Brake problem: Alfetta sedan

[Roo]

Hi,
I was hoping someone might be able to help me with a problem with my Alfetta.

It hasn't been driven for a couple of years and when I apply the brakes, they don't slow it down very well - even when I push quite hard on the pedal. There is also a nasty vibration when I apply the brake. It seems to be worse with more pressure on the pedal, and it seems to decrease as the car slows down (possibly in time with the revolution of the wheels).

Does anyone have any ideas on what this might be and how I might fix it?

Thanks,
Andrew

[Sheldon McIntosh]

Is the vibration a pulsing through the pedal?  If so, your discs are warped.  Depending on how bad they are they might be able to be skimmed to fix it, but if it's that bad you may need new ones.

Regarding the poor braking, can I assume you changed the brake fluid and bled the system, and checked the condition of the pads and discs?

[Colin Byrne]

yep, sounds like warped discs and maybe a faulty booster

[Storm_X]

Is the vibration a pulsing through the pedal?  If so, your discs are warped.  Depending on how bad they are they might be able to be skimmed to fix it, but if it's that bad you may need new ones.

Regarding the poor braking, can I assume you changed the brake fluid and bled the system, and checked the condition of the pads and discs?

yes pull all the pads out sand them down or get new ones. and bleed and flush the break lines.

[Roo]

Thankyou all for your responses,

tomorrow I'll check the brakes and see what I can find.
The vibration does come through the pedal, but it also can be felt slightly through the seat - I think they are quite warped. I assume I'll need to replace them.
I'm also going to lush the brake fluid soon, but I'll have to find out how to do it first - never done it on an Alfa before.

Thanks for your help. I'll put a reply on here again after the wekend once I've checked the brakes out.

Cheers,
Andrew

[Storm_X]

how is the alfettas going. i seen that they have been both moved from the raff base where they where sitting

[Roo]

Finally getting back to you all!

I changed all of the pads and this made a bit of a difference, a couple of the rear pads were worn down to the metal!

The discs all looked alright, but I didn't want to assume they were straight so I put the rear of the car on a couple of stands and ran it while I braked and the vibration wasn't there. The vibration I feel when braking is either coming from the front or is the exhaust hitting in the back somewhere.

The performance of the brakes is alright, but it's nothing great still. I can lock the wheels up on the dirt, but not really on the tarmac. It slows down reasonably, but it should lock up, and it should brake better than it is. I have to push very hard on the pedal to get a decent response. I think it could be the booster, so I'm going to disconnect the vacaum hose and try it without the booster - check if there is a difference.

If the booster is dead, how do I fix/replace it?

Also, the car is missing the tacho face plate, it's from an 84 model.

Thanks for your help,
Andrew

[meizhak]

Did you put new pads on old rotors, if so they probably wouldnt have bedded in correctly,You need to replace front rotors, check wheel bearing adjustment while your there.

Does brake pedal pump up hard with engine of?

If so, when you start the engine does the pedal drop a bit(booster working)?

Is the adjustment correct on the rear pads?, this takes time and lots of practice to get right.

Shack

[meizhak]

have a look at this thread for rear adjustment

http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,68/topic,1732.0/

good luck

shack

[Fast Eddie]

Having re-read over the previous thread, i must say, i am quitely confident i will get a v.good result when i hand my Alfetta over to you Meizhak (Shack)to do my brake mod.

i will arrange that with you once it cools down a bit.

Ed (woody)

[meizhak]

Good idea Ed,

my workshops about 400 degrees in the shade at the moment

meizhak