brake problems???? please help!!

[Redzunz]

my z32 brake fail yesterday, its making grinding noise on the brake pedal and is very hard when pressed, please help.

[marty1mc]

First, How mechanically inclined are you? It sounds to me like you have worn through your pads and have metal to metal contact with the rotors. Usually means you are buying new rotors AND pads...

[canadian booster]

first thing to do, anyone can do this i think..
- check brake fluid level and make sure it's ok
- take off a front wheel and look at the brake assembly. you should see the outside brakepad has a bent sort of piece of metal (called a squeeler pin), is it touching the rotor? if so you probably need new pads and rotors pretty bad. i circled it here (this is the side facing the rotor on your car):



what do you mean when you say the brakes failed? did they not work at all, or do they lock up and screech the car to a halt very quickly?

you said the pedal is very hard to press, so it sounds like a problem maybe with the brake booster or a vacuum line

[aviatorwes]

Did you press the pedal and the car didnt want to stop and the pedal was hard as a rock? while you're checking the brake fluid check the vacuum line that runs from the booster to the check valve and then to the intake manifold. That still doesnt explain the grinding tho. Like stated above what exactly do you mean by failed?

[Redzunz]

when i mean failed is the car just dont stop had to use E brake to make it stop, now when i pressed the brake pedal it had a little pressure and if press it deeper it start making grinding noise on the brake pedal. could it be the master cylinder???

[Ace2cool]

check the vacuum line that runs from the booster to the check valve and then to the intake manifold.

No joke. I blew that line off during boost one time because the hose clamp wasn't secure, and I had a really hard time stopping. I was literally pulling on the steering wheel while standing on the pedal with both feet trying to stop.

If that line is secure, I'd look to the master cylinder or the brake booster itself.

[es.biggs]

Grinding noise sounds like metal to metal...check your pads like said above to make sure you have some meat on them still.