focus brakes!! just lost ma brakes!! help
Discussion
Modern cars are fitted with a dual circuit master cylinder. this means if one of the seals in the master cylinder fails you still have 1 wheel at the front and 1 wheel at the rear (usually diagonally opposed).
If it was master cylinder failure then I would expect you would be able to stop albeit the car would:-
pull towards the front wheel with the braking power
probably lock up the good front wheel with the braking power as you mash the pedal in a panic.
Total brake failure is rare, loss of all braking power could mean that you could have boiled your fluid by constant hard braking or even if you left your handbrake on slighlty whilst driving at spead as this creates a lot of heat and can boil the fluid.
also
Brake fluid is hygroscopic so it draws water in from the atmosphere which degrades its capabilities as brake fluid. If it hasnt been changed in line with the manufacturers recc. ie 2 years max then you stand a good chance of your fluid being knackered, couple that with some hard driving and hey presto pedal to the floor and no stopping.
Wearing your pads down to nothing wont help you stop as eventually you'll be back plate to disc ie metal to metal which doesnt work very well, this would generally give you some pedal feel but no stopping power as metal plates dont make good friction material.
and lastly.
Any of your mates a practical joker? wd40 (or any type of spray lube) sprayed onto brake pads through the spokes/holes of your wheels drastically affects braking power and is a potentially lethal prank to play on someone have a look for signs of lube overspray on your wheels and calipers. If you find it you will need to change out your pads as they will be fooked with no chance of them ever becoming good again.
speaking of pranks which can kill, vaseline on windscreen wipers is a potential killer, happened to me, on an autobahn at about 130mph, spray washer jets, wipers move, instant no visibility! not a fun experience.
I once had an automatic escort (dont ask) with a fooked master cylinder, it was intermittent, you could be sat at a red light with your foot on the brake, all of a sudden the pedal would drop down and the car would start moving. I learnt to use the handbrake and neutral until it was fixed
If it was master cylinder failure then I would expect you would be able to stop albeit the car would:-
pull towards the front wheel with the braking power
probably lock up the good front wheel with the braking power as you mash the pedal in a panic.
Total brake failure is rare, loss of all braking power could mean that you could have boiled your fluid by constant hard braking or even if you left your handbrake on slighlty whilst driving at spead as this creates a lot of heat and can boil the fluid.
also
Brake fluid is hygroscopic so it draws water in from the atmosphere which degrades its capabilities as brake fluid. If it hasnt been changed in line with the manufacturers recc. ie 2 years max then you stand a good chance of your fluid being knackered, couple that with some hard driving and hey presto pedal to the floor and no stopping.
Wearing your pads down to nothing wont help you stop as eventually you'll be back plate to disc ie metal to metal which doesnt work very well, this would generally give you some pedal feel but no stopping power as metal plates dont make good friction material.
and lastly.
Any of your mates a practical joker? wd40 (or any type of spray lube) sprayed onto brake pads through the spokes/holes of your wheels drastically affects braking power and is a potentially lethal prank to play on someone have a look for signs of lube overspray on your wheels and calipers. If you find it you will need to change out your pads as they will be fooked with no chance of them ever becoming good again.
speaking of pranks which can kill, vaseline on windscreen wipers is a potential killer, happened to me, on an autobahn at about 130mph, spray washer jets, wipers move, instant no visibility! not a fun experience.
I once had an automatic escort (dont ask) with a fooked master cylinder, it was intermittent, you could be sat at a red light with your foot on the brake, all of a sudden the pedal would drop down and the car would start moving. I learnt to use the handbrake and neutral until it was fixed
hey
after a wee look last night i found that the outside pad on the drivers wheel had de laminated (only left with metal!) which explains the loss of brakes as it would have to travel alot further than normal!!??
not very happy after i done the pads, disks and callipers about 7000 miles ago so sending them back to dingbro.
but thanks for all the help guys!! some of you know what your talkin about!!
cheers
rab
after a wee look last night i found that the outside pad on the drivers wheel had de laminated (only left with metal!) which explains the loss of brakes as it would have to travel alot further than normal!!??
not very happy after i done the pads, disks and callipers about 7000 miles ago so sending them back to dingbro.
but thanks for all the help guys!! some of you know what your talkin about!!
cheers
rab
rab dj said:
hey
after a wee look last night i found that the outside pad on the drivers wheel had de laminated (only left with metal!) which explains the loss of brakes as it would have to travel alot further than normal!!??
not very happy after i done the pads, disks and callipers about 7000 miles ago so sending them back to dingbro.
but thanks for all the help guys!! some of you know what your talkin about!!
cheers
rab
ah the old metal to metal, well I did list it as an option!after a wee look last night i found that the outside pad on the drivers wheel had de laminated (only left with metal!) which explains the loss of brakes as it would have to travel alot further than normal!!??
not very happy after i done the pads, disks and callipers about 7000 miles ago so sending them back to dingbro.
but thanks for all the help guys!! some of you know what your talkin about!!
cheers
rab
Imagine the poor bloke behind you that got a windscreen/visor full of broken up brake pad when it disintegrated...
ds!Gassing Station | Ford | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff