TheSamba.com :: View topic

Fri Aug 01, 2014 3:34 pm

Ok so here's the deal. Ever since I bought my car 2 years ago I have always had brake problems with it. First the Master cylinder went bad. Replaced it. Caliper piston got stuck in the front and ate up my rotor. Replaced both rotors, brake pads, and calipers and brake lines. Rear brakes have new cylinders and lines and shoes since all were bad.

So its been 10,000 miles since all the new brake hardware, and I've had absolutely no brake issues until last week! If I put my foot on the brake pedal lightly at speeds below 45 mph the whole car will will shake rattle and vibrate. Only thing I can compare it to is a subwoofer on full blast. It will stop if I put more pressure on the pedal.

While pushing the pedal down, the first half is very spongy and at very low speeds and you can feel the pads gripping the rotor lightly. And after halfway the pedal is very very firm and solid.

My thoughts are that the pads aren't gripping the rotor with enough pressure. I've already bled the entire system 5 times over.

The car is also very low and the front brake hoses look like an "S" on its side. Do I need shorter brake hoses because the current ones are "Binding" or "kinking" ?

Sat Aug 02, 2014 5:34 am

DTV (disk thickness variation) is my likely guess.

also could be out of round drums on the rear.

Sat Aug 02, 2014 6:26 am

Sounds like you've had it apart quite a lot. You obviously have to go through a process of elimination but since you've had the rotors and drums on and off a few times I'd be thinking something may have come loose like the main Castle nut on your front spindle or rear hub centre. It seems to me,assuming the brakes have been reco-ed relatively recently and your disks and drums are in good shape that the rotor might be loose and light pressure will cause it will bang around until full pressure actually centres it. Or perhaps the caliper came loose. Maybe a bearing is collapsing. Anything we tell you is just a guess but that's how serious I'd be treating it. Go and see a pro vw mechanic. It's too easy for a general mechanic without the Bentley manual or first hand knowledge of your car's make/model to assume or just guesstimate the torque required on those spindle nuts or break a tab on the lock washer and send you on your merry way to a roadside mishap. Get it checked. Loud subwoofer like noise should only come from your car if you're sitting in a Mcdonalds carpark in your pimped out Honda.

Regarding hoses. Put a trolley jack under it get it to full droop and turn lock to lock to see if they are still kinked and could be shortened. Remember just cause you lowered it doesn't mean it will stop travelling in the other direction over a hole or big variation in height unless you have travel limiting built in somehow with shorter shocks or reversed the position of the two rubber bump stops.

Sat Aug 02, 2014 9:02 am

or some wheel weights flew off. You'd normally feel that some regardless of breaking, but if your car is super low and doesnt ride and steer all that well, it may be masking it until your foot is on the pedal

Sat Aug 02, 2014 3:14 pm

Also check your tie rod ends and ball joints. If there is excessive play in them, you can get a shake when the brakes are first applied.

Sat Aug 02, 2014 3:58 pm

Also, check the upper control arm adjustment.

Sat Aug 02, 2014 4:06 pm

It has a narrowed link pin beam in it and the king link pins are adjusted and the toe is set.

Sat Aug 02, 2014 4:51 pm

Do you have a steering dampner on the beam?

Sat Aug 02, 2014 6:42 pm

Yes I have a steering damper. Everything on the front end in new. From the bushings to the steering box and tie rod ends and stuff.