Heat can do horrible things to brakes. I once overheated my brakes on my
Chevelle driving in the mountains of New Mexico. I didn't realize they
had overheated until I tried to come to a complete stop in a camp ground.
I slowed to about 20 mph, but could not stop. I went barreling through
the camp ground and was headed for a river when the car finally stopped.
Once the brakes cooled down, everything was back to normal. Now when I'm
driving in a mountainous area, I downshift and let the transmission do
some of the braking.
I would check out the system completely, but it may have been a case of
overheated brakes. Tom also had some really good ideas that you should
consider to prevent future heating problems.
On Thu, 3 Jan 2002 10:44:15 -0800 (PST) Daniel Neuman
<dneuman@quark.sfsu.edu> writes:
> I really don't understand what went wrong. If the seals were bad
> wouldn't i
> of lost brake fluid? When we got the car the brakes were great
> reagular
> feeling power brakes where you barely have to touch the pedal to get
> the
> car to slam to a halt. After driving for about 4 hours the pedal
> started to
> feel less stiff and it took more effort and pedal travel to stop the
> car. Then
> all of a sudden the pedal goes all the way to the floor with no
> brake action...
> could this of been the heating up of the fluid. When the pedal
> first started
> to get soft I pulled over and check the resevoir and there was no
> loss of
> fluid and no fluid leaking from anywhere that I could see so I
> shrugged it
> off and kept driving....
> Its hard to think to do the correct thing in a car that you
> are totally
> unfamilar with. I tried putting the car into 1st but because of a
> linkage issue
> it will only go into 2nd and that was not slowing the car enough.
> Then I reached
> for the parking brake but I went for where the brake is in a
> roadster and the
> jags parking brake is under the dash like in an american car and
> well I am sure
> I could of reacted better....
> The conversion was done about ten years ago by a company
> called
> rebello performance I believe. THe conversion appears to of been
> done well with
> solid moter mounts and no bashed in oil pan.
> I think I am going to need a new transmission...after
> putting it in 2nd
> and having it not slow the car I paniked and put it in park...made a
> horrible
> grinding noise but it sure slowed the car down some....
>
> Daniel
>
> > Dan,
> >
> > Glad you and Irene are OK!!!
> >
> > One issue with engine conversions is how close the
> > exhaust manifold & pipes are to any brake lines.
> > It is not uncommon to build up a lot of heat near
> > brake components. Problem becomes apparent after
> > a very long drive. ;-(
> >
> > So if everything "seems normal" today, I'd still
> > flush the brake fluid with Castrol GT/LMA (fine for
> > Jags) to remove any moisture. Then start looking
> > for any places that brake lines run within 4" of
> > the exhaust components. You can buy heat shield
> > material for brake lines at the speed shops.
> >
> > I seem to recall some of the brake line issues
> > being addressed in a conversion book titled
> > "Jags that run" JTR is still around, and at:
> > http://www.jagsthatrun.com/ Been ages since
> > I flipped through one of their excellent manuals.
> >
> > Seems odd that no one never noticed a problem
> > before. Still with a marginal brake system (old
> > brake fluid) and the long drive heating up the
> > brake fluid to the point of no response...
> >
> > When was the conversion done?
> >
> > When I have lost brakes* in the roadster,
> > I have left the car in gear and TURNED OFF
> > the engine to help stop it.
> >
> > I have been practicing my "engine off,
> > leave clutch in" for the Land Cruiser. Takes
> > practice, but on a steep descent it is easy
> > to stall out. No engine: No power steering, nor
> > power brakes. My first reaction was to slam on the
> > brakes and push in the clutch. Hmm, no power
> > brakes... and I started SLIDING down the loose
> > dirt hill. Had to work to keep the front
> > pointing straight (very heavy steering without
> > the power). Too close for comfort! Since then
> > I have learned to keep my foot OFF the clutch,
> > and how to restart the engine while in gear
> > (hard on the starter, better than rolling).
> >
> > Tom Walter
>
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