tda1

My breaks squeal to the point of annoyance. I haven't had anything apart so I can only assume it needs new pads. That's easy enough to fix. My real concern is around something I experienced a few times last week. When breaking I would go to depress the brake pedal and it wouldn't push down. I literally had to pump it or force it down to stop. At that point the wheels would lock up. The next time I would stop, it would function normally...(of course with the squeal). It's an intermittent problem. What is failing or where should I look to diagnose this issue?

auzivision

Based on your description and line of questions, I'd suggestion you take it to a shop for proper diagnostics. That said, I'll add my two cents.

First off, squealing isn't that big of a deal so long as your pads aren't worn out. If they get too worn out they'll probably make more of a grinding noise. Remove wheels, check pads thickness on all four corners.

More imporatantly is what's going on at the pedal. Need a one to one correlations between pedal depress and vehicle deceleration. Anything less than that needs to be addressed immediately!

It could be a master cylinder seal going bad... but I think that would be more like excessive travel, not limited travel as I believe you described.

Another choice might be the 'boost' which is vacuum driven. Check fat vac line from intake (near all the bowden wires) all the way to the booster (looks like back to back frisbees on drivers side firewall). Look for other leaking vacuum sources.

Installing brake pads is a simple DIY project good for beginners, finding an fixing vacuum leaks (fixing is easier the finding) also easy DIY. Replacing a MC or booster I would place in the medium category (could be DIY, but should be supervised/checked by someone who has done this type of work)... one should be fairly familiar with how to bleed brakes and what is going on in the process.

Bottom line, do the easy thing and change the pads if needed. If that doesn't fix it take it to a pro buy some beer to entice a local give you a hand.

tda1

Thanks Kurt...and yes our cars appear identical. I ordered pads since I have no real history of the car ever having anything replaced. Ill take a look at the other things while I'm doing the break job and refreshing the brake fluid.

Avar928

I've got a Motive Power Bleeder and some Super Blue brake fluid if you need it.

Could it be something with the ABS perhaps? My light is on and I just noticed squeal on my braking right then after. Have to check the sensors.

tda1

yep...my light is on as well. Might be related

Avar928

Check the ABS sensors in each wheel and the relay. Might have to bleed the system also for the ABS pump too.

auzivision

I'd leave ABS stuff out of the equation unless you have some reason to think ABS. The "Brake Lights" in the cluster are either Brake Pad, Brake Fluid, or Park Brake... and I guess Stop Lamp if you consider that part of the brakes. It should be pretty evident which system is triggering a warning.

If just the central warning system is lighting without a corresponding lamp in the cluster... probably have a bad bulb. Easy enough to check by watching the lamp test which occurs every time you turn the ignition on.

Unopened superblue is going to be hard to get soon, opened superblue might be okay to use in a pinch if the reservoir is low. It does draw water from the atmosphere so it will go bad sitting on the shelf after being opened. To do a proper/complete bleed/flush you pretty much need a full can anyhow.

The motives are pretty nice, just don't distracted. I left mine pumped up and took a phone all only to learn about a half quart leaked past the reservoir seal and onto the floor. The reservoirs aren't designed to be pressurized (at least not to 15 psi).

Each pad has two anti squeal or anti rattle gizmos on the back. I'm not sure any two of them are the same either. So if you really want to do the job right, need the 16 disk/clips/shims or whatever they are called. I think some people use copper anti seize or brake anti squeal on the backs.

Just about everything you need to know about changing brake pads can be found here:

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...nt-w-pics.html

Avar928

I sprayed anti squeal on mine but I did leave them out for a day before installing so I'll probably need to pop out and respray. Will just check the leveling and see if there's anything stuck in there.