No brakes....!!!!!

[litchy]

Driving along after some spirited driving, roundabout, no brakes.....fade, fade, fade....Then brakes back again???? Very scary indeed and wasn't even like I'd hammered them..

 

[Richy200]

Time for new fluid or braided lines?
My friends car done the same thing all the time as in the pedal was at the bottom and he renewed his fluid and its much better! He also needs new pads.

 

[CHUBBYSDAD]

When I got my car I thought the brakes were **** so the first thing I did was order new pads, Ferodo DS 1.11.
I never drove it long before they were changed but I also felt at times they felt better than others .
I was there when the old pads came out and the calipers were really badly seized so I this was part of the problem.
That might be worth checking.
My car only has just over 30k so I don't know why they were so bad.
J

 

[930Tech]

Time for a 330 conversion me thinks.

 

[CHUBBYSDAD]

Time for new fluid or braided lines?
My friends car done the same thing all the time as in the pedal was at the bottom and he renewed his fluid and its much better! He also needs new pads.

My mechanic who had an R26R tried the braided lines and advised me not to bother as he felt no difference. He said just to go for the pads.
I still had my DC2 when I got the Clio.
The DC2 had Ferodo DS2500, Dixel discs, Tegiwa brake stopper and braided lines.
Driving back to back the braking was very poor in the Clio in comparison.
When I changed the Clio's pads and the calipers were free'd off it swapped to being the other way round with the Clio having the better feel, which surprised me to be honest.
I wont know for sure until I track it but I feel that with these pads the brakes are more than enough for the car as it is.
J

 

[Ollie RS]

Time for a 330 conversion me thinks.

was just about to say the same

 

[930Tech]

The braided lines 'will' be better, they wont balloon with age and deteriorate like a standard line.

 

[ian-speedy]

how did they feel when they faded ?

If your pedal drops its the fluid at fault , if the pedal stayed hard it will be the pads fading , bleeding the brakes with a good spec fluid , or changing to a better compound pad would make the world of difference to the braking ability

 

[litchy]

how did they feel when they faded ?

If your pedal drops its the fluid at fault , if the pedal stayed hard it will be the pads fading , bleeding the brakes with a good spec fluid , or changing to a better compound pad would make the world of difference to the braking ability

Pedal was had but no bite, came back quite quickly but was quite scary when it happened. To be honest, I'm sure the brakes could generally be better.....

 

[Richy200]

My mechanic who had an R26R tried the braided lines and advised me not to bother as he felt no difference. He said just to go for the pads.
I still had my DC2 when I got the Clio.
The DC2 had Ferodo DS2500, Dixel discs, Tegiwa brake stopper and braided lines.
Driving back to back the braking was very poor in the Clio in comparison.
When I changed the Clio's pads and the calipers were free'd off it swapped to being the other way round with the Clio having the better feel, which surprised me to be honest.
I wont know for sure until I track it but I feel that with these pads the brakes are more than enough for the car as it is.
J

Ah see when I had mine fitted it was along with fresh fluid (old fluid less than a year old!) and.they just felt a little firmer on.the first touch and it was the only change id.made to the brakes.

Id suggest a caliper service though

 

[Willis]

Fluid change should sort it, I had this once or twice when new but not had it since swapping the fluid.

 

[ian-speedy]

If the pedal stayed hard it's not fluid , it's a poor performing pad so would need a pad change

 

[Willis]

Saying that, I did pads and hoses at the same time so it could've been any of the three!!!

Fluid is cheapest one to try though. :thumbup:

 

[simoxmino]

Air into fluid for me..
change fluid and you'll solve the problem..

Fluid level is ok?

 

[Raptor6767]

I'm having the same problem for years now.

Changed brake fluid (Motul RBF660) - had it bleed 5-6 times, at 3 different mechanics because I thought it was the fluid (the air in it). Used Renault Clip tool for ABS bleed mode too.
Replaced brake lines for braided brake lines (Goodridge)
Replaced brake pads front & rear (TRW)
Replaced that vacuum hose from the servo

Still having the same problem:

don't have that sharp feeling on the brakes when braking instant & hard and sometimes like there's no brake force when braking from high speeds - the pedal is hard but there's no brake force.

I'm thinking it's the brake servo problem...

 

[Paul]

Was it raining/road been wet?

Water on the discs causes the same situation for a second, where it feels like you have no brakes. As soon as it is cleared they are fine.

 

[Raptor6767]

I know that...

 

[Foxspeed]

If the pedal stayed hard it's not fluid , it's a poor performing pad so would need a pad change

exactly!

if the brakes arent that hot and the pedal is sinking then thats more of either a fluid loss or brake master cylinder seal fault...

even really old fluid gives a hard pedal - done plenty of brake bleeds where the fluid has been black due to age and the pedal is still a good one

as for the brake lines - they dont "bulge" as such they only "flex" slightly under extreme pressure - any bulging is an mot fail - they are also quite reliable and last a long time

as for the brakes you need to find out what its suffered from...

need to check the brake pads are free in the calipers - front and rear

did it lose servo assistance?

is the servo working correctly?

is the one-way valve working correctly?

 

[Yiannis197]

exactly!

if the brakes arent that hot and the pedal is sinking then thats more of either a fluid loss or brake master cylinder seal fault...

even really old fluid gives a hard pedal - done plenty of brake bleeds where the fluid has been black due to age and the pedal is still a good one

as for the brake lines - they dont "bulge" as such they only "flex" slightly under extreme pressure - any bulging is an mot fail - they are also quite reliable and last a long time

as for the brakes you need to find out what its suffered from...

need to check the brake pads are free in the calipers - front and rear

did it lose servo assistance?

is the servo working correctly?

is the one-way valve working correctly?

Mr foxspeed knows what he's talking about