1999 brakes suck

99, Escort, apply the brakes for emergency stop wheels will not lock up, new pads and rotors and shoes on back wheels, is this the usual operation for this type of car? every other car without ABS you can if you really want lock em up but this car you cannot.

Try tightening the shoes in the rear. They may be too loose to grip properly.

I've only had 1 emergency stop with my 97. Indeed, the wheels did not lock up, but I did get stopped in time. I'm glad. Don't like flat spots on tires. Btw, I don't have ABS.

Mine won't lock up either. :2cents:

'94 manual shift P185R14 top-grade Kelly tires and yeah mine will definitely lock the rear up.

Many years ago had noticed the same issue. Wouldn't lock up the rear. Vehicle would even shift toward the right slightly as I intentionally tried to do so; which wasn't consistent with normal braking. Eventually (much longer down the road) the parking brake started to have trouble holding it on steep grades without maxing the parking brake lever.

Later, had forgot to loosen the lugs before lifting the vehicle one time. "No problem," I thought... "I'll just set the parking brake". Problem was, the parking brake was already set. The other wheel was firmly locked as should be but the side I was on would roll as I tried to torque those lug nuts loose. Double-checked the P-brake and maxed it out, but same result. Now this explains a lot eh ?

Now this was done many years ago and so are really struggling to recall what I found back there and corrected. But I can tell you that it wasn't the parking brake cable, it wasn't the parking brake balancer, and wasn't that the parking brake lever needed any adjusting.

I discovered the problem once I got a look at the balancer and noticed it was cocked-off to the side. Cable at the drum was slacked. The actuating lever that the parking brake cable attaches to at the drum was seized. It involved grinding down some surfaces to remove buildup and replacing some springs and parts as a normal part of rear drum brake service. Greased (high-temp blue bearing grease from Kendall) then grinded/sanded/smoothed surfaces where these parts slide against. Simulated and verified their operation, replaced the brake pads and springs, then reassembled.

Post repair I noticed that not only could the vehicle now easily hold itself on a hill, but that the rear brakes now lock up as did when first purchased many, many, many years ago.

By the way, post service you'll want to throw it in reverse, ramp up to high speed and brake until the front locks up. THis will seat your new pads against the drum and allow for more even front/rear braking.

Be sure to have those drums machined while they're removed. This is particularly necessary if you noticed any "pulsing" or non-smooth braking while pulling that lever.

If you think the 199 brakes suck, try driving a 1991-1996 model!

Brakes aren't a problem, but the drivers can be. ;) /joking

When I had that problem many years ago there was already over 100k on the originals. Currently over 230k and on second set of pads which I expect may need service for pad wear in the next couple of years.

Tip for the front brakes, hone the buildup from the the caliper slide mounts to address the warping issues. With no ABS this is a very important thing to do. This is a common issue amongst all cars with the sliding caliper mount design and not in any way specific to the 'scorts.

But the brakes have always been able to stop me on the dime.

Oh, another tip on the front brakes, do not buy sh* from AutoZone. The pads you get from AutoZone are 10% smaller per-pad (meaning 20% overall) than those I now purchase from CarQuest. Less surface area means more heat generated to achieve the same stopping power. More heat equals faster wear on all the components of the caliper, including increased liklihoods for warping. More force pressed into a smaller surface area also greatly increases the chance that they'll lock-up on you.

One of these days I'll concatenate all of the brake-related tips into a single thread.

Oh, another tip is, don't buy that life-time or extended-wear brake pad bullsh*. Again, more heat and all they'll do is wear out your rotors instead of your pads.

Good advice. You know your brakes.

Oh, another tip on the front brakes, do not buy sh* from AutoZone. The pads you get from AutoZone are 10% smaller per-pad (meaning 20% overall) than those I now purchase from CarQuest. Less surface area means more heat generated to achieve the same stopping power.

I noticed the same thing, except with Pep Boys ProLine brand of oil filters. They are 1/2" shorter than all the other oil filters for this car. They used to not be this way until about a year ago or so.

Thanks. Pretty sure we've all seen those cars & light trucks of many makes/models where the rear of the vehicle raises abnormally high for an otherwise normal stop.

This is most often because the rear brakes aren't doing what they should.