Bad brakes?

Under normal moderate conditions, the brakes on my Galant ES work fine. But when I need to make a sudden stop, they make a grinding noise. I checked the pads and they're fine. I go to check the brake fluid and it's a little above minimum. I go to add fluid and I see this:http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr85/sailor86_bucket/th_brakereservoir.jpg (http://s472.photobucket.com/albums/rr85/sailor86_bucket/?action=view&current=brakereservoir.jpg)



That thing with the X doesn't move. I'm guessing it's supposed to float or something. Is that right? And what do I do about it?

The plastic mesh is just a strainer to keep the big chunks of contaminants out. It may or may not be removable, but you can pour the new fluid in and it will fall through into the reservoir.

Grinding brakes probably isn't caused by the low fluid, but you have to ask where the fluid went. My guess is you have a leaking brake caliper or drum brake cylinder. Look on the inside of your tires..if you see oily streaks radiating from the wheel's center that's where the fluid is coming from. The fluid has likely contaminated the pad/shoe surface causing the weird grinding noise.

It was a false alarm. I just added brake fluid and everything's fine now. But thank you for taking the time.

I'm with JDMccright on this one, low fluid makes no sense for the symptoms you describe. And if the fluid level is low, it's low for a reason. The fluid doesn't just evaporate. You have an issue somewhere that needs to be addressed, and if you heard a grinding, you probably have worn friction material at one or more of the wheels. Did you remove all four wheels and carefully inspect all pads/shoes, or just try to peek through openings in the wheels to get a glimpse of the friction material?

-Rod

Nope. I checked all four wheels and no sign of leakage. I don't believe I have ever added fluid so the level may have been where it was for some time. Whenever I checked, the level was above minimum so I left it alone.

Should I open up my drum brakes and do an internal visual or are there other signs that should tell me when it's time to change/overhaul them.

Your front calipers could be tweaking slightly and allowing the pads to contact the rust on the outside and/or inside of the normal contact area and MOST LIKELY is nothing to worry about. I'd say turning the rotors wouldn't hurt. Also adding fluid is not good unless it is really low. As the brakes wear the fluid in the reservoir naturally gets lower as well. It being near minimum could mean that you need front and/or rear brakes. It would probably be a good idea to have them checked.

Definitely have them checked, low fluid won't cause grinding. Typically, from "full" to "minimum" is about how much fluid the calipers hold (pistons move out as pads/rotors wear).

You either have a leak or the pads are worn out, as at least one of those statements has to be true.

Thanks for the response but please check the thread's date to be sure you are not replying to a "dead" thread.

Also, spraying a brake rotor or drum with water while it is hot is a bad idea...warpage or even cracking of the rotor can occur. You are better off disassembling the brakes and cleaning the pads and rotor surface with a wire brush or rust removal wheel to dislodge any embedded dirt or heavy rust. Even cold it is difficult to get a good stream of water aimed where it needs to between the pad and rotor to do any good with all the other parts in the way.

It is possible the grinding sound was caused by the formation of rust over time when the car was sitting still. It will go away with a few applications of the brakes.

The most likely cause of this is the rust ring around the outside and inside of the rotor where your pads have worn into the rotor a bit. The shiny part is where the brakes normally ride and is well worn, just outside of that is where i'm talking about. Normal braking doesn't load the caliper enough to get the pads into this region. When you really stop hard, the caliper tweaks just enough to get the pads into this area and it makes a racket. It does not take much rust to cause some pretty horrendous noises. It is nothing dangerous or abnormal. The only proper cure is to have the rotor machined or replaced. A quick and dirty fix that will only last a few weeks is to make several hard stops from 40+.