Brake Problems?

[bstaf]

So recently-ish, my car has been pulling very slightly to the right. I figured the alignment was a little off. Occasionally I could smell something to the effect of burning rubber near the front right tire. Didn't think much of it. Today I hit a speed bump a little fast and at first nothing was wrong. Then while driving a few minutes later, my car begin to pull fairly strongly to the right, then when braking fairly strongly back to the left. This has happened once before and I let it sit for a couple of hours and it was fine. I got to work and figured it would be alright when I left. I pulled out of our parking lot and went to brake, nothing. The pedal went all the way to the floor and the brakes were unresponsive, so I pumped the brake again, and I could feel it resist a little bit. Pumped it again and it worked semi-normally. Scared me a little so I pulled into another parking lot to see if they were ok. Try the brake again and the pedal just goes to the floor once more. There was also a smell similiar to what I have smelled before but quite a bit stronger. I felt the wheel and it was very hot to the touch. I was hoping someone might be able to help me out with a bit of trouble shooting.

 

[rileyrs]

firt of all it sounds like you need new brakes lol, i would do new pads and rotors, then find out why your pedal dropped, probly the master cylinder.

i would guess the wheel was hot cuz the right side brake rubbed a bit, that might be why it pulled to the right.

good luck

 

[bstaf]

any idea about the smell?

 

[rileyrs]

no that seems really weird, it could just be from rubbing brakes i guess, im not really sure though

 

[TB3]

Brake problem

The pulling is probably from the rubber brake hoses . Does the master cyl. still have fluid? Change both hoses.New pads,rotor's and caliper's. Then Bleed.
If pedal still goes to the floor , new master. TB3

 

[bstaf]

I'm not much of a self mechanic and I was wondering if this would be an expensive fix at a garage? Or if it would be easy enough to do myself

 

[BrianDye]

I honeslty had NO clue what I was doing when I did the brakes on my 92, but it was really easy, took a little while for the first one, but the 2nd was a breeze. As for the master cylinder I cant imagine it being too hard...

I say go for it yourself, just make sure you ask questions LOL

 

[bstaf]

Alright, anyone know of any threads here on brake replacement?

 

[BrianDye]

Search around type in brakes or something, theres TONS lol

 

[bstaf]

I was looking on a couple of brake repair websites and saw that the brake can stick and drag causing hot wheels and failing engines. And that this could reverse itself leaving you with no brakes at all. Was wondering if this could be a possibility seeing as i noticed that the car seemed to have less power and also the very hot wheel. Was wondering what kind of fix would be necessary for this?

 

[bstaf]

I went over to where I had it parked last night and drove it around in the parking lot a bit. Everything was working normally, virtually no pull to either side. Noticed the right fron tire was a little less inflated than the left. Figure that might be where the original pull was from. So I drove it home and took the tire off to look at the brake system. Everything looked fine, a little dirty but no damage anywhere. I'm wondering now if hitting that speed bump at about 20 mph could have caused the brake to stick maybe?

 

[Mettler]

Yes, that is exactly what happened to my Ranger. Your callipers need to be replaced. I dont remember what they cost but I think it was 80 per side. That and new brake pads and brake hoses and you'll have great binders again. The only other option is to rebuild the old calipers. lots easier to just buy the new ones. Trust me.

 

[geoph1986]

Try this, lost of pics, and very thorough.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122696&highlight="1st+gen+brake"

EDIT: Brake calipers are cheap as hell, and should cost no more than $40 per side.

 

[rayford2]

in April 2004 a similar situation arose with my '94 XLT. Those steel brake lines were rusting away. This suv is driven almost exclusively in Western PA and the PENNDOT crews use a lot of calcium chloride in their deicing mix. This stuff plays hell with steel. They use it because it is more effective and lasts longer than salt. If you live somewhere that doesn't use CC I envy you...Ray S.

 

[Mettler]

40 per side. Ya that sounds right.

 

[rayford2]

Yes, that is exactly what happened to my Ranger. Your callipers need to be replaced. I dont remember what they cost but I think it was 80 per side. That and new brake pads and brake hoses and you'll have great binders again. The only other option is to rebuild the old calipers. lots easier to just buy the new ones. Trust me.

I agree with getting new or rebuilt calipers. Some years ago I had a hub fire caused by leaking power steering fluid leaking on the rotors. The fire destroyed the caliper piston boot and inside dust shield but nothing else. Easy fix!
All I had to do was buy a $17 caliper kit from Ford and I'm on my way. I got the piston out by using the brakes and that was the end of simplicity.
After replacing the rings and the boot, I spent a whole day trying to get that $^%!* piston back into the bore without damaging the dust boot to no avail.
The rebuilders have a press that perfectly aligns the piston to the bore so it can be pushed back in. The replacement caliper I bought was $35 with trade in. What a dumb way to learn a lesson....Ray S. in PA

 

[jd4242]

get new brake rotor as well your old ones are probably warp by now
rotors
http://store.r1concepts.com/Items/I...LORER 93-94 4WD Brake Rotors - E-Line - Front
calipers
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0302266620&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT