brake help

[fidel]

I Was Changing Out A Brake Line On A 1995 For Taurus And Bled The System, And Now The Brakes Grab Like The Parking Brake Is On, And You Can Smell The Brakes As I Go Along. Can Some One Guide Me To The Right Direction.

[shorod]

Can you determine which brake is dragging? If they are getting hot enough that you can smell them, you can probably also feel the wheels (carefully) to determine if one wheel is getting hotter than the others.

Also, you may be getting a grab and smelling burning due to brake fluid on the friction surface. This is not all that uncommon if you have rear drum brakes and a leaky wheel cylinder.

Did you do any other work on the car besides changing the line and bleeding the brakes? Did you inspect the brakes or have them apart when you started to bleed the brakes?

Maybe you accidently put one of the brake assemblies back together without having a wheel cylinder piston properly aligned and now it's leaking?

From what you've described, I would start by pulling the rear brake drums (assuming you have rear drums) and inspect the linings for fluid contamination or any other obvious issue. If the linings are contaminated with fluid, fix the leak and replace the brake shoes.

-Rod

[fidel]

The Ford Taurus Is A Four Wheel Disc Brake. I Didnt Check Which One It Was. I Worked On The Rear Right Brake Line, And I Didnt Take Anything Apart When I Was Bleeding It. I Went Under And Had My Friend Press 3 Times On The Brake Pedal And Hold It. Then I Tightened The Bleeder Screw. Maybe Brake Fluid Did Get On The Lining But I Would Have To Check.

[mwt878991]

That is kind of weird.

WHy were you replacing the line?

Mike

[shorod]

mwt878991 has a good question, why were you changing the line? It wasn't for a similar problem, was it?

I wouldn't expect the way you bled the brakes to cause your problem, but you may not have bled them quite right. It depends on if you did it the way you mention, or if you left out some details. When did you open the bleeder screw? If you opened the bleeder and your friend pumped the brakes while the bleeder was open, then he pressed the pedal to the floor before you closed it, that could cause issues with braking performance. But I would expect weak braking rather than grabby brakes.

You should have your friend slowly press the pedal down, starting while the bleeder is closed. Open the bleeder 1/4 to 1/2 turn while pressure is applied to the pedal and close the bleeder just before the friend reaches the the end of travel with the brake pedal. You may need to repeat the process a few times until all the air is out of the system. If you have him pump the brakes while the bleeder is open, you're likely getting air drawn back into your system on he upward stroke of the brake pedal.

Again, I don't think the possible process to bleed the brakes you used would lead to grabby brakes, but it may be worth bleeding all 4 wheels again to be sure.

-Rod

[TaurusKing]

Just curious, was your car up on a jack when you bled the brakes??? When you opened the bleeder screw, was your friend able to push the brake pedal to the floorboard easily????

[bhame]

Originally Posted by fidel

The Ford Taurus Is A Four Wheel Disc Brake. I Didnt Check Which One It Was. I Worked On The Rear Right Brake Line, And I Didnt Take Anything Apart When I Was Bleeding It. I Went Under And Had My Friend Press 3 Times On The Brake Pedal And Hold It. Then I Tightened The Bleeder Screw. Maybe Brake Fluid Did Get On The Lining But I Would Have To Check.

I just bought my father in law's '97 Taurus LX and last June he had "major work" done by the dealership on the brake system. Ever since the right-rear brake drags intermittently, often with a repititious noise that *I* speculate has to do with the emergency brake. Sometimes upon starting from standstill I pull up on the emergency brake release lever and hold it up as I start to move and that seems to magically change things (for about a day...).

So I too have something similar.

[TaurusKing]

Could be the parking brake cable, the Taurus's I own have all, except the 99, had parking brake cable issues and we always use the parking brake,, usually the cable will start binding on one side or another, doesn't take much to cause the brakes to start dragging.

[bhame]

Originally Posted by TaurusKing

Could be the parking brake cable, the Taurus's I own have all, except the 99, had parking brake cable issues and we always use the parking brake,, usually the cable will start binding on one side or another, doesn't take much to cause the brakes to start dragging.

What was your fix for that?

[vampiro03]

I have a 96 gl that does the EXACT same thing! the right rear! can't figure it out. new caliper, pads, rotors..etc. its only that side. before I put the wheel on, it spins like it should. once I crank on the lugs the tire won't move! I disconected the emergency brake cables and it still does it. I am going to inspect the hub next. aghhhhhh!

[KimMG]

Vampiro- Flex brake lines break down internally and act like one-way valves, not allowing the caliper to release. How old are the flex lines?
Are you using stock rims? Is the caliper mounted correctly? Try turning the wheel before you tighten the lug nuts and see if the wheel is binding up or rubbing on something (look for a wobble).

[bhame]

Originally Posted by KimMG

Vampiro- Flex brake lines break down internally and act like one-way valves, not allowing the caliper to release. How old are the flex lines?

This may be a stupid question, but is there one flex line per brake/wheel?

[KimMG]

The number of flex lines is dependent on the suspension and braking system. Just follow the lines from the calipers or wheel cylinders.