As some of you know, I got into an accident a couple weeks back costing $1.5k in damages to the other car. The reason: brake booster, lines and caliper. I've noticed the brakes are pretty weak when the car is cold. Rarely do they perform like they should. When I bought the car, It'd give me that fly-out-the-windshield kind of brake, now it feels like i'm stopping the car with marshmallows for brakes. The only way to get decent braking is to disable ATS. My mechanic was only able to recreate it once and told me it was the brake booster and brake lines along with a possibly seized caliper. Total he want's to charge $1.2k to redo the system. What do you guys think?
Failed brakes
- Thread starter flash2010
- Start date
chris2523
93 Mark VIII
whats ATS?
if the brake pedal is squishy, that would tell me you need to bleed the brakes. get the air out.
if the brake pedal is squishy, that would tell me you need to bleed the brakes. get the air out.
The brakes feel spongy 90% of the time, but they've been bled countless times. I had a full flush done and still the same results.
ATS is Advance Trak System
Stugots: That's just for the brake booster and brake lines alone. If it's a seized caliper then it'll be more.
What i'm interested to know is why ATS is holding back the brake power under normal driving conditions.
ATS is Advance Trak System
Stugots: That's just for the brake booster and brake lines alone. If it's a seized caliper then it'll be more.
What i'm interested to know is why ATS is holding back the brake power under normal driving conditions.
jjcool00
Dedicated LVC Member
That is a ridiculous amount of money!!!
chris2523
93 Mark VIII
uh huh. well the booster just gives you a mechanical advantage when pushing on the master cylinder. so it ain't the booster.
rock auto has master cylinders for like a hundred bucks.
calipers look like a hundred bucks.
the brake lines look like 15 a piece.
why are you thinking of paying this guy like 7-800 bucks labor for a brake job?
rock auto has master cylinders for like a hundred bucks.
calipers look like a hundred bucks.
the brake lines look like 15 a piece.
why are you thinking of paying this guy like 7-800 bucks labor for a brake job?
chris2523
93 Mark VIII
me too
chris2523
93 Mark VIII
they should be fine for most people. and should out brake most tires.
but even if they aren't enough, that doesn't explain the squishyness.
jjcool00
Dedicated LVC Member
off topic - btw I like ur wheels.
RigsLS
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Just checking ...
1. do you own an LS ?
2. have you ever had the rears apart on the LS ?
3. You've experienced hard sudden braking in an LS ?
I'm not impressed that's for sure. I find it could use a bit more stopping power and that's on a fully fresh working braking system.
chris2523
93 Mark VIII
my mom has a 00 sport v8. i've driven it plenty.
yes.
yes.
for a single stop, the dual pistons up front with good pads should get the job done.
if you can activate the ABS, the brakes are no longer your limitation.
if you want bigger brakes, that's fine. i encourage that. it is a safety thing after all. and your car can't be too safe.
but, the factory stuff should be adequate in a single stop instance. and the car has large (comparatively) rear bias because of the lower weight transfer and good front-rear weight balance.
side note, i just did some stopping distance research. 60-0.
1998 Lincoln Mark VIII. 122 feet.
2006 Lincoln LS. 130 feet.
so that's weird. wouldn't have guessed that.
What pads are on the car? How much meat is left on them?
I would start by changing the pads and putting stainless brake lines on it. This almost always fixes the soft brake feel.
When you look for pads, don't get the cheapest ones, but don't get the most expensive ones.
I would start by changing the pads and putting stainless brake lines on it. This almost always fixes the soft brake feel.
When you look for pads, don't get the cheapest ones, but don't get the most expensive ones.
I forgotten the brand, but it wasn't an top notch brand. They were on clearence on Rock Auto. They've only got like 6k on them and they have plenty of meat left. I'll probably get the rotors changed out with a new set of pads and stainless steel brake lines. Today I had a buddy put the car in neutral and had him press the brakes a couple times, no calipers seem to be seized. As I said earlier, if anyone knows why ATS is interfering with braking please post. Thanks guys.
Also: What's the stopping distance like with the Jaguar upgrade?
Also: What's the stopping distance like with the Jaguar upgrade?
Andrizzle
Dedicated LVC Member
Still have no idea what kind of LS you have, but how are the brakes being bled?
It sure sounds like there is air involved.
Also why not take off the calipers and inspect for seized pins etc. No sense in paying 1K+ for a brake job... That is a true case of mechanic's advantage.
Inspecting brakes is easy, and if you have compression tools to push the pistons back in, you can change pads and rotors down there easily.
My vote is still air in the brake lines...
It sure sounds like there is air involved.
Also why not take off the calipers and inspect for seized pins etc. No sense in paying 1K+ for a brake job... That is a true case of mechanic's advantage.
Inspecting brakes is easy, and if you have compression tools to push the pistons back in, you can change pads and rotors down there easily.
My vote is still air in the brake lines...
If turning the advancetrac off really does make the brake pedal feel different then I say you have a bad sensor somewhere.
Otherwise, it sounds like soft/cheap pads and the squishy OEM brake lines. New better pads and stainless lines might fix your problem.
Otherwise, it sounds like soft/cheap pads and the squishy OEM brake lines. New better pads and stainless lines might fix your problem.
1LoudLS
Dedicated LVC Member
the soft lines are easy to replace, when doing my last brake job, i replaced mine with SS braided lines, probably added less than 15 mins of work per corner to the job. took longer to bleed the system.
FASTLLS
Dedicated LVC Member
I wonder if the ABS module is the electrical problem? As for the squishy, I would think master cylinder like Chris said. Master cylinder isn't too hard to replace.. Be sure to pre bleed it before you put it in though
I know that my pedal felt pretty mushy. Putting good akebono pads fixed half the feel, and strainless braided lines fixed the other half.
You should probably do it anyways, and then see if the feel improves.
You should probably do it anyways, and then see if the feel improves.
Just thought I'd update the thread. I didn't do any mods to the brakes yet but I did learn something new. If i were to shift into Neutral and apply the brakes, the car stops on a dime. Opposed to bringing it up to the same speed and leaving it in drive, it takes a little longer for the car to stop.
From what Joe and my mechanic told me, it makes sense why this happens. The brake switch isn't telling the PCM that I am braking so the converter wont unlock until it reaches lower RPM, therefore sending power to the wheels until the converter has unlocked. So the brake switch will probably be the first thing I replace. Someone correct me if I missed something.
From what Joe and my mechanic told me, it makes sense why this happens. The brake switch isn't telling the PCM that I am braking so the converter wont unlock until it reaches lower RPM, therefore sending power to the wheels until the converter has unlocked. So the brake switch will probably be the first thing I replace. Someone correct me if I missed something.