[natalia13]

Hey, could use some help here..
I was driving on a down-hill street after it rained and the guy in front of me slammed on his breaks and so I reacted by breaking super hard and pulling on my hand-break also. After this my breaks had seized and so I pulled off to the side and noticed that my car had stalled because I couldn’t feel the vibration of the engine and the regular lights that turn on when u turn the car on were on ( oil and battery) So I turned the key to off waited a minute and turned the car back on. The car was back to normal.. It was running fine. Im scarred right now that I might have done damage to the car and am very curious as to why this happened.. Can anyone help explain this??

Thank you

 

[WJC]

First, it's "brakes" (sorry, but that just drives me crazy). Stalling under a hard stop isn't terribly unusual for an old car. Your idle air control motor isn't as responsive as it once was, and can't kick the RPMs up quickly enough to compensate for the huge vacuum loss when you slam on the power brakes. Unless it stalls at other times, I wouldn't worry about it. I assume this is the '87 you showed us, so there is no carburetor involved.

Don't ever use the parking brake while driving. Unless your rear drums aren't working, in which case you need to fix the self-adjusting mechanisms. All vehicles are meant to lock the front brakes first, so the car doesn't spin. If you pull the handbrake, you are inviting a fishtail at high speed, which is like asking for an accident.

How are all the other things coming that you posted about a week ago? (roof rust, head gasket, etc)?

 

[natalia13]

Hey thanks for the reply. I know I shouldnt have used the hand brake but it was all out of instinct and I pulled it near the end of the slide and I did feel my rear sliding to the right just a bit. I need to keep that in mind then to not use the hand brake in a situation like this. Since your mentioning some reasons to why my brakes could have gone bad that reminds me for the past couple days whenever I brake the peddle is much stiffer. Im not sure why this is happening? Im not leaking brake fluid nor are my brake pads worn out. Happen to know why?
With the other projects im going to start in about 2 weeks when im off from school. I have some help now which is great! Was getting worried that Ill end up seeking some professional help…
Thanks again for your help!

 

[WJC]

for the past couple days whenever I brake the peddle is much stiffer. Im not sure why this is happening? Im not leaking brake fluid nor are my brake pads worn out. Happen to know why?

A suddenly stiff brake pedal could be a leaking brake booster (the big round can behind the master cylinder), or a leaking supply hose.

 

[marshpoprock]

Will if you slammed on the brakes, a brake line could have ruptured. Now the design of the master cylinder is to close off the side (driver front and pass rear, or pass front and driver rear)with the leak, so you don't run out of fluid and car somewhat limp the car until repaired. Everytime I have had a brake line go bad, my PEDAL does seem to be stiffer. Also the car wanders off to the side that the front brake is working. Is your car wandering when you use the brake?

 

[natalia13]

No my car doesnt wander when I brake. I understand that if something is wrong that fluid would be leaking as a sign but nothing is showing up. All fluids are stable. Its strange, my braking is fine nothing had changed besides the feel of the peddle. Its stiffer near the end of the push.

 

[Adran]

Fluid doesn't have to be leaking for something to be wrong with your brakes, that's more like a worst-case scenario. If your booster is leaking like WJC suggested, there would be no related issues with your fluid.

 

[natalia13]

i see what your saying. ill try and have a look at it tomorrow.

 

[UnexplodedCow]

Hey thanks for the reply. I know I shouldnt have used the hand brake but it was all out of instinct and I pulled it near the end of the slide and I did feel my rear sliding to the right just a bit. I need to keep that in mind then to not use the hand brake in a situation like this. Since your mentioning some reasons to why my brakes could have gone bad that reminds me for the past couple days whenever I brake the peddle is much stiffer. Im not sure why this is happening? Im not leaking brake fluid nor are my brake pads worn out. Happen to know why?
With the other projects im going to start in about 2 weeks when im off from school. I have some help now which is great! Was getting worried that Ill end up seeking some professional help…
Thanks again for your help!

I agree, your ICM isn't responding properly. My car has been doing that lately, and I have two spares...both of which are for earlier years (what you would need)..which stinks, unless I want to do wire splicing. I've not found a way to clean the ICM out, although I'm considering trying on a bad one.

For what it's worth, I've been known to yank the e-brake at high speeds in my car, to get a fishtail. I like doing that especially in the rain or snow.

As for your pedal feel, I'm going to guess it could be a binding brake pad (usually passenger side) that is cocked a little, you've got a clot in the brake lines (not as likely) or your vacuum booster is leaking (quite likely). My car's booster isn't the greatest because the previous master cylinder leaking out the rear, right into the booster. So, there is rust, and sometimes it works perfectly, and other times it doesn't, so I can have a very easy pedal, or a very hard one...it also depends on how much the pads moved back after braking. If you pump the brakes a little, you'll notice they can get a tiny bit harder higher up...it's not due to air, but simply pushing out the wheel cylinders and taking up slack space in the lines. My car will do that, too, and I've watched the (new) calipers move a bit.

It also has to do with how worn the ears are on the steering knuckle. If they're heavily worn, the pads move less. That is one problem with the knuckles, and I think that's why I'd like to upgrade to better brakes, so I don't have to replace the entire knuckle when the brake slide ears wear out. I'm rambling.