Suprising brake problem Need HELP
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,051
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From: Inside every color vette there is a blue one trying to come out!
Suprising brake problem Need HELP
today on my way home from work, today in my 73, our 1st cold spell hit...mid to upper 50's maybe 40's....I noticed that the more I braked, the harder my pedal actually got over time...after a while it was almost hard as a rock and once I finally broke through the heavy traffic, I noticed that the vette seemed sluggish and taking more power to maintain speed...when I put it in nuetral to slow down for the up coming light, it was slowing down more than it should like the breaks were holding it back. Did my calipers freeze up? After checking the brake fluid, which it still had plenty, and letting it sit for about an hour, it drove fine with no dragging of the brakes...I never heard anything that would sound like the brakes might be still holding, just the feeling of being held back...any suggestions?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,340
Likes: 2
From: Moro IL
Re: Suprising brake problem Need HELP (Skruball73)
Sounds like you had a brake(s) hanging up. Possibly a piece of debris got loose in one of the lines and started acting like a check valve, in other words it would let pressure past it toward the caliper but wouldn't let it bleed back past it to let the caliper unapply. I'd think your problem would have been up toward the master cylinder somewhere to affect the brakes evenly like that, if it was down towards a caliper it will normally cause a noticeable pull to one side.
:cheers:
Pat Kunz
:cheers:
Pat Kunz
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,051
Likes: 0
From: Inside every color vette there is a blue one trying to come out!
Re: Suprising brake problem Need HELP (Skruball73)
Or could it be excess air in the brake lines? I know that typically, air in the lines make the pedal feel mushy, but as the brakes heat up, so would the air possibly causing the high, tight brake pedal. ????? :confused: :confused:
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 6,362
Likes: 7
From: Brazos TX
Cruise-In IV Veteran
Cruise-In V Veteran
Re: Suprising brake problem Need HELP (Skruball73)
I don't think it's air in the lines. Air is compressable so no matter what temp it is you will be able to compress it. It could be the porportioning valve or you could have had a rock or something get stuck in behind a brake pad. If the pads started to overheat and outgas you would get a stiff pedal but very little braking force. If this happened you may want to bleed your brakes. The other possibility is that the brake booster is acting a little funny.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,206
Likes: 62
From: Redondo Beach CA
C2 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
Re: Suprising brake problem Need HELP (Skruball73)
I had something like this happen in my Chevelle. The master cylider was not quite adjusted properly. If you have a service manual, see if there is a procedure for adjusting the pedal to master rod. If this continues like this, you might actually end up locking the wheels from this, as it seems to get worse the longer you drive.
When you stopped, were you able to inspect each wheel? If this happens again, see if you can get the car on a lift so you can quickly check all four wheels. This will at least help you determine if the problem is one caliper or something upstream.
When you stopped, were you able to inspect each wheel? If this happens again, see if you can get the car on a lift so you can quickly check all four wheels. This will at least help you determine if the problem is one caliper or something upstream.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 963
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From: melbourne,Australia
Re: Suprising brake problem Need HELP (Skruball73)
Are you sure it isn't as simple as losing vac boost on the brakes......that would be consistent with low speed running in traffic,gradually losing boost pressure and the pedal going mechanical ie.no vac boost......then quickly recovering a normal pedal....john :chevy
Race Director
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 11,115
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From: SE Pennsylvania
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
Oldtimer
Re: Suprising brake problem Need HELP (Skruball73)
The emergency brake shoes could be hanging up, This is the shoes that work off the parking brake lever. If you had or have broken springs or some other hardware amiss, they could be draging.
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