brakes not working so great..

#1 02-24-2003, 11:28 AM

hey guys (girls too)-

my car is NOT enjoying the winter. lately my brakes have been feeling far less than spectacular. the best way to describe it is this:

they're either on or they're off. The pedal travels very easily to about the halfway point without having much effect on the car's momentum. About halfway down, the pedal gets very hard and will quickly lock the wheels up if i'm not careful (no ABS)

last time i checked, the fluid level looked acceptable. in the spring of last year i replaced my front rotors with cryo-treated, slotted ART products and replaced the front pads at the same time.

no idea on the condition of the back pads, but I knew that the back rotors were feeling a little wiggly..

the only thing i can think is that maybe the brakes need to be bled. i have no idea WHY i think that, but i'm pretty sure it's because i hope it's the solution because it's free to do. anyone with any ideas? feel free to share

-adam

Subafreak · #2 02-24-2003, 05:23 PM

Try the free thing first. Might want to check thoes rears too.

kuoh · #3 02-24-2003, 07:25 PM

You might want to check the condition of the seals and the calipers for proper movement while you're bleeding the brakes. And if your SVX is as old as mine (92/180K+) then you might want to consider rebuilding the calipers. It's actually pretty easy and the seal kit is only around $23 for both front calipers.

KuoH

#4 02-24-2003, 08:16 PM

no kidding, huh? where do i buy the rebuild kit? subaru parts counter? i'd also like to get a set of SS lines.. maybe when it warms up a little i'll have a "brake day" heh

-adam

SHISVX · #5 02-24-2003, 08:45 PM

give me a break....give me a break...break me off a piece of that....

oh, wrong forum!

Kelli

(mine act funny in the winter too)

James Scott · #6 02-25-2003, 02:19 AM

I'm not a mechanic, so ignore everything I say!:

Your comment on the rear brakes feeling wiggly - I assume refers to your brake pedal pulsing (?). If that's right, your rear rotors may be warping (mine did, not the fronts!). I got "stock" rear rotors for $70 each @ Autozone here in CA.

I may be off base here, but your comment about brakes grabbing late sounds like something I experienced once when my master brake cylinder was going bad (rubber seal inside was allowing fluid to bypass) in another car. When I braked slowly, I could slowly loose my ablitiy to brake at all (as the fluid bypassed under low pressure to thwart the normal high pressure produced by the master cylinder brake fluid in normal operation). However, if I crammed the brake on, it would work OK (because the pressure of pressing with strong pressure would force the hardening rubber seal in the master cylinder to flare out {like it's suppposed to do} and to push the brake fluid with normal or at least effective force. [Is that anything like you were describing?]

I agree, bleed first if the above is not happening.

[Also, your caliper pistons may be sticking (?)]