Glade Posted May 23, 2011 Posted May 23, 2011 Getting a bit braver with the car now. In the dry, braking hard in a straight line the back wheels lock. (It's not an engine braking issue) Testing this further the back of the car came round a little, quite dangerous! So WSCC... What are the steps diagnosing and fixing the problem? Quote
Hammy Posted May 23, 2011 Posted May 23, 2011 Step 1. A few tech details might be useful - what are the front/rear brakes tyre sizes etc.. Quote
KenP Posted May 23, 2011 Posted May 23, 2011 Assume you have the master cylinder port marked P going to the front and the one marked S going to the back? Quote
Glade Posted May 23, 2011 Author Posted May 23, 2011 OK, just searched through all the receipts and can't find the type of brakes that are fitted. There are receipts from Ford dealers for pads and discs so I assume sierra items... Tyres are 205 45 R15 all round. Master cylinder hasn't been messed about with and the car was run in the speed series, and tracked alot by previous owners - I assume there is no fundamental setup problem, and this is more wear and tear. The clutch slave cylinder let go recently. It had a corroded bore and needed replacing - could there be a similar age-related fault on the brake master cylinder? Quote
pete g Posted May 23, 2011 Posted May 23, 2011 most westfields are a bit heavy on the rear brakes either use better compound pads on the front or fit a adjustable bia valve in the rear circuit Quote
Stuart Posted May 23, 2011 Posted May 23, 2011 Greenstuff pads on the front/standard crappy ones on the back cured it for me. Cue the 'Greenstuff isn't as good as' discussion, but mine have always worked fine. Quote
Glade Posted May 25, 2011 Author Posted May 25, 2011 Thanks chaps, I'll give a brake fluid change, and change the front pads to something more aggressive and see how it goes. Quote
Steve Kirk Posted June 5, 2011 Posted June 5, 2011 Try all the above fix's first. if all else fails ,chamfer your rear pad a bit to reduce the surface contact area . Do it a bit at a time until the fronts lock up first. Primative but effective. Quote
Update Posted June 6, 2011 Posted June 6, 2011 If your car is "diving" under heavy braking the weight is shifting to the front and the rear wheels will have considerable less weight to brake... in this case adjusting shocks, ride height or springs might help. Quote
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