Urgent mechanical help!

[trenooo]

Hey guys, got a very weird problem for you. I hit a wombat not to long ago and ever since ive noticed that every time i brake really hard or fast, i hear a weird sort of grinding noise, followed by severe feedback through the brake pedal, also loosing braking ability.note that when braking normally it is fine. i have looked at the car extensively and all seems to be fine eg pads, all steering and handling parts, rotors seem to be ok? Thinking mabey asb? Or something? Any help appreciated

 

[soop]

Where did the wombat go when you hit it?
Under a wheel or under the engine?

 

[trenooo]

On the right hand side of the car, sort of between the engine and the wheel,

 

[Tree cutter]

It could be one of your wheels locking up when you brake hard which is activating your ABS. I would pull the pads out on the side you hit the wombat and have a proper look around for something in there that could twist the pads so they arent fully contacting the disc. You might have a bent caliper slide too.

 

[trenooo]

ok, so ive followed tree cutters advise and and done some "testing" at home to see if the wheel was in fact locking and suprise suprise, it was, but none of the other wheels where, so i took the pads out ( lock tight is a b*$#!) and the pads had little chunks out of them on the ends? wft? every thing else looked OK to my knowledge but? so what do we think? i was thinking that it now could be a warped rotor or something more drastic like abs, but then again wouldnt i get a warning light?
cheers

 

[Tree cutter]

Its pretty easy to check for a warped rotor. Just put at least three wheel nuts on to hold the rotor hard up against the hub with the wheel off, sit a block of wood or an oil container or anything on the ground so it is almost touching the rotor and turn the rotor around while looking to see if the gap between your rotor and the block stays the same. You might have a cracked rotor that has damaged the pads or it might have been a bit of wombat bone that damaged the pads. It sounds like your abs is working because you will feel it through your peddle when it is activated. You might just need new pads if you are lucky.

 

[trenooo]

alright great, ill try this and think ill get some new pads to and see how i go, thanks for the help.

 

[trenooo]

hey guys just thought i would lets you know, ended up taking it to abs , and apprantly there was excessive moisture in the line that waS causing it? weird but anys ways its all good now

 

[Tree cutter]

Brake fluid does attract moisture. This is why you are supposed to change the brake fluid at least every two years. Some mechanics will bleed a bit of brake fluid out every service and top up the master cylinder with fresh brake fluid to stop the build up of moisture. Any water in the brake fluid has a lower boiling point than brake fluid so under constant heavy breaking it will boil and leave air in the brake fluid which will make your brake pedal spongy. Water in the fluid will also make caliper pistons rust and seize up.

 

[Calaber]

Anybody who has ever replaced the brake fluid in a car when it hasn't been done for a very long time will know the amazing difference it can make to brake pedal feel and braking response. Just replacing a bit of the fluid to reduce fluid absorption is a cheap and nasty way of bleeding brakes and really isn't all that effective. I've always taken the view that every drop of the old fluid has to be bled out and adhere to the recommended intervals. The discolouration of fluid even just two years old compared to fresh fluid is often surprising and when it's almost black, you know that it can't be doing the job the way it is meant to.