Need help with the brakes on a *cough* Hyundai *cough*

[pvfjr]

A friend of mine is getting a '91 sonata for CHEAP. Just something to drive that doesn't use too much gas. The cars not actually in bad shape, but the brakes could use a little help. It has new rotors and pads in the front. The problem is, when you hit the brakes, there seems to be very little braking power. When you push it to the floor, the front right wheel will lock up, but it doesn't feel like the others are really helping out. I can't figure out why one wheel would work, and the others wouldn't. The master cylinder has to be working, right? It's really kinda scary to drive this thing as is, even with one wheel locked up the thing barely slows down. I was just wondering if anyone had experienced anything similar to this, and see what I should check for. The fluid level is fine, I haven't been able to find any leaks, and the front has been bleed.

 

[goldwing2000]

Bleed it some more. Not gravity bleeding, either. Power bleeding with one person pumping the pedal and the other working the bleeder screw.

Also, if someone were to let all the fluid drain out, then it may have gotten air in the master cylinder, in which case it should be bench bled.

If all that is ok, it could be restricted lines, bad calipers, wrong pads installed, soft pads that haven't worn in yet, bad proportioning/metering valve, drum brakes out of adjustment...

You get the idea. Start checking things one by one and go through the whole system.

 

[pvfjr]

That's kind of what I was thinking. That is the way that we bled the front, maybe we only did a good job on one side...

I've never bled a M/C, don't really know what that would consist of.

I don't have a lot of experience with drums either, never adjusted them. There's just that one nut that pushes the bottom of the shoes apart, right? Do I just adjust them as far out as I can while still being able to get the drum back on? The E-brake works GREAT, if that means anything.

 

[goldwing2000]

Bench-bleeding a MC has to be just that... on the bench. You generally can't get a long enough stroke with the pedal to get all the air out. If you do a google search, I'm sure find the procedure detailed with pictures somewhere. At 14 years old, it's entirely possible that the MC has taken a crap, though.


Yes, the star wheel is the adjustment for the rear. You can adjust it with the drums on by removing the access plug in the backing plate. Adjust the shoes until they just touch the drums. Be sure to rotate while you're adjusting because sometimes the drums aren't perfectly round and it will be tigher in some ares than others.

 

[pvfjr]

Thanks for the help. We couldn't get a bench bleed kit for it, so we just gave it a good flush/bleed. Had a lot of foamy looking fluid come out of the rear lines. Once it all cleared up, the thing started working great. Feels just like new. Nothing quite as good as picking a rig up for real cheap, then just spending a few bucks to make it work.

 

[goldwing2000]

Excellent! Glad it worked out for ya!