front brakes

[16v Nova Kev]

:) hello my front passenger side wheel locks up when i brake hard any ideas

[DAFTJOHN]

Prob just siezed caliper, try clean it up and re-grease? Or maybe buy ABS lol

[16v Nova Kev]

abs on a nova

[mowgli]

abs on a nova

don't bother.

I'm assuming that you have 256 fronts.....

if you have drums on the back, then I suggest you take them off & give the rear shoes a right good clean up, & copper grease the adjusters. then clean the crap out of the drums & reassemble.

once the old delco style brakes have been swapped, about 99% of brake problems are caused by the rears

[16v Nova Kev]

i do have drums on the back. but i have blanked of one of the rear lines and fitted a t piece to the rears to reduce preasure cos i was thinking the rear was over braked since the car is light. 256 fronts is that astra gsi

[mowgli]

you have just answered the question... one side is working much harder than the other, which is locking the brakes......

[16v Nova Kev]

aw man its the fronts tho

[mowgli]

aw man its the fronts tho

yeah, but you have one side of the master cylinder only working a front caliper, and the other is working the other caliper & both rears, thus it is working harder... the one that isn't working so hard puts more pressure onto the caliper that it is powering thus it locks..

you have put a huge imbalance into a matched circuit.

now back to my comment about 99% of brake trouble on a nova is caused by the rears.... if there is slop in the adjustment on the rears, which there usually is, it causes the rears to take more fluid, which means that the fronts get less fluid, this gives the sympton of overbraking on the rear, when in fact it is causing underbraking on the front. your blanking off to reduce the rear braking effort will not actually have that effect, it is just causing the other caliper to be deprived of pressure

ps. 256mm brakes are astra gsi type

[SKoob]

it has dual circuit brakes.....

beat me to it lol

[16v Nova Kev]

aw right my m/c has 4 outputs so i blanked of 1 rear and t/pieced the other 1
and left the 2 fronts the way they were. so thats wrong

[Joe Richardson]

it has dual circuit brakes.....

Aye:thumb:

[16v Nova Kev]

so im going to have to go back to 2 lines to the back.

[mowgli]

so im going to have to go back to 2 lines to the back.

I'd have to say yes...

but as I've probably said too many times, get the rears serviced.

back in the late eighties, when I were a young storeman at a tractor dealership that had loads of astramax vans, the senior mechanic showed me a cool bodge to adjust the rears without removing the drums, cos the astras needed to be adjusted about once every six weeks due to carrying large loads, it involved drilling a 1/2" access hole in the front face of the drum, then making a tool to tweak the adjustment mechanism out of the way & then turning the screw from the outside. I really should resurrect the method & put it on here in how to. it is a really good trick, and makes the brakes work great.

[16v Nova Kev]

I'd have to say yes...

but as I've probably said too many times, get the rears serviced.

back in the late eighties, when I were a young storeman at a tractor dealership that had loads of astramax vans, the senior mechanic showed me a cool bodge to adjust the rears without removing the drums, cos the astras needed to be adjusted about once every six weeks due to carrying large loads, it involved drilling a 1/2" access hole in the front face of the drum, then making a tool to tweak the adjustment mechanism out of the way & then turning the screw from the outside. I really should resurrect the method & put it on here in how to. it is a really good trick, and makes the brakes work great.

aye deffo will be strip the back and do what you said. i have heard about that hole in the back drum before i thought you could get them with one of the wheel bolts out. cheers for the info looks like i have been told porkies :thumb:

[mowgli]

the hole needs to be a bit further out than the wheel bolts to be able to see the mech.

[16v Nova Kev]

do a how to big man you know you want to :thumb:

[mowgli]

do a how to big man you know you want to :thumb:

i will try & find time after its had its doors repainted to get it in the workshop & sort it

[16v Nova Kev]

just so i know how can i run 1 line to the rear do i need an m/c with 3 outputs

[mowgli]

just so i know how can i run 1 line to the rear do i need an m/c with 3 outputs

running a bias twin cylinder pedal box perhaps???

I know back in the day, people ran escorts & mantas with a single rear pipe, then made a hydraulic fly off handbrake to effect proper handbrake turns, but they were rwd, and the back axles were harder to lock up under braking.

[DAFTJOHN]

abs on a nova

Yeah was only joking about that but wonder how much work would be involved, or if it would just waste the Nova drive?

My L/F/S was locking up too but had the calipers cleaned and it's been fine. Maybe go on Knockhill if the track is dry this Sunday, you going up?

Cheers

[16v Nova Kev]

i cant make it this month but should be there at the end of may one. my first outing will be kames on the 7th of may.

[let_nova]

there goes your fancy back brake idea....lol

[16v Nova Kev]

hey someone who knows their stuff told me to do it they must not know siht from shoe shine. did you get my text

[let_nova]

when?

[let_nova]

p.s long as your rear brakes are clean and adjusted properly you will have no problems at knockhill. regardless of what your stockrod dude says :thumb:

[16v Nova Kev]

when?

this morning i know it takes a while to get to the highlands :p lol

[let_nova]

im not in the HIGHLANDS!!!!!!!!!!!! im only 20 miles higher than you!