Ive got new discs and pads on the rear and newish discs and pads on the front.
the brakes are not particularly good and I can push the brake pedal right down( with a bit of force) to the floor when the engine is running...is this ok?
I have bled the brakes loads of times but it does not make any difference.
Also the handbrake lever is a bit floppy..is the adjustment all on the lever..I cant see any way to adjust it by the calipers.
ant advice apprecited
any hints?
Possible leak somewhere? Is it a 13 or a 14? Pretty sure the adjustment is all on the lever/cables. Could be a sticky handbrake mech on the caliper.Originally Posted by gansao
*edit: how are you bleeding the brakes? some cars can be a proper cnut to do
Clickme
Ive since used a vacuum type bleeder which has made the brakes feel a bit better.
Not as impressed with it as I hoped but the brakes definitely do not have air in the system.
Lets say the brakes are 'adequate' now.
One problem is that I often drive the wifes Clio, if you push too hard one pedal you get thrown out of your seat. So when I get back in the 200 sx the brakes feel shit.
As for the handbrake, I checked the mechanism by the rear calipers and it seems ok.
I will wait until a couple of weeks before the mot then adjust it as much as I can on the lever and if thats no good I may get a handbrake cable.
Modern cars have massive servos and weak calipers, try an emergancy stop and they're very effective, try repeatedly stopping hard and very soon they will get overheated and you will loose the pedal. Our old Nissans are the opposite, small servos with (relatively) powerful calipers, you really need to put some effort into stopping, but they should withstand repeated use.
You shouldnt be able to push the pedal to the floor under any circumstances, so either you still have air in the system, or the rubber brake hoses are expanding. I've got braided hoses & a brace against the master cylinder along with recent fluid, with the engine off, there is very little movement on the pedal.
Edit to say:
The standard handbrake is notoriously bad (for drifting) but should hold the car on a slope fairly securely.
Best way I've found for checking for air is to drive along for some time. Then press the brake once, then rapidly again straight after. If the pedals higher second time there's still air there.
if the vehicle is fitted with abs the pedal travel is almost to the floor when the engine is running
but should be solid when the engine is switched of
oh and were the rear calipers adjusted properly if not the brakes will be rubbish as will the hand brake
hope this helps
If it's an s14 with abs then it's a nightmare to bleed the brakes, and if you've got air in the abs module then you'll be bleeding for a long time. Are you bleeding the brakes in the correct order?
I have similar issues - brake pedal goes to the stop.
I have:
- Refurbished calipers with new seals and pistons
- Replaced front to rear hard lines
- Fitted braided hosing
- Replaced master cyclinder (going to fit a seal kit to my original master cylinder next)
- BMC stopper fitted
Brake pedal is rock solid with the engine off and the pedal does not creep down. The front to rear lines were replaced by a garage and they didn't manage to bleed it any better than me.
The only bit left is the abs unit. Has anyone noticed an improvement by changing it? Don't really want to get rid of the abs. Brakes were bled from the furthest from the master cylinder and working closer.
Thats what I have...if I push the brake pedal hard with the engine running, I can reach a solid point which I assume is the maximum pedal travel but when the engine has stooped the pedal is rock solid.
Ive made the abs come in by jumping on the brakes on grass ( and ice) so the air should have come out of the abs system and Ive put a lot of fluid through the system.
When I read the instructions for the vacuum bleeder it said you should start from the nearest wheel from the mc not the farthest( Ive already bled it farthest first using the pedal) so I dont think there is air in the system.
Im quite happy with the brakes but I would like them to be as good as they can be..Ive got braided hoses .refurbed front and back calipers, changed pads and discs and may get a brake stopper!
I think having an auto makes the brakes feel shit too,especially when the engines cold.
I bought the rewinding tool for the rear brakes and assume that they are self adjusting so they should be ok..there is certainly no slack
had one job once that there was trapped air in the abs pump its self just a slight chance ???
I dont quite understand this
The brakes on an S14 should not be sh!t.
They should be plenty good enough for you to lock the brakes on warm tyres in the dry and you should not have the pedal going to the floor with the engine running.
I know this because I used to have an S14a and I now run s14a brakes on my S13.
As tallpaul has suggested, if you have a pedal that sinks to the floor with the engine running that suggests that the seals have gone in the master cylinder.
I'd say that is the most likely cause of the trouble if you have refurbed calipers and braided hoses.
Personally, I wouldn't wait until it fails its MOT to do something about it.
I see your point but I cant lock the brakes because its got abs.
I can make the abs come in though
Also I could push the brake pedal to the floor( it didnt just sink to the floor, you had to push hard like the 200sx) on my non abs skyline and I locked the wheels on that on more than one occasion.
I might get a bmc refurb kit though
Last edited by gansao; 22-02-2011 at 23:13.
When I said "lock", I meant with ABS lock-unlock-lock-unlock...
Pedal shouldn't sink to the floor.
Thats what I meant..the abs shudders.When I said "lock", I meant with ABS lock-unlock-lock-unlock...
Pedal shouldn't sink to the floor.
As said the pedal doesnt sink, you have to push it hard to make it go to the floor..not like when the engine is off and the pedal is solid.
Will still look for a bmc refurb kit.
As for MOT failure..my brakes WERE shit and still passed last year..maybe Im being fussy
If you can easily get the ABS to kick in on warm tyres on a dry road then your brakes aren't sh!t. They're better than the tyres so they're not the limiting factor.
I can sit with my foot on the brakes and the engine running for 2-3 minutes and the pedal won't go to the floor.
Thanks Jonny.
My brakes cant be bad enough to be dangerous but they are bad enough to be of concern.
I will deffo get some seals and sort out the bmc and maybe get a stopper
I can't remember the order you need to bleed the brakes in but it'll be in the useful threads section. On my 406 it's o/s/r, n/s/f, o/s/f, n/s/r.
I removed my abs completely and the brakes are much better, more predictable and more pedal feel. I can understand if you don't want to do this on a road car but I'd definitely recommend it. Makes bleeding the brakes soooo much easier too!
It doesnt really matter too much what order you bleed the brakes. Most hand books will tell you to start farthest away from the master cylinder and work towards it, but as long as you go round the car 3 or 4 times, you'll be fine. I always do the final bleeding with someone in the car pressing the pedal and me opening & closing the nipples, go round the car twice after you think the air has gone & jobs done!
I've got a mityvac and its great, but you cant beat the old school method for the last little bit, especially as its very difficult to stop the vaccuum pump pulling in air from around the bleed nipple.
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