help with brakes

[Jcomnislash]

i had the brakes do something similar to me a few months back....it turned out to be massive air bubbles built up in the brake lines. I bled them, and they were fine after, and have been ever since.

[mattswabb]

I've got the aspire swap, and I need more volume. The pedal effort is minimal, and it bottoms out before the brakes lock with race tires. The aspire MC would probably work, but I'd rather something a bit bigger for easier control.

You've either go air in your line or the auto adjusters in the rear are not working and this could be causing you to need more pedal travel. My Festiva m/c on both cars with the aspire swap works fine. Short amount of pedal travel and lots of power to stop the car.

Aspire brakes and festiva m/c works well. Never given me a reason to want more.

[Pu241]

Is there a master cylinder rebuild kit available for any of these (Festiva, Aspire, 323 or 929)?
I'd be leary of using a MC from a JY, might not be any better than the one you have!
But at least if you got a unit from JY you could rebuild it, bench bleed it, then swap it for the failed unit.
I haven't heard of too many Festiva MC failures, anyone else?
Don't know if it helps, but once a year I pull as much fluid as I can out of the reservoir with a turkey baster and replace with new.
Would prefer to bleed the brakes but the bleed screws are so delicate (broke too many) and finding someone to assist is all but impossible sometimes.

Pu241

[Dave G]

Would prefer to bleed the brakes but the bleed screws are so delicate (broke too many) and finding someone to assist is all but impossible sometimes.

If you don't mind a LOT of bending and walking around, and have plenty of time, you can do a bleed job yourself using a stick to hold the pedal down.

[oxbrain]

You've either go air in your line or the auto adjusters in the rear are not working and this could be causing you to need more pedal travel. My Festiva m/c on both cars with the aspire swap works fine. Short amount of pedal travel and lots of power to stop the car.

Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of stopping power, I just can't lock the front wheels against the grip of the tires. The rears lock under heavy braking since the weight is off them, but the fronts do not.

I'm pretty sure I don't have any air in the lines, I bled them until I saw fresh fluid each time. I'm new to brake bleeding though, so it's definitely possible.

How would I diagnose the adjusters in the rear?

[mattswabb]

It's the part that the brake cable connect to and then goes inside the drum. There are a few pin joints on the link that should be free to move. I took mine out and put them in a vise and oiled, pried, wiggled them till they were freed up. Mine were frozen solid. Also make sure the little springs are in working order. If the shoes are too far from the drum this will increase the pedal travel. The freed up link will automatically adjust the shoes.

On my blue car the rears will lock up well before the fronts. Right out of the junk, painted and installed on the car. Best brakes I've ever had. Better than the BPT car with new rotors and expensive pads.

[oxbrain]

Those levers move freely as far as I can tell. I'll have to pull the drums open and check out the linkage inside.

Part of the problem might also be the cheapo front pads. I'm going to be using yellowstuff on the track car, and I'll probably use those or greenstuff on the 91.

[elcamino1]

The only difference between aspire mc and festiva mc are location of line and bore size. Volume of reservoir are the same.

[Damkid]

I'd be leary of using a MC from a JY, might not be any better than the one you have!

But at least if you got a unit from JY you could rebuild it, bench bleed it, then swap it for the failed unit.

Pu241

the only problem is i'm not 100% sure it's the M/C, i was told by the guy at the JY the brakes works in the car when it was brought to him, so it should be good

the other thing i already have a huge bill at the shop where i got all my new brake parts from, so by me getting a M/C from a JY is just to get me by until i have more money for a brand new one

on another note, tomorrow i pick up my car from the shop (i just don't feel comfortable bleedin the M/C myself) and i'll know either way if it was the problem and then my aspire swap will be done,

man i can't wait to feel how good they work

[oxbrain]

The only difference between aspire mc and festiva mc are location of line and bore size. Volume of reservoir are the same.

A bigger reservoir would only make bleeding the brakes easier. It doesn't effect pedal feel or travel at all.

[Guest]

get an OEM one from Napa or FMS, don't buy the cheap Chinese knock offs from the Mc Parts stores.. Been there Done that..

[Damkid]

get an OEM one from Napa or FMS, don't buy the cheap Chinese knock offs from the Mc Parts stores.. Been there Done that..

i'll take your word on that and get one from Napa (when my wallet recovers )

[elcamino1]

I pulled a factory stock one from a aspire with low miles 58000 hit in rear.over a year now no problems

[DuritzCrows17]

I pulled a factory stock one from a aspire with low miles 58000 hit in rear.over a year now no problems

Is there a noticable difference in the aspire one compared to the stock festiva one? is it worth upgrading?

[elcamino1]

No. If you want to see a difference put on some steel briaded lines.Also stay away from cheap shoes and pads,I use bendix and raybesto only.