My friend's 1993 automatic Toyota Camry needs extra extra brake effort to stop the car. It holds, but it does not hold like how the power brakes hold on my car. I was wondering if it was the power brakes going out, so I turned off the car while coasting in the parking lot and it showed that the brakes were being bosted while the car is on, but it just does not seem like it is boosting the breaking power enough.

He is wondering if the brake pads needs changing, but we had changed them when he just got the car last year, and he is not a hard braker, so I do not think they are worn down that much. If i remember correctly, we paid about $30 for them at autozones, i think they were metalic, becaue he wanted the better ones that autozone had to offer.
It almost feels as if the brake pads are not gripping the rotors or like the rotors are oily or something. It just does not feel like it is gripping hard enough. Could the rotors be glazed?

Any sugestions will be apreciated.

 

do the brake booster check, see if it hold power there or not.

when is the last time the brake been service, cough.. when the last time you flash the brake fluid? ..cough

it could be water in the fluid also, check if the cap is good or not.

also check if there's leaks in the master cylinder, look for stripped paint on the booster.

I would flush all the brake fluid first and see if it helps, often time is just the air bubble that have not been bleed.

good luck cough accord forum cough

 

padS?

 

You say you have to step on the pedal really hard to brake and even harder when the car isn't running, that sounds like either:

The brake pads are glazed.
The brake booster has a tear in the diaphragm, meaning it's producing less boost.


You can check the pads by taking them off and visually checking them.

For the brake booster you'll need a vacuum gauge and hook it up to the vacuum hose that leads off of it. I can't remember what PSI it's rated at.

 

a couple of the lugs were stuck (cross treaded) on both sides of the car, so we could not visually inspect any of them. He always make firestone work on his car, so i think its the air tool that they use put on the lugs messed them up. He is going there on monday to see if they can look on it

 

it could be a bad flex brake line that would transfer the pressure.

it could be a bad seal in the piston of the wheel cylinder

those air gun often stripe lugs, even with a torque setting and torque limiting sticks, that's why i request they use a torque wrench each and everytime i bring it to the shop. hold on, i do all the work in the shop anyway..