Lack of brakes on R17

[Renault17]

Hey Guys,

I have got a rather disconcerting problem with the brakes on my R17. I bled the brakes the other night and the pedal firmed up noticeably. Anyway I thought I'd take it for a drive, to test them- as you do.... And safely - i.e no other cars around tried 3 stops from 100km/hr to zero- which showed me that yes the brakes do fade after the third stop!!

So that was fine - I drove home slowly. Since then the brakes are terrible- like the power assistance has been lost!? Any thoughts? I took the pads out and sanded them down a bit with a flat block and sandpaper- to take what appeared to be a glazed surface on the pads off- but its made no difference (I did over 1000kms on the weekend..) I'm starting to wonder if I have knackered the fluid in some way? Is that possible, or is it just the booster has given up the ghost?
The pads still have plenty of guts left on them, and the fluid level in the booster is fine, with not visible leaks in the lines anywhere...

Cheers Ben

 

[Damien Gardner]

Hi Ben
A quick check on the booster, is to pump the brake pedal to use all the possible vacuum, then put your foot on the brake pedal and start the engine, if the booster is ok the pedal should go down under your foot slightly.
If this dosen't happen, another test is to check the one way valve in the vacuum line from manifold to booster, these often give trouble.

<small>[ 08 December 2002, 11:01 PM: Message edited by: Damien Gardner ]</small>

 

[Stuey]

Ben, complete guess of course (if it's not the servo or other system problem) but I reckon your pads weren't broken in properly when you first got them, and yep, you've glazed them. The lack of bite has made it feel like you've lost assistance. The glues/resins boil out of the pad material and cause the glaze. I seem to remember you mentioning breaking them in, though...or was that someone else?

Stuey