Right... Was out with my mate the other day, went for a little rally around the country lanes....

Half way through my weekend hoon, I went to slam the brakes on for a corner and there was nothing there. Pedal felt perfect, but there was no brake effort at all...

I could also smell a light burning...

Surely a few 70MPH-30MPH stops shouldn't cook the brakes...

I think I'm going to change the whole lot if they're that bad :(

Did the brakes go back to normal afterwards? I have heard of something like this occurring when you invert the seal on cars with vacuum assist servos...

Did the brakes go back to normal afterwards? I have heard of something like this occurring when you invert the seal on cars with vacuum assist servos...

I pulled over using the gears and the equally awful handbrake.... (Which only works on one wheel properly) and stopped for 5 minutes, then it went back to normal, sharp as a pencil.

If the brakes were cooked, I'd expect to feel it through the pedal (as the fluid would be boiling). Worth getting them checked over though....

Chris

Might possibly be that, then (don't know the details of the brakes on the Felly) The handbrake is cable-operated on the rear drums, so ought to be pretty easy to put right (and probably should be for your MOT...)

How old is the brake fluid?

Might possibly be that, then (don't know the details of the brakes on the Felly) The handbrake is cable-operated on the rear drums, so ought to be pretty easy to put right (and probably should be for your MOT...)

It's JUST got a new MOT... With a broken indicator glass and a dodgy CV Joint... :eek:

How old is the brake fluid?

No Idea... The little stocker has never been filled in, so I can only imagine the age of the car.

If the brakes were cooked, I'd expect to feel it through the pedal (as the fluid would be boiling). Worth getting them checked over though....

Chris

The Pedal felt normal, but the amount of pressure I was giving it, I'd expect to go through the windscreen!

I was hooning around alot... Although, they've never done this on the M11 (Stopping from 100MPH)... Maybe repetitive use at 70+ just pushed it too far...

I do like the car tho...

If you think the brake fluid is that old, there's a possibility that you've got water locks in the lines, so when the brake line temperature goes above 100C, you get gas bubbles, and hence no brakes! :eek:

There's also the possibility that the pads are breaking up, so:-

1) Take the front wheels off and check the pads aren't crumbling; this isn't covered in the MoT.

2) If the pads are ok, drain and replace the brake fluid with DOT 4.0 or 4.1.

If you think the brake fluid is that old, there's a possibility that you've got water locks in the lines, so when the brake line temperature goes above 100C, you get gas bubbles, and hence no brakes! :eek:

There's also the possibility that the pads are breaking up, so:-

1) Take the front wheels off and check the pads aren't crumbling; this isn't covered in the MoT.

2) If the pads are ok, drain and replace the brake fluid with DOT 4.0 or 4.1.

Cheers chap, I'll take a look!

2) If the pads are ok, drain and replace the brake fluid with DOT 4.0 or 4.1.

Is it best to completely drain the system first, or can you just use something like a gunson eezibleed and wait till the the brake fluid comes out clear?

sounds like air in the fluid or seriously cooked brake pads.

This has happened to me twice in two different Felicia's - ironically coming down the same hill! It is very steep and your continually on the brakes.

They self adjust after a while, but you have to stop - and when I rang my garage they recommended leaving it for half an hour minimum. This is to let the brakes cool down and adjust. When it happened to me I had smoke coming out of the brake pads, and it smelt bad! :(

Its what is called brake fade, what happens is the surface of the pads gets that hot that it goes glazed and has a very low adhesion to the disk. Once cooled down they will work normaly. If it was a fluid problem you would feel it as the pedal would go spongey

Ive had this years ago, using cheap brake pads, you dont know what youre getting with this stuff.

It pays to go for quality with these things, maybe with your life !!! :eek:

Ive had this years ago, using cheap brake pads, you dont know what youre getting with this stuff.

It pays to go for quality with these things, maybe with your life !!! :eek:

I've had it too- after driving as the OP described in scirocco.

This has happened to me twice in two different Felicia's - ironically coming down the same hill! It is very steep and your continually on the brakes.

You should try keeping in a lower gear and using the brakes less instead. Sounds like a serious hill.

Yup, get some good quality brake pads - EBC Greenstuff are highly thought of (I've got some myself, but hardly worn them in so can't comment in detail).

Surprised you had no braking at all - I'd expect the back brakes still to work a bit. It might feel like no braking effort (given you're expecting to be nailed to the windscreen) but I'd have thought the backs would eventually lock up and you'd notice that all right! So with that and the awful handbrake I'd say you need new shoes as well, as a matter of urgency.

Yup, get some good quality brake pads - EBC Greenstuff are highly thought of (I've got some myself, but hardly worn them in so can't comment in detail).

Surprised you had no braking at all - I'd expect the back brakes still to work a bit. It might feel like no braking effort (given you're expecting to be nailed to the windscreen) but I'd have thought the backs would eventually lock up and you'd notice that all right! So with that and the awful handbrake I'd say you need new shoes as well, as a matter of urgency.

The handbrake works when stopped, but I NEEDED it when I was hurtling towards a corner...

IT was LITTLE Braking effort... But nowhere near what I'd expect... Even from COOKED brakes... If I hadn't slammed it into 2nd and had all the brakes on, I'd be kinda screwed now!

Believe it or not, if your brakes get hot enough you get a layer of gas between the pads and the discs (obviously an incredibly thin layer, barely microns) which is why in extreme cases of fade the brake efficiency drops to next to naff-all. The burning smell supports that. Grooved discs help disperse this gas much quicker.

You should try keeping in a lower gear and using the brakes less instead. Sounds like a serious hill.

Yes I always do - its when travelling down the Kerry ridgeway, just in the Welsh border. I always use the gears to go down it to help slow down, the Felicia's brakes aren't always the best :thumbdwn:

What Richard B says makes some sense. However, it should be impossible to lock up the rear brakes on tarmac or concrete unless oily, due to the Felicia having a rear line limiter (controls the peak pressure delivered to the rear brake cylinders).