No Brakes!!!!

[IJ.]

Ohhh my.....

You can drop the attitude and telling people to fuck off.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW PAY TO HAVE IT REPAIRED CORRECTLY.

 

[james_9876]

My 2cents....

Working at Advance... and a 2yr automotive degree.

Yeah... I've seen rotors painted, and the brakes lubed before.

First have you replaced the pads from the lubed up ones?

Second, It took me a whole afternoon bleeding my supra brakes about 3 times before I got all the air outta the brake lines.

and just to boot, if you're looking for a firmer pedal, then you could try the DOT 3 &4 Valvoline synthetic brake fluid.

 

[ms07s]

Yea when I changed my brake lines I used 3-4 bottles of dot 4 up just bleeding the system. It takes a few passes to get the system right but most cars are like that...unless you have a speed bleeder and can recover the fluid. But you want fresh fluid anyway. I would get new pads...never buy pads from autozone, or anything duralast for that matter, get oem or better.

 

[cuel]

Meh, grease on the pads ain't the worst(brake) thing I've seen. There was the guy who greased both rotor faces, on all 4 wheels. The woman who brought her car in complaining of a "crunchy" sound when she hit the brakes. Rotors were so thin you could see the fins through them. I've seen rotors worn all the way to the fins as well, but they were in another shop.

And my all time favorite: Same guy put all the pads in backwards... TWICE. Steel backer plate to the rotor, and pad facing the calipers.

That's just brakes. There's also backwards fuel filters, K&N filters so dirty they actually twist themselves closed, Trans. services with no filter(I serviced the trans., now it won't move??), trans fluid in the oil, and vice versa, gasoline in diesel trucks, and vice versa, and many, many more.

Many of these done by much older people who should have known better. I think I'd let a high school kid slide a little....

 

[ms07s]

Working at a dealership I have also seen these things. A few weeks ago a car came in that had coolant in the washer fluid. Some people just can not and should not deal with cars.

 

[james_9876]

That uh, trans service and the car didn't move. Yeah... basically the clutch material is so worn down that draining the fluid takes all the particles of the clutches with it and so when you drop it into gear it's not gripping anything. The clutches are gone.

just a tangant....

 

[Kckazdude]

My 2cents....

Working at Advance... and a 2yr automotive degree.

and just to boot, if you're looking for a firmer pedal, then you could try the DOT 3 &4 Valvoline synthetic brake fluid.

In any of these 2 years did they advise you on the dangers of cross contaminating a system with incorrect fluids? Until you reach some fairly high temps that are associated with constant hard braking, such as that seen on a track, it is very unlikely that brake fluid fade is his culprit.

As to correcting the brakes, I would strongly suggest replacing the 'new' pads you have. Tht will be the first step in getting a firm feel back in your pedal. As others have stated, no lubrication on the friction surfaces. The ony place to lube brakes is the guide pins.

 

[Freshmaker]

Dragk913, How are you bleeding the brakes exactly?

What part of Texas are you in?

 

[Dragk913]

Ohhh my.....

You can drop the attitude and telling people to fuck off.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW PAY TO HAVE IT REPAIRED CORRECTLY.

IJ, I mean no disrespect [because you seem to help SM out a lot] but did you only read that post? I told one person to fuck off because he was making fun of me because I messed up on something I'm new to.

And to the helpful people: Thank you. I guess I'm just gonna bleed the system again and get some new pads....and maybe have Cuel take a look at it :biggrinki



Fresh: I've tried a couple different ways to bleed it [1 way from a website, the other from my step-dad and the last from the TSRM]

Here's the website: http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/how_to/4213448.html

and My step-dad just said to have someone pump the brakes, then stop [but keep pressure on] and release the bleed valve on each caliper. Close the valve and begin pumping the brakes again.

I also did it how the TSRM says to, which is kind of like what my step-dad suggested.

 

[ms07s]

Good Idea
good luck

 

[Dragk913]

Good Idea
good luck

Thanks ms07s!

 

[cuel]

That uh, trans service and the car didn't move. Yeah... basically the clutch material is so worn down that draining the fluid takes all the particles of the clutches with it and so when you drop it into gear it's not gripping anything. The clutches are gone.

just a tangant....

Go take the filter out of a 700r4(or quite a few other Chevy trans. for that matter), and see how well it pulls fluid. The neck of the filter goes into the trans. higher than the full mark on the stick.

 

[stevenr816]

this is a funny thread, i wouldnt trust ANYONE at autozone cause half of them know nothing.

but anyway, put new pads on unlubed and call it a day only lub the back so they dont squeak with the gooey stuff

 

[IJ.]

Austin: I'm very surprised the guys aren't ripping into you harder than they are!!

It says a lot for how far SM has come that they're not as what you did was very foolish and dangerous.

Looking at it from outside I have to ask what gave you the idea that you could do successful brake work in the first place when you admit you know nothing about them and by your actions have proven this?

I'm not being a prick but brakes are one of the most important systems on a car to get right and it's critical that you know at least the basics of how they operate before starting.

I'm a strong advocate of the Mentor system of working on cars if you're keen to learn, it's NOT rocket science but there are a few areas it's vital to get right and if you have someone that knows what they're doing lend a hand and some guidence you're less likely to end up killing innocent people.

 

[Kckazdude]

I have to agree with IJ on this. Doing brakes for the first time, it really should be mandatory that you at least see someone else doing the job first. Then with lots of questions properly answered tackle the job.

When you first test drove the car and noticed diminished brake performance is when the car should have been parked. The fact you drove all the way to your destination shows really bad judgment on your part. There are just too many things that can go wrong with a poor performing brake system. Hopefully you can get this straight and move forward a much smarter person.

 

[Dragk913]

I now know what I did was very foolish and looking back I can see it was a bad idea. I guess I was just too ignorant to realize it at the time. Before I started the brake job, I figured if I just looked at the brakes before I took them off I would be able to put everything together properly; obviously that was not that case. I will not take on any more jobs unless I know exactly how to do them and have talked to someone who is experienced in that field.

 

[Ckanderson]

and just to boot, if you're looking for a firmer pedal, then you could try the DOT 3 &4 Valvoline synthetic brake fluid.

:squint:

 

[Keros]

I'm a strong advocate of the Mentor system of working on cars if you're keen to learn, it's NOT rocket science but there are a few areas it's vital to get right and if you have someone that knows what they're doing lend a hand and some guidence you're less likely to end up killing innocent people.

If you don't know, find someone who does. It's quicker, cheaper, safer, and more practical than beating your head against the brick wall... instead of just having someone help you out.

Think of it this way, so far instead of just getting new pads and putting them on; potentially you've bought new calipers, untold liters of brake fluid, another set of pads, a new master cylinder, and dozens of hours of messing with it. Total cost: Alot more than it would have cost to get it done right the first time.

When I did my brake pads (and had no idea what I was doing), my Haynes manual was spewing crap about bleeding the brakes and all sorts of shit that didn't sound right. So, I took it to my friend who knows alot about cars, and it took us about a half hour to do the work and another two to drink all the beer.

 

[iwannadie]

I have to agree with IJ on this. Doing brakes for the first time, it really should be mandatory that you at least see someone else doing the job first. Then with lots of questions properly answered tackle the job.

When you first test drove the car and noticed diminished brake performance is when the car should have been parked. The fact you drove all the way to your destination shows really bad judgment on your part. There are just too many things that can go wrong with a poor performing brake system. Hopefully you can get this straight and move forward a much smarter person.

Whenever I do basically Anything to my cars I always test drive them before actually driving. I drive around the neighborhood for like 20 minutes at 3am, then I venture out onto mainr roads when no cars are out. I take it very easy, then if it seems ok I do some stress testing to see if anything breaks ha.

I never work on my stuff then take it right out into traffic, even if its just an oil change.

 

[IJ.]

Austin: This is a mistake you can learn from
(you were very lucky this time)

Where I would slap you senseless is if you didn't learn from it and kept making similar mistakes.

You have access to arguably the best resource for Mk3's in the world (SM) and 24/7 someone will be here that should be able to help out with advice, couple that with a digi cam at your end to save trying to explain things you don't understand and you're set!

Better than that would be having someone that lives nearby that doesn't mind letting you turn the wrenches while watching and teaching you.