Last week or two, my brakes seem to be, well, just not as smooth as usual, kinda jerky coming to a stop, but not all the time. I initially "wrote it off". Today, it got worse, my wife screamed in terror, as I attempted to convince her they were not about to fail! We got home, I looked at the rotors on all 4 wheels, the wheel rims have big holes allowing the rotors to be seen Rears, I replaced rotors and brake pads about 6 months ago. They looked good. Front, pads replaced 50,000 miles ago, lately when checked had plenty of material left on them, but back then, I accepted the rotor appearance as OK. Now, the front rotors have small brown spots here and there, which might account for the "stick-slip" action I'm feeling. So, this afternoon, I yanked off the right-front wheel and tire, removed the brake caliper (with difficulty, the steering knuckle is aluminum alloy, the bolt threads pretty "corrode-in"). Rotor had never been touched, original thickness, it is imprinted "Bosch", a "ringer" for me right away. Never knew Bosch (of Germany) had anything to do with OEM parts like brake rotors (OEM = Original Equipment Manufacture). It had never been re-surfaced, so I stuck it in my lathe. Barely "do-able", the rotor is rated 12 inches diameter, the lathe 12 inches also! It looked like this: Above, I have begun taking a very light cut across the surface. Note the brownish spots present. The rotor, for the unitiated, spins with the wheel of the car, and a pair of "clamps" "pinch" it across the surfaces you see me machining. Above, a close-up of the first image. The rotor turns at 60 rpm, the lathe's slowest speed, and the pointed tool bit contacting it cuts away material as it advances slowly outward, toward the outside diameter. The freshly machined portion contrasts with the old, shiny, spotted area. Above, the other side of the rotor, already "cleaned-up". The lathe I got at 14 or 15, and have used it for myriad purposes since, a Sears Craftsman product, built by Atlas Press Co. in Kalamazoo, Michigan. After becoming proficient at operating a lathe, I realized soon I would be just another helpless A.H., as my friend Bill Long called folks, if I did not pursue the ability to (automotive), investigate problems, understand implications associated with the complaint or symptoms, or be able to obtain, (or even make) the necessary part(s) to bring about conclusion of the fault. Somehow, way back when I was 14 or so, I foresaw a need to be self-sufficient in the skilled trades. I wanted to be a welder, I already understood electricity and it's principles (thanks to Lionel!), and the other stuff followed easily. Chemistry, I loved! Big, billowing smoke "bombs" out in the back yard. Hydraulics, I understood, from having read books on automotive braking systems. There was no internet. Library, yes. That was about it. Ask teachers having technical "smarts"; I did that. The last skilled trades ability I tried to master was "Metal Inert Gas" welding. (MIG). Easy, and nice. So what's your point, Grandpa? .................Majority of kids today seem to have no clue that there is, out there, a whole haven of interest and challenge, challenge placed upon the individual, to perform, predict, build, be in awe of one's performance and abilities. Rather, let's sit engrossed like automatons punching keyboard ensigns embossed upon hand-held communication devices, oblivious to immediate surroundings, oblivious to danger, oblivious to the flow of life about us. The "Information Revolution". Personally, I would rather remain "uninformed. Frank
Well! Today I tackled the other side, the left front, not having been too worried, since the right side had plenty of lining left, straight and even. BUT! What I found today, was one pad nearly worn plum away! The lower pad can be seen clearly worn away, the upper is a brand new one. (Looks smaller due to the angle I shot at). Never expected this, but glad I found it before BIG trouble began! My wife thanked me for being "her mechanic"! Heck, least I could be since she's "my everything"! Frank
Years ago, when I lived in Long Beach and worked in Anaheim, my brakes started going out on my way to work. At that point, they were still working but the pedal would go all the way to the floor. Since I was working the 3-11 pm shift, there wasn't anywhere that I could bring it after work since everything was pretty much closed. Long Beach was a long ways from Anaheim, and I didn't feel like sleeping in the lunchroom. On the way home, I literally had no brakes. I could put the pedal all the way to the floor without any braking going on at all. Instead, I drove very slowly, stayed on side streets that paralleled the freeway, and used a combination of shifting (standard transmission) and my emergency brakes to stop, and there were a few times that I had to make a right turn because I couldn't stop for the intersection. That was a scary ride but I made it without hitting anyone or getting a ticket, and the next morning I had my brakes fixed. I forget what the problem was.
@Ken Anderson "That was a scary ride but I made it without hitting anyone or getting a ticket, and the next morning I had my brakes fixed" You had the ability to resolve a problematic situation using the tools available at the time. Many could not have done so. When I was becoming more and more intensely focused on cars and speed, as my Dad taught me to drive, he always stressed that the brakes are the most important part of the car. And, that using them properly at all times was the second-most important thing associated with driving. Sudden, complete failure of braking ability is rare, nowadays. Part of that is due to the mandated use, in 1967 I believe it was, of a two-section Master Brake Cylinder, which separated the braking function of the 4 wheels into front and rear. Should a problem develop in it's "front" section, braking effort was still available to the rear, and vice-versa. Regarding vehicular brake sagas, one of the biggest is the enormous brou-ha-ha which developed over asbestos as used in braking systems. Enormous amounts of asbestos fibers have been strewn upon the world's environment from brakes of cars, trucks, and railroad operations. Connecting the incidence of lung cancer with asbestos exposure, slowly the production and use of the stuff was curtailed. Alternate materials were developed. Then came the really big surprise! Asbestos was also a great insulation against heat transfer, and millions of tons of it had been used to insulate buildings, from residential size on up. This meant that, as air currents moved within buildings, asbestos fibers were being almost continuously dislodged and circulated within the buildings, to be inhaled by their occupants! Seems like schools were singled out first. Great "Asbestos Clean-up Funds" were instituted. If found in the air of a building, quarantine went into effect: suited workers appearing not of this earth endeavored to remove at all cost, the contained asbestos, an often daunting task, as after believe was determined that the place was "clean", more showed up. The single largest producer of products using Asbestos was Monsanto Corp. Way back when I worked for a Drywall Plant in Colorado, rumblings surfaced of probable Monsanto bankruptcy. They did. However, despite all the while shielding from view the fact that Monsanto chemists knew full-well of the public-safety threat of Asbestos, dating back to at least the 1930s, the company went ahead full-steam preparing the world for Genetically Modified Foods! Today, via political posturing, buying-off of dissenting Politicians, a rather corrupt public relations program touting the benefits of GMOs, harassment of farming operations refusing to take part, and posturing amid claims of reduced pesticide use, as well as greatly increased crop yields of higher-quality, Monsanto has seemingly recovered from the Asbestos debacle to lead us into yet a perhaps even larger conundrum: Are Genetically Modified Foodstuffs absolutely safe for human consumption, as they claim, or are they poised to release upon us yet another wave of future Health Detriments? Some European Union nations have banned GMOs, much to Monsanto's chagrin. Should we too? Frank
I would freak out if I lost my brakes. They were smoking one time due to an improper brake job that was bad enough. That was a disgusting tale. Anyway, never going back to that place for a brake job! My roomie might be able to do some kind of a brake job because he is a mechanic and has managed to fix many things on his own vehicle, but other than checking and adding oil..or maybe changing a tire, that would be it on car repairs for me.
Back in the good ol' days of 1956, dad had a 1929 Ford "A" model that we used as a fishing car, rather than smell up his beloved Buick. One evening, well after dark, we were on our way home from a favorite fishing spot. The headlights, never very bright anyway, suddenly went out. We kept driving, since we were on dirt and gravel roads with little to no traffic. The lights would flicker on and off from time to time. We made it to town and took a short cut to the south end of town, where we lived. It was down over the bluff on a street called snake hill. Steep and a bit twisty. We rounded the first curve when the brakes decided not to hold. Those old model "A" cars had mechanical brakes, not the newer hydraulic brakes. Dad shifted to second gear and we made it to the "T" intersection at the bottom of the hill, prayed no traffic was coming, and careened around a corner, nearly upsetting. As luck would have it, we made it. Tell ya what, that was the scariest ride I was ever on. Later, dad made some adjustments to the brake linkage, got the lights to work and everything was fine again.
We used to visit our grandparents at Christmastime in Erie County PA, which may be the snow capital of the lower 48. It is defintely up there. We had some really wild rides on the way home slipping and sliding the car became a sled..I don't know how we never ended up in the ditch. I guess it was a testament to my dad's driving skills, and (snow tires of course.) I came up for Christmas..a couple of years ago..when it was snowy..a whole different ball game up there. Amazing there aren't more accidents, but you get used to it I guess.
I grew up in the UP of Michigan, and would regularly drive through the winter without snow tires. Living in Maine at sixty-five though, I will concede that I don't want to go back to not having snow tires in the winter. As a teenager, I think I enjoyed that slip-sliding feeling, but no more. I use studded snow tires in the winter, and I love the security of it.
@Ken Anderson Interesting to note that studded tires are illegal in many areas. They definitely help reduce chances of skidding, and do improve traction.
@Ike Willis "Those old model "A" cars had mechanical brakes, not the newer hydraulic brakes." The brakes were operated by cables through a means of "equalizing" the force to each wheel's brakes. Even when my Dad bought a 1935 Ford brand new (for $615, I might add!), they still had mechanical brakes, a fact he bemoaned often. The car lasted through WW-II, though, and was replaced in 1948 by a new, '49 Lincoln! He wanted a Mercury, but demand was so high, none were locally-available, and the sales guy gave him a good deal! Plus, the Lincoln had "juice brakes"! BTW, those 1933 and on Fords had V-8 engines, and could keep up with Caddy's costing 10 times as much. The Chevies still had smaller, 6-cylinder engines, making them inferior runners. I could go on about the '35, car I grew up riding in, it was 7 years old when I was born, middle of the War. By the time I could understand such things, maybe age 8 or so, the fuel gauge had quit working, so before leaving on a drive, my Dad removed the fuel cap, rocked the car up and down by placing one foot on the back bumper while listening to the fuel slosh about. He was uncanny in his ability to estimate adequate fuel contained! Car had a "swing-outable" windshield, 2 doors, a soft-top roof center surrounded by steel, like a baby's "soft-spot"! "Wire" wheels, with big, thick spokes. And, it was black. Frank
I admire guys who tinker with their vehicles. Surely you have the patience. Our cars are always brought to the dealer for the regular maintenance and also if there are problems. Even with the wheels we don't dare tinker with it. Some years ago, our neighbor's dump truck was parked near the front of our house. We noticed that the driver was doing something to the wheel because the tire was removed. We were going somewhere at the time so we saw that when our car was going out of the gate. My husband said that it might be the brakes that the driver was tinkering with. When we came back in the late afternoon, there was a patrol car and a cop on the gate of our neighbor. We already suspected something had gone wrong with the truck. And true enough, the dump truck was traveling at a speed of 80 kph when the driver sensed it had no brakes. The truck hit the vehicles in a bus stop that killed 7 persons, from what I remember. So many lives lost and heavy damages inflicted all because of a faulty brake. The location of the accident was just 3 kilometers away from our home.