Odd problems.. Could use some advice quick

My 1996 S-10 has been exhibiting some strange problems, but I'll just detail the two that worry me the most.

1> Wipers. It was brought it in for the factory recall, and the supposedly fixed the wiper problem, yet just recently during a heavy rainstorm, I had to use the wipers on high speed for a couple hours.

When I went to turn them off, they refused to stop. All they'd let me do is switch between high and low speed, no int, or off. After the truck sat overnight, they were fine again. This used to happen before the recall, in a more random fashion (wipers would shut off, but then magically start working for no reason with the switch off) but now it's appearing again, consistently. The wiper motor, the controls, just about everything has been replaced. Any ideas?

2> Brakes. Another noted thing after there's been rain... when I start my truck from cold, pull out of my driveway and brake at the stop sign down the street, my brakes work WAY too well. Around 15 mph, just a light tap on the pedal locks up the rears and sends the front abs into spasms. at higher speeds, I don't get the abs having fits, or the rear locking up severly, I just get a 60-0 stopping time of less than oh... I'll say.. about nanosecond :-) This results in the throwing of the contents of my cab forward at high velocity. Joy. After about 20 minutes of driving, the problem disappears of course.. usually right in time for me to arrive at my mechanic's place. >:-|

On this one, I have bled the lines, and ADDED fluid but not changed, I also noticed that in the fluid container, it seems to have some small plastic particles.. do you think the fluid might be contaminated? Like someone putting dot5 in there or something?

Any suggestions there would be helpful.
Thanks!

I think your brake problem is not something to really worry about. You said it happens after it rains. Well the rotors are probably just slightly rusty, and that makes it stop funky until the crap is ground off the rotors via the pads. It happens to me and a lot of people I know. All I do is lightly touch and hold the brake pedal on while I'm accelerating to clear the rust off the rotors. When your brakes are locking up, that is what is making the ABS go crazy. Maybe just for safety's sake, check all of your pads for wear, and if they are worn down enough to warrant some new ones, buy some and see if that clears the problem up. Dunno about your wipers though.

I think your brake problem is not something to really worry about. You said it happens after it rains. Well the rotors are probably just slightly rusty, and that makes it stop funky until the crap is ground off the rotors via the pads. It happens to me and a lot of people I know. All I do is lightly touch and hold the brake pedal on while I'm accelerating to clear the rust off the rotors. When your brakes are locking up, that is what is making the ABS go crazy. Maybe just for safety's sake, check all of your pads for wear, and if they are worn down enough to warrant some new ones, buy some and see if that clears the problem up. Dunno about your wipers though.

Is now a good time to mention that the pads and rotors are brand new?
(still shiny silver)
There's no grinding noise whatsoever, nor any chattering or slipping. They just stop too damn fast for the truck to handle and it causes the rear end to pitch upward which allows the non abs rear to lock up easily.

I know its mostly in the front end discs, but where to look.
But like I said, new pads, new rotors.. (had to replace them because townfair tire broke several lugs)

i have the same problem with my grand am back tires lock up when its wet or been sitting for awhile, very bad in the winter time, i've replaced breaks on the back the hardware inside, switched the drums and still does it. a mechanic told me it was something to do with the automatic adjusters but they seem to be working fine to me

The wipers either needs a new module or a switch.

Wipers = new circuit board

Brakes = Common problem with a lot of vehicles being sensitive with rust on the rotors and the brakes being touchy. Leave them alone, they are normal.

also - a side note no one else has mentioned...make sure you pull off those drums and make sure the axles seals arent leaking...if theyre are and the fouled the shoes , thos brakes will lock up like nothing , other then that , its proaly just the rust issue as stated earlier

also - a side note no one else has mentioned...make sure you pull off those drums and make sure the axles seals arent leaking...if theyre are and the fouled the shoes , thos brakes will lock up like nothing , other then that , its proaly just the rust issue as stated earlier


I'd look into this.. but this is part of why my problems are so... odd..

There's no rust anywhere. Front nor rear. New everything in front, new everything in back. No leaks, hardly any wear (only about 500 miles since everything was redone) Im so frustrated because it makes no sense.. why would the brakes be acting like this and only during humid/wet weather and then only for the first few stops?

Im about pulling my hair out.. but thanks for your input.. got any other good ideas?

I'd look into this.. but this is part of why my problems are so... odd..

There's no rust anywhere. Front nor rear. New everything in front, new everything in back. No leaks, hardly any wear (only about 500 miles since everything was redone) Im so frustrated because it makes no sense.. why would the brakes be acting like this and only during humid/wet weather and then only for the first few stops?

Im about pulling my hair out.. but thanks for your input.. got any other good ideas?

thats exactly why you dont see any rust...its literally takes a few hours simply for a small film of it to start , expecially in wet conditions. once that film is there , it just gets bigger and bigger till drivne , whihc when all force applied to the brakes takes off all the rust...sorry to say man , just about all cars will do it..another thing it MAY be , is if your using after market rotors\drums...theyre generally made out of a diffrent material then factory , hell , some drums\rotors are simply more prone to rusting...basically - if it REALLY bugs you taht much to have a touchy brake pedal for 5 min in the morning , you might consider changeing the rotors and drums to the factory style - but no gurentees itll fix your problem , sorry man

Yip it is normal, both my Blazer and the Cavalier do it.

thats exactly why you dont see any rust...its literally takes a few hours simply for a small film of it to start , expecially in wet conditions. once that film is there , it just gets bigger and bigger till drivne , whihc when all force applied to the brakes takes off all the rust...sorry to say man , just about all cars will do it..another thing it MAY be , is if your using after market rotors\drums...theyre generally made out of a diffrent material then factory , hell , some drums\rotors are simply more prone to rusting...basically - if it REALLY bugs you taht much to have a touchy brake pedal for 5 min in the morning , you might consider changeing the rotors and drums to the factory style - but no gurentees itll fix your problem , sorry man

Sorry, can't get my head around this one..

Ok, so invisble rust is forming on my rotors (I've checked before leaving since this was suggested here)

I've owned 4 vehicles. Driven prolly 50 more (a good 25 of them being Chevrolets). Never had this kind of problem, or anything slightly similar, in any weather situation. It's usually the opposite (spongy pedal, pulling to one side, rears locking up etc..) If it's of any help, everything is stock. I didn't have this problem ~15,000 miles ago. It just developed over a period of about a week and made home.

As for it bugging me? Hell yes it does. It's almost caused accidents. It's more than touchy, it's dangerous. I am unable to stop safely when I first start going in the morning during humid/rainy weather. Twice now I've received tickets for it, I've taken the truck to the dealership 3 times.. Finally the just said "get the brakes done" So I let them. It's all factory.
And it's changed nothing.

So my shiny silver brand new rotors are working worse than the ones with the mass amounts of visible rust? I'm not doubting anyone, and I appreicate the advice, but there's GOTTA be another more indepth explination to this one. The rotors/pads, shoes/drums (and cylinders/springs/adjusters) are new new new... shiny new. No rust. Even after hours of sitting. In the rain. New. Shiny new.

Now that I've clarified that.. That still begs the question.. if this rust forms on all rotors, why wasn't this a problem when I first got the truck?
And if it only happens on older equipment, why when I replaced all the equipment did it start happening? Why haven't I ever come across this problem before?

Again, sorry for going on and on with this but... *arggggggggggggg* it makes no sense!

mine does it to, and there is no visible rust, its not invisible, just so thin of a layer on both sides that you cant see it

We have already answered your question.

If you can't accept it, then I don't know what you want us to say.

In the damp weather, my truck will grab a little bit.

I have no how touchy brakes makes it hard to stop or increses stopping distance.

Is it the front grabbing or the back.

Maybe get the rear's adjusted so they are not so strong.

60% of the braking is supposed to be handled by the front.

when mine do it, specally when the grounds wet, ill power break it for a quick chirp of the tires

We have already answered your question.

If you can't accept it, then I don't know what you want us to say.

In the damp weather, my truck will grab a little bit.

I have no how touchy brakes makes it hard to stop or increses stopping distance.

Is it the front grabbing or the back.

Maybe get the rear's adjusted so they are not so strong.

60% of the braking is supposed to be handled by the front.

Well, yes and no.. You've said rust.. okay, fine but everyone keeps talking about "a little bit of grabbing" or "slightly touchy brakes"
That's not what I have. I have EXTREMLEY touchy brakes.

You ask, how can it increase stopping distances? Ask the cop who ticketed me for sliding part way through a stop sign Im normally able to stop at from ~45mph. The stopping distaces on wet roads are often increased because the truck locks so harshly, it slides. yes, even with the abs having fits.

Anyway, so I proceeded to ask why you thought the problem just started happening around ~15k miles ago, and didn't happen once before on any truck I've driven. If you'll read, it's a new question. As for front or back, both are grabbing, fully and hard with as little as my foot just resting on the pedal. (something that during "normal" operation would not stop the truck) I also tried braking *lightly* during accelerating when I left this AM. It slammed the truck to a dead stop and stalled the engine. The reason I asked all of this a couple times now is because you're all my last hope.. I might have to junk the truck if I can't get this fixed.

The last thing I was wondering about.. is it possbile that the truck might act this radically when wet and cold if the master cylinder/lines were going bad? They're the *only* part of the braking system that hasn't been replaced. As for the adjustment, perhaps the dealer did screw up something with adjustment. Thinking back, the 2 days they were working on it were dry and warm. I'll go today to get them looked at for adjustment and let you know what is found.

Lastly, I don't mean to annoy anyone here! Please don't take my repeated questions as such. I appreciate all your input and trust me, I fully look into every suggestion. I've just never had a problem this stubborn or severe.

ok, im here to tell you right now, its normal! if you dont beleve us, bring it to a break shop and pay them to tell you the same damn thing! every morning in the spring and fall i have breaks that lock up as soon as i touch the peddle, so i pb it for a quick chirp and its gone. Every vehical has their little problems, this one is one of the s 10's problems, get use to it or sell it.

I would have the rear brakes adjusted again.

Sounds like they are taking most of the braking force.

The front brakes won't lock, the rear ones are causing it.

ok, im here to tell you right now, its normal! if you dont beleve us, bring it to a break shop and pay them to tell you the same damn thing! every morning in the spring and fall i have breaks that lock up as soon as i touch the peddle, so i pb it for a quick chirp and its gone. Every vehical has their little problems, this one is one of the s 10's problems, get use to it or sell it.

It's not that I don't believe you damnit! There were just differences between what I was telling you all and what you were saying was normal.

EX: "slightly touchy brakes" Actually, what is happening is hardly considered "touchy" more like hard enough to shift my cap forward even though its held in place by 4 clamps. That is more than... touchy....

and another..

EX: it's normal. It's normally never happened until about 15k ago. Nor on any other s-10 of age Ive driven. (ex: had a 87 s-10 with 230k on it, never had anything close to this kinda issue.

Thats all I've been saying. So I guess yeah, pending a final check on the two Items I haven't looked at yet (lines and master cylinder) I'll prolly just junk the truck. It's not a "little" problem that goes away by a quick power brake by any means. Takes many miles of highway driving.

However, thanks again for your input. Even though I harped on this problem. I do appreciate it very much.