Air in Brake Fluid (Ford Fiesta MK5, late 2002)

enfield_freddy

umm , and if the servo fails , that makes the pedal harder to press , not allow it to go to the floor

20aday

Further to my post in the early hours of this morning I've driven it to my nearest Halfords Autocentre here in Derby to get it looked at.

The brakes were 'fine' so I'm guessing that once the car has reached a certain temperature it's overheating as suggested. I'm not at all mechanical but the car has been regularly serviced and maintained.

I do appreciate everyone's help and I do appreciate I am putting other members of the public at a significant risk so all I can do now is wait to hear what the diagnosis is and cross my fingers it's not a costly job.

Strider590

enfield_freddy wrote: »

umm , and if the servo fails , that makes the pedal harder to press , not allow it to go to the floor

"Harder to press" isn't entirely accurate, it's more a laymans term, the truth is closer to "more effort required to achieve the same braking performance".

Under braking, if more effort than normal is required, it'll feel like you've got your foot to the floor.

On modern cars, with over-assisted single pot brakes that snatch if you dare to even think about them, the loss or partial loss of the assist servo will have quite a drastic effect.

enfield_freddy

20aday wrote: »

Further to my post in the early hours of this morning I've driven it to my nearest Halfords Autocentre here in Derby to get it looked at.

The brakes were 'fine' so I'm guessing that once the car has reached a certain temperature it's overheating as suggested. I'm not at all mechanical but the car has been regularly serviced and maintained.

I do appreciate everyone's help and I do appreciate I am putting other members of the public at a significant risk so all I can do now is wait to hear what the diagnosis is and cross my fingers it's not a costly job.

yes , get an estimate from them DO NOT authorise work until you get a price ,


it might*** be cheaper to get a towing bar , recover it and take it to your works






*** a bloody lot cheaper!

20aday

Thank you.

I've not heard nothing from them in terms of a quote as of yet (11.30am) but once I get the 'dreaded' phone call I'll update you.

20aday

Well Halfords have called me and the Rear Brakes have failed which has caused the Fluid to boil at some point which is why the problem starts when the car is hot.

I've not heard any noise which would indicate brake failure (certainly not those listed online) but altogether it's £187.

JP08

A point of clarification, as I get the impression that you've got a little confused on the point, its the brakes that are getting hot, nothing to do with the car (engine) getting up to temperature. Basically, something is sticking on the rear brakes, causing the brake pads / shoes (depending on the age and model of the car) to continually rub on the discs / drums, thus getting hot and heating / boiling the fluid in the brake cylinder.

This makes a bubble of (compressible) vapour where there should only be (non-compressible) liquid, hence the brake pedal becomes squishy. Depending on how stuck things are depends on how much heat is generated and how long you go before you notice a brake problem.

I did this many moons ago with my first car (a Fiat 127). Drove it for 10 miles with the handbrake on. Says something about the state of the handbrake in that I didn't even notice the drop in performance. Did notice the pedal go right to the floor though first time I went to use it ! Pumping it a few times restored braking ability and a very gingerly trip home.

£187 sounds a bit steep, unless they are replacing a lot of corroded parts ...

forgotmyname

£187 for less than an hours work and £30 worth of parts?

20aday

Sorry I meant the brakes getting hot (rather than the car's engine.)

It's a (late) 2002 Ford Fiesta LX. If that helps at all. Granted £187 is a lot of money (especially as it's a minor job from the impressions I'm getting) but I need to get it sorted ASAP.

enfield_freddy

20aday wrote: »

Well Halfords have called me and the Rear Brakes have failed which has caused the Fluid to boil at some point which is why the problem starts when the car is hot.

I've not heard any noise which would indicate brake failure (certainly not those listed online) but altogether it's £187.

I think there diagnostic report is incorrect ,


1: how have they tested there theory


2: if the fluid had "boiled" (speculation) why is the fault not there 100% of the time?




walk , no run away from halfrauds ,