Vauxhall corsa 1.2 - brake problem

blondh · 19 Feb 2006

Can anyone help. Had new pads and discs put on but now something strange happening. Brakes are really sluggish/spongy unless the revs are up ???? If not excelerating peddle goes to floor and has little stopping power. If excelerating the brakes work fine. Been bleed twice now, don't know why not working. Any ideas

naebothernoo · 19 Feb 2006

sounds like a problem with the brake servo or air in the system. When I changed the pads on my corsa it took a day or two for the pads to bed in and the pedal to return to normal

naebothernoo · 19 Feb 2006

sorry forgot to ask if the brakes pump up ( brake two or three times quickly)

blondh · 19 Feb 2006

thanks for reply - no they don't pump up

darude · 19 Feb 2006

Why did you change the pads and disks? Reason I ask, was there a fault with braking which was blamed on the Pads and Disk when it could of been something else, like loss of vaccum in the servo (is it petrol or diesel?) / leaking brake fluid.

Do the brakes pump up at high revs? I'm not sure how you mean the brakes work fine when excelarating (I assume you mean accelerating!).

blondh · 20 Feb 2006

Could hear the rasping of worn brake pads, discs also well scard. Believe me they needed changing. When your driving along and do emergency stop say, they work,the pedal is hard and it stops. When crawling along they are very spongy and pedal to the floor.

johnwr · 20 Feb 2006

It sounds like a master cylinder problem, if you press the brake pedal very gently (when parked and no hand brake on) if the pedal goes to the floor then thats your answer. Hope this helps
regards johnwr

blondh · 21 Feb 2006

done the test. Brake doesn't go to the floor, there is resistance. does this mean master is ok ???

blondh · 21 Feb 2006

just spoke to vauxhall they reckon the back brakes need adjustment. Does anyone else support this theory. I have also had suggested the front calipers, the person who did them say the calipers were a bit rusty and when they clamp the flexihoses the brakes work fine which appaerently rules out the master and servo. Anyones thoughts would be great.

johnwr · 21 Feb 2006

A rough check to see if the rear brakes need adjusting is if the handbrake travels a long way before it starts to work. First slacken off the handbrake cable, then adjust the brakes, then finally adjust the handbrake cables, it's amazing how many time you see someone adjusting the cables and think they are adjusting the brakes, not so.
With regards to the calipers, if the brakes were working OK before the pad & disc change I would first check the disc runout, if the hub mounting face was not cleaned with emery cloth to a good finish then it is posible that there may be excessive disc runout. This can cause excessive pad knock back. If thats OK then the pistons & seals in the calipers may be dry and not allowing the piston to "self adjust". The pistons need to be worked in out out several times to lubricate the seals. This hopefully should cure the problem.
regards johnwr

Mick Leek · 25 Feb 2006

blondh

Yes rear brakes can make the full braking system feel ****e... biggest problem is that if the rear shoes have been replaced in the past, people forget to replace the small domed star washer that fits behind the auto adjuster arm.

This means the auto adjuster will not work. When the travel on the hand brake becomes excessive, your local garage will simply adjust the cable for ease. BIG MISTAKE.. All this does is create a gap between the cylinder piston and the shoe. This results in a long travel before the piston touches the shoes and pushes them against the drum.

Result is in a long travel and poor foot brake. Seems weird though, that before all was ok ?

Make sure you back off the brake cable then adjust in the drums. Make sure there is a little domed star washer behind the little arm that moves up and down, or give it a few weeks and you will have same problem again..

Good luck

Vauxhall corsa 1.2 - brake problem

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