times, take apart one side at a time and use the untouched side as a guide if you get lost or confused on spring/component placement.. just remember its mirrored for the side your are working on.

no brake pressure?

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