Weird brake pedal behaviour.

[lord_galathon]

1st the specs: 1998 Sidekick JX Convertible, 1.6l, manual, no AC.

It has power brakes.

Right from when I bought it 2 years ago the brakes were always, well, not great. Had it been automatic it would have been undriveable but since it's manual it's OK.

Don't get me wrong, I've looked at the brakes and even brought them into my mechanic for him to take a looksee. There is still over 1/4" of pads and plenty of discs, I suspect the brake booster might be going.

Now for the symptoms that started a few days ago:

-Very occasionally (three times in the last week or so, I drive it to work every day, 70km round trip mostly highway but mostly traffic too...) there is a pulsating squeal from the back end that goes away when I brake.

-The brake pedal, when applied in a hurry, has a very discernible "spot" near the middle of the play, where the "feel" changes; the pedal gets harder and the braking gets better.

-When traveling at higher speeds, in excess of maybe 80km/h, and when applying the brakes HARD the truck's rear end wants to go left like if the rear right brake was non functional. The first time it did this I had to struggle not to enter a spin as I wasn't expecting it. I've since learned to manage, also I've been following from further than the necessary two second rule just in case.

Seems to me that the brake bias might be also very much towards the front, which might account for some of the erratic higher speed braking I've been experiencing.

Tomorrow night I'm going to take a look at the rear brakes (start by where the noise is from), remove the drums, check for any obvious failures, I'm thinking one of the springs might have failed or at worse one of the cylinders, maybe the shoes. Hopefully not the drums ($$).

Now the essential question: Where is the best place to purchase a full rear brake kit and also front kit, in Canada? I don't mind going online as long as they can deliver it in like two three days max. Also what are the recommendations for front brakes, I'd like something of a compromise between price and performance, no need for drilled/slotted discs and Nascar grade pads...

Thanks.

PS, is there an easy test (meaning that will not require special tools or instruments) to know if my brake booster works properly?

[jtgh]

welcome !
ABS , ABS , ABS.

you must look for ABS.
cant help you other wise.
know your car.

but....
noise is bad.
and
ear end wants to go left

stop driving car its, a danger to you and others. please.

rent car for $20 a day, or barrow one?


you have brake failure and needs careful attention.


brakes can drag or slip.
the effect is opposite.

bad left ,pulls left. (drag)
or
bad left pulls right. (slip.)


just like riding a skate board, drag a foot, what happens.?

[lord_galathon]

My Sidekick does not have ABS.

The first indication that it didn't was when there was no ABS light on the dash.

Then the absence of the ABS module.

Both those along with the fact that it locks up freely on ice and snow = no ABS.

It simply wasn't installed on that truck which is weird because my 1997 has them but that 1998 does not.

I'll see what I can do to get a loaner from my mechanic tonight, too bad, I was kinda looking forwards to doing a brake job myself.

[jtgh]

Hi and Cheer!
sorry , some ppl , dont even notice the missing lamps behind the lamp lens.
nor the absence of all the abs parts. (in chassis)
or the lack of the pulsing pedal when they mess up.

they do. sorry. ( and sorry , i did know you do know this ,wasnt looking at your handles. sorry.)

I was speaking from worse case.
high mileage.
dont know what he/she has.
etc.

do over

check all brake parts physically .
then bleed it all, if all looks pefect.

our cars are easy to inspect. nothing fancy on ours.
yours is almost identical to mine, i just inspected every inch of mine last week.
rotors up.

hope its just a cracked rear shoe. something simple and cheap.

all the best.

[lord_galathon]

Don't apologize, you've become somewhat of a mentor here and it's humbling to see someone who not only knows what they're talking about, but isn't afraid to tell people not to drive dangerously.

I'll see tonight or tomorrow when I take it apart, I've been babying it for the last two three days, I with I had looked at it on Wednesday (day off, Quebec "national" holiday).

It has enough braking power for me to handle for now and in the last two days I haven't heard the sound which is best described as a squeak. When I first heard it I was on rough pavement with the soft-top down, and I thought it was my soft-top hardware moving around behind me.

I also think it might be a cracked shoe. Hopefully that's all there is, I just dropped 800$ on a complete exhaust on my wife's Vitara (it was the original, 1999...), the last thing I need right before the summer holidays is another unforeseen high expense.

[relicduke]

Are you nuts!!!???In Montreal of all places?You might not be nuts but you must have big ones.Montreal is the scariest place to drive in I've ever been.When I lived in Ottawa and made a lot of trips home,I'd time it so I went through Montreal at three in the morning,and it was still crazy.
Do you have to add fluid?you may have a bad wheel cyl,fluid on the shoes will make em grab,just had this problem with T2,Replaced,both cyl ,lines,shoes 'n' sprin kit.
The wheel cylenders are 20.00 each per at uap/napa,lines were 15 for both,I just got the length and bent 'em myself,shoes were about 30 and I forget what the hardware kit was,but you might not need that,my springs were real rusty.
I know,I ramble.
Good luck

[jtgh]

that is right, what to expect ,depends on enviroment.
salt can kill rear spring in short order.
mine last forever.

brake fluid drops is never good, see it , start looking fast. dont delay.

spongy pedal same (air)

noises, pulling (panic) .

pulling can happen on horrible roads so find a flat perfect spot.

i had it happing where they ran the diamond cutters the night before,
tap brake and car moved violently to the right. wowa . never seen that.

ramble on duke , love your posts.

[lord_galathon]

lol I have nuts and I am nuts... squirrels love me.

I'm 100% sure that there is no leak, I park indoors at work and the vinyl paint they use in the garage is clean under the truck.

On the other hand pulling CAN happen on bad roads and we're renowned here in Quebec for our absolutely ghastly roads.

I'm not worried, I doubt very very much I'll "run out" of brakes. I'm beginning to suspect my rear U-joint is responsible for the noise. As far as the brake pedal behaviour goes, I'm still stumped but I'll look at it tomorrow if I don't have to work (again)...

[lord_galathon]

Took the rear brakes apart, nothing needs to be replaced, the worse shoe thickness is about 4.5mm which is still well within the 3mm spec. In fact, once I cleaned everything, it all looks quite new, nothing warped, no shards, no cracked shoes nothing.

The only thing I noticed is that the rear passenger side wheel bearing MIGHT be starting to loosen up, no noise but there's maybe a .5mm play.

I've looked at the U-joint and it's ok also.

I'm stumped, but maybe all it needed was a cleaning. I'll drive around for a while and see what it does.

[jtgh]

brakes never get better.
there is something that is wrong.
no leaks.?
no damage to lines.
all mech parts of brake look ok.

then you can have sticking pistions in calipers or Rear wheel cylinders.
if not an obvious problem (visual) then it is internal.

most probs are easy, but not all.

keep open mind on brakes.