97 cavilier
My girls car, it has some issues that I need to take a look at asap.
She she brakes moderately hard, but nowhere near hard enough to cause a lockup, the rear end is locking up.
I'm wondering if you guys have any ideas of what is the normal cause of such things?
its a 97 with a 2.2l, does it have ABS? perhaps an ABS malfunction?
what about maybe just the rear discs aren't returning to their proper location and therefore locking up?
anybody experience this problem before?
I would say that the rear brakes are adjusted too tight and they are catching too hard and causing the lockup.
j
Well if you have drum brakes? How long since last they were worked on?
They could have a "rear disc conversion" ya know......rofl
j
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the shoes, but anyways, if they havnt been worked on in a while then they're just sticking. take the drum off and see how hard they are to move around or if there is any odd looking wear to the shoe.
first off. Explain "high speed braking", that way I can determing if I want to flame you or help you.....
I hope you mean coming to an abrupt stop, and not going to fast around a corner, nailing the brakes and wondering why the rear is letting lose. That problem can only be solved at a performance driving school, and common sense that you shouldn't be doing that on the road anyways.
Otherwise:
Also you have rear drums not discs, and there probably out of adjustment
If you have ABS an abs light will flash when you start up the car, and will stay on if ABS is malfunctioning, otherwise you don't have ABS.
-Chris
Could possibly be the wheel bearings?
ok I probably sound like a newb.
I'm not. I'm a honda guy and you guys probably all have a hatred towards hondas but I'm no ricer. Done over 10 engine swaps and have a 93 eh2 with 8pt cromoly cage that is race prepped.
memeber of scca, ivr, and have been to over 10 HDPE, and many many solo 2 events.
My point, I'm not new to cars.
Sorry about the rear disc comment, I'm used to speaking of my car.
I'm 2000 miles away from my girl currently and she has a 97 cav. I'm visiting her on Valentines day and want to fix her issue for her while I'm there.
I would've gone out and checked the drums already but I don't have that luxory.
I doubt its wheel bearings.
Its locking up the rear and pulling to one side. It only does it during rainy weather I was just informed by her tonight.
I'm leaning towards an ABS malfunction, but there is no ABS light. I'm going to have her disable the ABS and see if it still does it.
It slides out easily under even moderate braking when wet outside. This is freeway sudden stopping braking we are talking about, no corners, not turning.
Is the ABS system easy to disable on these vehicles, like a fuse or relay? I ask because I'm gonna have her disable it herself.
thanks for your help also guys. I didn't mean to sound agressive in any way with my honda comment. I think I was taken off that you'd make fun of my knowledge lol.... I'm a mechanical engineer for christs sake :p
So anybody agree that this could be ABS? I've heard of this same issue on grand-ams
is it auto or stick? my thought (im not a mechanical eng..)
is that she may have the ebrake cable binding / not releasing all the way. when is the last time the shoes where checked, adjusted or replaced? could be rivits grabbing the drum for all I know. like you say really hard to diagnose w/o looking at or driving the car. good luck tho
OK I'm talking to her some more.
She just did it today and noticed that its the ABS locking for sure.
She says its a pulse in the pedal, then a lock, and then pulse, then a lock.
but only the rear slides, and its only during rainy weather.
No ABS light though.
I want her to disable the ABS until I can come fix in on Valentines, is there any easy way I can tell her to disable the ABS so it funcitons like a regular non ABS vehicle?
bluzr2 wrote:is it auto or stick? my thought (im not a mechanical eng..) is that she may have the ebrake cable binding / not releasing all the way. when is the last time the shoes where checked, adjusted or replaced? could be rivits grabbing the drum for all I know. like you say really hard to diagnose w/o looking at or driving the car. good luck tho
Its Auto. I just asked her if its only when she first drives or during the entire trip, and she says its during the entire trip. So its not a sticking issue as they work their way out as you brake and the adjusters screw back down from the e brake. Am I correct in this thinking?
the lock and then give you describe does sound alot like the ABS, sorry tho i have no idea how to disable it. maybe pull the relay or something but i would never have your GF do that. wish i could be more help... hopefully someone knows
also i know they threaten to kill sometimes for double posting, but you may want to throw this question in the suspention and brake forum. might get some better feedback there
from experience, I know if you pull the abs fuse or relay it tends to want to lock up any time you touch the brake pedal.
j
i have this problem with my 96 cav. apparently its done it since the beginning.only does it in rainy weather or cold weather until the breaks warm up.
I used to pull the abs fuse for autox'ing and only locked the tires up once under severe braking.
When you get there check for a leaking brake slave cylinder at the rear wheel that is locking up. A small amount of brake fluid on the linings will cause the drum to lock when there is water present. If the car has ABS no code or warning light will come on. The ABS syst. will react as if that wheel was skidding on ice, wet road,etc. The leak may be small enough at the wheel cylinder that very little fluid is missing from the master cylinder and the red brake warning lamp will not come on until the brake fluid level is below 3/4 full.Ask if she has added any brake fluid to the master cylinder.
Thats Him Officer The WICKED One.
it could be a proportioning valve malfunction,
they are located in the the middle of the lines under the car, 2 of them
controll the fluid going to the back brakes so they don't lock up before the fronts, w/o it the rears will lock up
if she is locking them now she will lock them even more with the abs disabled
best would be to inspect the brakes front and rear , it possible that the rear is trying to do more brakeing than the fronts causing it , which could happen if the front are worn and heating up to fast and causing brake fade
or it could just be the water is cauing them to slip , she can ride the brakes a little before she wants to actually stop , this would heat the brakes up and dry them up some
but the lock , pause , lock pause , is the regular fuction of the brakes
i would also try bleeding the abs unit under the hood. especially if shes had line work done recently its worth a shot an takes all of a minute
Eh, lots of misinformation in this thread
Proportioning valves are under the car if you have a 2000+ only. 95-99 they're not there. ABS was standard 92-02. It became optional in 2003.
First, I'd say to stop theorizing over the internet until you get to your g/f's place and look at the condition of the brake shoes. That should be your first step.
If it's a problem with the ABS, it would likely show up at times when you're not braking... therefore, the ABS light would stay on. So I suspect the shoes, not the ABS system itself.
It shouldn't be pulling to one side unless a brake on one side has a problem. Possibly oil or brake fluid on the shoes. If it is just the rear brakes locking and releasing when she hits the brakes real hard I would say it is normal since the 98 Z24 I had did the same thing, it is just a anti-lock system that isn't very good. And the proportioning wasn't setup very good on those cars too much brake in the rear. I have a new Cobalt without antilock and I like it much better. ABS is for people who don't know how to drive.
I agree with Lenko....It could also be a problem with a drum itself or a hose with internal damage.....
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