Help! I almost died tonight. Brakes gave out...

[MidnightCafe]

So I'm driving my 1978 Datsun 280Z around town at night for a shakedown ride (just picked her up). I'm approaching an intersection and the light turns red. No big deal, I shift into neutral and apply the brakes-that's when the brake pedal bottoms out without any resistance. shit.

 

I start pumping the brakes like a madman while downshifting into second gear. I check both directions and realize no car is in immediate range. I hit the gas and run straight through the red light. Mind you that the light was red for a good while, it's not like I just ran it (though I did do that later while driving home).

 

I pulled into a gas station to catch my breath and kiss the ground. Walking around the car, I discovered that the front right wheel was very very hot-the caliper was dragging or possibly frozen. That explained why the car was pulling to the right, but was only detectable the longer I drove it. 

 

So I'm wondering what to do from here. What is causing the front right brake to engage while driving? Why would I lose brake pressure so suddenly? 

 

The car will sit in the driveway indefinitely until the brakes get fixed  :blush:

[datzenmike]

The brake fluid boiled. Air is compressible and the pedal went soft. Once cooled down it may come back but the problem needs to be fixed.

 

Your e brake is for just this sort of thing. e is for (EMERGENCY)  brake. This is a back up in case of a failure on the main system.  Always have your e brake working and adjusted properly.

 

You just picked it up so you have no idea how this car will react to being driven around. The caliper may be frozen or possibly the pedal free play is incorrectly adjusted. My Sundance had a stuck caliper and it smells like a burning clutch (it's an automatic) When I stopped there was smoke and when I threw snow on the rim it boiled it was so hot. I took the rim off and pried the caliper piston back into the bore slightly and then pumped the brakes several times to bring it out against the pads.... worked fine after that. 

[MidnightCafe]

The brake fluid boiled. Air is compressible and the pedal went soft. Once cooled down it may come back but the problem needs to be fixed.

This is exactly what a family friend mechanic told me. My dad drove the Datsun 70 miles back to his place after I bought it and that's when we first learned about the issue. I was aware of the problem but I was still not prepared for the utter surprise of no brakes. Tonight is when I learned about the front caliper sticking.

 

I'm thinking about getting caliper rebuild kits, new pads front and rear, and look into getting an upgraded master cylinder. Another questions is if there's a stainless brake line kit available, or if anyone here has made their own lines (or if I should just shut up and run rubber lines).

[68Datsun510]

My 2 cents... never take a car on the road unless you have at least gone thru the braking systems... ever never ever!!

 

That being said, when I got my dime, yes, I drove it around for a while, but i wasted no time replacing every line and hydraulic component in the system. Its expensive, but money spent there will save your life and your car.

[Ranman72]

if the car has sat for any period of time all the rubber components in the brakes will fail 1 by 1 eventually 

as cody said look into replacing all rubber / wheel cylinders and calipers   or rebuild the ones you have 

 

losing all your braking can be a very scary thing but remember that is what the (EMERGENCY ) BRAKE  is for  as Mike said 

                                                                                                                             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[jrock4224]

My 2 cents... never take a car on the road unless you have at least gone thru the braking systems... ever never ever!!

 

That being said, when I got my dime, yes, I drove it around for a while, but i wasted no time replacing every line and hydraulic component in the system. Its expensive, but money spent there will save your life and your car.

truer things have never been said .... and next time .... use the ebrake to slow u down... its mechanical so it will still wrok... press the button and pull gently

[Eagle_Adam]

cus if you dont check the breaks and just drive it assuming the PO was a good person you could end up like this...

 

 

 

 

cereal