Hi All,
Something has gone wrong with my car but I have no idea what and I don't know if it's safe to drive to get sorted.
Had the car 1 month, it's been driving fine until now. It was washed by the seller just before I got it and I've not washed it myself yet. Wed evening I gave the car (with hardtop) a quick blast with a water jet - literally 2 minutes at Tesco petrol station before I wash it properly soon. I then parked in the Tesco car park to leave it to dry.
30 minutes later I came back. Turned engine on, clutch down, 1st gear, handbrake off, pressed accelerator lightly (clutch up) and it didn't move - but it felt like it wanted to. A second later it became suddenly unstuck and moved forward almost with a pop but there was no noise. It then carried on a 30min drive feeling normal HOWEVER there was a light burning smell the whole journey mainly when accelerating.
I came to the car last night (first time since) and the same 'stuck' feeling happened. Didn't move, felt like it wanted to, then a second later becomes free. I didn't want to do further damage so turned it off straight away. I'm hoping someone has some idea what it could be. Have I damaged the brakes with the water jet? I definitely aimed the jet at all 4 wheels. Could I have knocked a pad making it stick? Is the water jet a coincidence and it's another problem entirely? Help!
My main question is can I drive it to get looked at? 15mins to local garage (I don't trust) or 45 mins to D1 Customs (my preference). Or is my car now stranded and will need trailer-ing to someone? I'm not mechanically minded and the car is parked on a main road so sorting anything myself or where it is isn't really an option.
FYI it's also got a flat battery (engine only just started last night) but it's felt like that's been on it's way out since I got the car. I don't think it's related but I'm mentioning it in case it is! Will get a new battery so not bothered by that.
Thanks everyone. Any ideas or input would be appreciated!
It is normal for disc brakes to rust so that they can seem to stick when moving off. The surface rust is usually taken off with the first presses of the brake pedal and you may hear some grinding noise as they clean off.
I would not be overly worried from the sound of things if it has not been used much. Try taking it out for a drive and try an emergency stop to satisfy yourself that they are working when you press on the pedal but unless you have some other problems or symptoms it sounds normal.
Mine will occasionally 'pop' after releasing the handbrake in the morning, but nothing as pronounced as 'not moving' (as Topdownman has said). The hot smell when driving is a bit more of a concern.
It does sound as though you have sticky calipers and a pad is dragging against a disc. Time for a brake service. It's probably ok to drive, you might destroy a pad on the way, but that's no big deal.
Call Steve and see what he suggests.
After driving for 10 mins check the temperatures of the rims, if any of them is hot it could be a stuck calliper. You need to get that fixed and don't drive far if that is the case, could cause a tyre blow out.
Just responded to your PM. Pretty much along the lines of the (non-scary) stuff that has already been said.
If you want to chat it through, give me a call.
For some reason I hadnt spotted the bit about the burning smell!
That does sound like a brake overhaul needed (that is usual for these cars given their age and rear caliper issues).
If you try an emergency stop with a sticking caliper you may feel the car pulls one way or the other so need to be ready to correct if this happens.
Thank you for all your suggestions. Yeah it definitely needs someone to look at it. I'm just trying to weight up whether I'm brave enough to drive it 45 mins to D1 Customs, or if that'd be a stupid idea!
Drive it for ten minutes. Check if any of the hubs are getting warm. If not, 45 minutes' gentle driving will not be a catastrophe.
Quote from: "Carolyn"Drive it for ten minutes. Check if any of the hubs are getting warm. If not, 45 minutes' gentle driving will not be a catastrophe.
Thanks Carolyn. After I'd driven it home when it happened the first time I did put my hand near each of the calipers and they were all warm but none were really hot. They all seemed about the same, there was nothing alarming. I'll give it another little drive and a more thorough check this weekend.
regarding the burning smell, check the nappy (rear most under tray). The wadding has been known to start smoking for some people. Perhaps the pressure washer lifted the wadding loose and it touched the exhaust? If you undo the screws at the back you can flop it down to check. You can also see it from above if you lift the engine bay lid. Its okay to drive it nappy-less.
may be worth giving the brakes a quick blast with brake cleaner. You may already know this but i'll say it anyway - keep the pressure washer away from the wheels & anything else with seals or bearings. A jet from a pressure washer will get into almost anything.
Quote from: "lgriffiths"You may already know this but i'll say it anyway - keep the pressure washer away from the wheels & anything else with seals or bearings. A jet from a pressure washer will get into almost anything.
I only knew about rubber. I didn't know about not aiming at wheels. I definitely aimed at all 4 wheels cause the alloys were filthy s:lol: :lol: s:lol: I will consider this a lesson learnt!
I will check the nappy if I can. I can certainly look from the top with a torch. I'd heard about the nappy wadding so it is something I'm conscious of but hadn't thought about knocking it with the water.
Quote from: "tiff272"Quote from: "Carolyn"Drive it for ten minutes. Check if any of the hubs are getting warm. If not, 45 minutes' gentle driving will not be a catastrophe.
Thanks Carolyn. After I'd driven it home when it happened the first time I did put my hand near each of the calipers and they were all warm but none were really hot. They all seemed about the same, there was nothing alarming. I'll give it another little drive and a more thorough check this weekend.
If none of the calipers were anything other than warm, then I don't see how the friction material would have got hot enough to smell.
You said it was really stuck fast when you tried to pull away, and that it smelt for the whole journey. Obviously you need a few mins for the brake temperature to build sufficiently for it to begin to smell.
So my question is, how much abuse did you give the clutch in order to initially pull away?
Could that be the smell? because they can make a right stink that lingers for a while.
In fact, and I apologise if I'm taking your description too literally, you said you had the clutch up with the car feeling like it wanted to move (but not moving) for a second prior to it moving forward.
Was the clutch all the way up? Because all the way up and not moving or stalling would equate to a lot of slippage in the clutch department ☹️
Quote from: "smarty2072"In fact, and I apologise if I'm taking your description too literally, you said you had the clutch up with the car feeling like it wanted to move (but not moving) for a second prior to it moving forward.
Was the clutch all the way up? Because all the way up and not moving or stalling would equate to a lot of slippage in the clutch department ☹️
No the clutch wasn't all the way up. I should have written that better. The clutch was just at bite point I suppose and I was on the gas only very slightly. I was in a car park so was in the mindset of pulling out slowly and carefully. I wasn't about to floor it if that makes sense. Almost by the time my brain had clicked it wasn't moving it had already freed itself (before the clutch was all the way up). I didn't need to give it any real extra effort or anything. If I'd needed to do that I would have turned it off cause I've not had this happen before & wouldn't have known what to do. It was just like 'oh, that was odd!'. I'll take it to the local garage and see what they think. I don't think I'm going to risk the distance to D1 Customs.
Sounds like fairly typical pads stuck to disks - happened all the time on all 4 of my 2's after washing them - the
Elise is even worse!
The 'burning smell' was almost certainly water evaporating from the sound-deadening material in the nappy under the cat and on the exhaust - it can smell pretty yucky for a while.
Quote from: "SteveJ"The 'burning smell' was almost certainly water evaporating from the sound-deadening material in the nappy under the cat and on the exhaust - it can smell pretty yucky for a while.
Ah yes, I hadn't thought about water evaporating from it. I'm still not quite convinced on what the smell is / was. Next time I drive it once I've got the new battery everything should be dry so I'll see if anything still smells.
Why not release the handbrake and see if you can rock the car back and forth. If you can, give a hefty press on the brake pedal and repeat, if you can still move it then it's less likely that the brakes are sticking.
Well a little update. Changed the battery & took it out for 20 mins. It didn't stick at start-up but I wasn't expecting it to as I'd parked with the handbrake off and in 1st. It no longer smells so that must have been something drying or the clutch from having to free it.
Touched all the calipers and discs after 20 mins and front driver side is hotter than the rest. I guess that's sticking. Hopefully it just needs a new pad or something simple.
Hi tiff272, can't really offer any advice here, except I have recently purchased a roadster with similar probs as you. Mines an 2003 and after I washed it, the sticky pulling back happened, with lots of smoke after 9 miles up the road. When I stopped, I couldn't beleive it, smoke coming out of n,s front wheel. Called the AA who took wheel off, removed piston, cleaned it up, and put wheel back, I drove it home straight away. About 12 miles and all ok. But bit worried to go far in it again. I was recommended to get new calipper and break pads for both front ones. Trying to put it off for bit longer, as just had to get new battery too. The guy who sold it to me had only recently put new front pads on for the mot. Purchased some special grease, and going to try and grease the lot up and see how that goes. Did you get your sorted?
Hi Krissie, yes it does sound like we have similar problems. My brake pads were also apparently replaced by previous owner not long ago. Your post actually only just jogged my memory about that so I had to check.
Unfortunately I can't really say much yet as the issue only started for me a couple days ago. I only managed to fit the new battery a couple hours ago so I've yet to get it to anyone to look at. I'm not mechanically minded and have chosen to not really use the car until I've got it sorted. I will keep you posted when I know more. It's definitely looking like at a bare minimum the brakes need a cleanup.
Yes, hopefully that's the same with mine too, although the man from the AA told me to get new calipper and brake pads for both of the front wheels. I have researched about the calippers, and apparently almost all that are sold are re conditiond ones anyway. Going to take it out today about 20 miles to Ramsgate, and see what happens, I keep feeling the rim when I go round the block, so to speak, and no heat, so I'm going to risk it a bit further. I'm not mechanically minded either, so wish me luck.
and good luck with yours.
As I've recently found out, brakes can seem to be working pretty well with almost completely seized parts.
It can be deceiving.
Pretty sure it's safe to power wash your wheels mind s:) :) s:) Just don't aim it directly at your calipers at full force. Just aim at the wheels.
Anyway, mine had a squeal from the drivers side rear and it was sticking. Took the brakes off to replace pads and discs and the slider on the passenger side (opposite to my squeal) was so seized I had to hammer it off the slider. Also the bottom slider was seized. Took a lot of effort to make the metal pipe move back and forth. So, lots of cleaning, lubricating, etc and it all slides lovely now.
On the squealing side it was actually a pad that had welded itself onto the carrier. So, it now no longer sticks onto the disc. Rust builds up on the carrier and stops the pad from being able to slide and adjust.
So if new pads were rammed in without filing off the rust/crud, the brand new pads will soon stick.
Moral or the story is; these things need no excuse to stick and they need maintenance every couple years. I intend to fully strip the brakes, clean, lubricate and put back together. It'll all last so much longer.
That includes the handbrake components