1990 RX-7 GXL automatic, BRAKE PROBLEMS!!! AHHH
07-26-03 | 05:59 PM
#1
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From: Morgan County, Indiana
1990 RX-7 GXL automatic, BRAKE PROBLEMS!!! AHHH
Ineed major help, when i hit the brakes it makes a mildly loud pop from the front brakes, and it requires a desent amount of preasure to brake. This is scareing me i dont wana die!
09-30-03 | 12:28 AM
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Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Springfield, MO
Check the retainer clips on either end of the pads. Make sure the spring-clip is on the "push" side of the pad's ear. Meaning, it should push the pad the direction the tire normally rotates. Also make sure the two "holder" springs (they go on the top of the two pads and hold them aginst the caliper pistons) are there. Grease the back-sides and the ears with silicone brake-lube. DO NOT GET ANY ON THE ROTORS OR THE PAD MATERIAL. Make sure the two caliper-bolts are nice and tight. It's also a good time to do a brake-fluid flush.
When you've got them apart, check and make sure that the pads are worn equally; if they're sloped (like a doorstop), you need to rebuild your calipers (easy to do), or purchase rebuilt calipers.
Another cause of hard-braking can be a vacuum leak or a bad brake-booster. Check the hose that goes from the lower-intake manifold (the one with the 5/6th port actuators and the Air Control Valve on it) to the brake-booster tube on the firewall. Those usually go bad with time. When you replace it, use real screw-clamps, not those dinky spring clips. If you can turn the car off and stop the car, your brake-booster's internal check-valve is okay. If it looses all braking power, you need a new booster. It usually keeps enough vacuum to make the car stop two or three times with the engine turned off. Be careful when testing this; remember that you don't have to go fast to test the booster, and keep the car in gear for the test just in case it fails, and you need to stop.
It'd also be a good idea to check the rear brakes, too. The pistons (on the calipers) rotate in. Meaning, take a pair of needle-nose pliers and turn the piston clockwise to depress it. Make sure they have the pad-springs installed as well.
Hope this helps,
Matt
When you've got them apart, check and make sure that the pads are worn equally; if they're sloped (like a doorstop), you need to rebuild your calipers (easy to do), or purchase rebuilt calipers.
Another cause of hard-braking can be a vacuum leak or a bad brake-booster. Check the hose that goes from the lower-intake manifold (the one with the 5/6th port actuators and the Air Control Valve on it) to the brake-booster tube on the firewall. Those usually go bad with time. When you replace it, use real screw-clamps, not those dinky spring clips. If you can turn the car off and stop the car, your brake-booster's internal check-valve is okay. If it looses all braking power, you need a new booster. It usually keeps enough vacuum to make the car stop two or three times with the engine turned off. Be careful when testing this; remember that you don't have to go fast to test the booster, and keep the car in gear for the test just in case it fails, and you need to stop.
It'd also be a good idea to check the rear brakes, too. The pistons (on the calipers) rotate in. Meaning, take a pair of needle-nose pliers and turn the piston clockwise to depress it. Make sure they have the pad-springs installed as well.
Hope this helps,
Matt
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