1998 v6 brakes

carbuff

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
184
Reaction score
8
So, I just put my 98 v6 vert back on the road for the season. I was driving a 2000 jeep cherokee (xj) for the winter. A vehicle known for lousy brakes. Well, compared to the mustang, they stop on a dime. I cant believe how bad the mustang brakes are. I know theyre not known for good brakes but something must be wrong. Im thinking that my rear calipers are frozen. I know that the e=brake does nothing. Its adjusted ok and I can feel it engage on the cable pulling it tight, but I can still roll the car easily. I also noticed that the rear disks have a coating of dark rust on them with only a small contact path that barely puts a "shine" on the rust. I think its just from the disk rotating past the pads and knocking off some crud. The calipers must be frozen. If my rear calipers are frozen would that cause my braking to be awful? I really have to put a lot of foot into the pedal to stop the car. The fronts were done over last year.
 
OP
OP
carbuff

carbuff

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
184
Reaction score
8
Ok, maybe my post was kinda vague. If the caliper pins get frozen what will happen? Will the inner pad end up wearing out fast because its really the only one putting pressure on the disk? Once the outer pad wears a bit it will no longer be putting pressure on the disk because the caliper cant move to draw it in? Is this correct?
 

RichV

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 6, 2012
Messages
4,230
Reaction score
251
Location
CO
The caliper pins make the caliper float onto the rotor. So yes, if they are bound, one side will wear uneven depending on the severity. It sounds like they are not even working.

I'm not exactly sure on what a 98 V6 braking system consists of, I know the rotors/calipers are same as a GT. But unsure of the rest of the system.

If the rear calipers are toast, replace them. Get good quality pads all the way around, and completely evacuate the brake fluid. The SN braking systems are not that bad, I ran the same basic system on a track car for years. Got try a pre 87 Foxbody, those are some shitty brakes!!
 

lutter94

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2008
Messages
3,060
Reaction score
172
Location
South Dakota
^ V6/GT brakes are identical

The park brake is a separate system from the hydraulics, you might have a bad cable(s). How can you assume the rear brakes are frozen, and not take the caliper off? Its not a hard job by any means.

Your next step, should you choose to accept it, is to pop both rear wheels off, remove the calipers/brackets, lube up the pins if not frozen completely. If you need new parts, buy new parts, brackets are cheap. If they did have issues, you're gonna need new pads.

While you have the wheels in the air, test the e-brake, see if each side locks up.

You can't always assume things, especially when checking it is such an easy process.
 
OP
OP
carbuff

carbuff

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
184
Reaction score
8
Thanks to all. Yes Im pulling a wheel today to check out whats up. Ive got all the parts in my shopping cart at advance auto.com, new rotors too. So, depending on what the deal is, Ill have the parts ready to go. My post was just research til I had the time to pull it apart. Its my daily driver right now so I cant lay it up for days. Thanks for the help, Ill let you know what I find.
 

lutter94

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2008
Messages
3,060
Reaction score
172
Location
South Dakota
You have the coupon code for advance auto?

This is $40 off $100 or more - TRT41

I thought there was one $50 off $125, can't find it.

No probs with the research, lets hear what ya find! :)
 
OP
OP
carbuff

carbuff

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
184
Reaction score
8
Yes, I actually used trt30 because I decided against the new rotors. trt30 is 30% off. I finished the drivers side. One pin was completely seized. The outer pad looked new, the inner was almost to the metal. So, new pads, new caliper bracket with new pins and boots for the drivers side. The brakes still feel like sponge. I discovered that the parking brake cable moves fine but does not pull the little arm enough to activate the caliper much. Perhaps an adjustment? It feels pretty tight when I yank up on the lever. If I crank on it I notice a slight drag so I guess Im on the right track. Is there any adjustment for the rear brakes? Or is it just assemble and go? Will the parking brake cable adjustment affect the pedal height at all?
 

lutter94

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2008
Messages
3,060
Reaction score
172
Location
South Dakota
Parking brake is completely separate, no affect on pedal feel. I have not had to adjust my cables, but do you have the rear lifted? does one side grab harder than the other (with the park brake on)?
 
OP
OP
carbuff

carbuff

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
184
Reaction score
8
Thats the strange part. Even with the frozen slider the brakes did not pull at all. Maybe the other side is frozen too. I will hopefully find out tomorrow.
 
OP
OP
carbuff

carbuff

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
184
Reaction score
8
So, an update. I had to replace the bracket on the other side too. 1 pin was frozen solid just like the other side. So far 2 new brackets and 4 new guide pins. New rear pads. Brakes bled all around. The pedal is much higher and seem to work better, less spongy. But now theres a pull to the pass side. There was always a minor pull that would come and go but now it pulls every time I hit the brakes. It pulls a bit then stops straight. If I pump the pedal it will pull a bit more with every pump. So, some progress and some new problems.
 
OP
OP
carbuff

carbuff

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
184
Reaction score
8
I bled them along with the back. I replaced the pads last year. The calipers moved freely and compressed easily. I lowered the car about an inch last year and my camber is a bit out so Im gonna try and take care of that first before I go nuts replacing caliipers and hoses. Front end is good, ball joints,etc. Struts and bushings were new with springs. It was a small drop (ford b springs) so Im hoping some camber bolts will take care of that.
 

RichV

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 6, 2012
Messages
4,230
Reaction score
251
Location
CO
Your passenger side is braking as it should, and the driver side is not. Hence the pull IMO.

Re-bleed the driver side only and make sure it's 100%. If the rears needed so much work, I would bet that the fronts were neglected as well. Good idea to check/replace as necessary.
 
OP
OP
carbuff

carbuff

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
184
Reaction score
8
So, I re-bled all the brakes. The fluid was green and the stuff in the master was still pretty dirty. I turkey basted all the fluid out of the master and filled it with brand new fluid. I then bled them all until they ran clear. It used a lot of fluid. I guess the abs system stores a lot more fluid than just plain old brakes. The brakes work a lot better with a higher firmer pedal. There is still an inconsistant pull to the pass side. It seems that if I apply the brakes slowly there is no pull but if i hit them more quickly there is the initial pull to the pass side but then it stops straight. I suspected that there might be an alignment issue with excessive negative camber from the new springs. I installed eibach camber bolts. I got the one side looking pretty vertical but did not have time to adjust the other side. I just want to get it in the ballpark before I bring it in for an alignment. I will have them look over the ball joints and stuff to make sure its all good. I found no problems but its good to get a second opinion. I know them so they wont "invent" any problems. I want to eliminate the front end from the equation before I start replacing brake components. Calipers arent 20 bucks anymore like they used to be. :wink:
 
OP
OP
carbuff

carbuff

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
184
Reaction score
8
Update. The pull may be alignment related. Mt camber had been big time negative since the new springs last year. So I got camber bolts to try and get it looking a bit better. First I installed the bolts with the tabs pointed out to give me more positive adjustment. I leveled the car with one wheel off supported under the knuckle to get proper ride level and load. I put one bolt on a lug to keep the rotor tight on the hub. I put the level on the disk and adjusted the bolt until the bubble was centered indicating 0 camber. I then adjusted for a touch of negative camber as the stock is -.5. I made the bubble just touch the one line on its edge. I did the same for the other side. It looks normal now. Not perfect but it will do til I get a real alignment. The good news is that the pull seems to be gone. There is a very slight wandering toward the other direction now but nothing annoying. I,m guessing that a proper alignment will take care of that. I will drive it more tomorrow to really test it out.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
77,439
Messages
1,502,159
Members
14,920
Latest member
marktuck99

Members online

Top