Last year, one set of pads became fouled with oil from the front suspension,
so I replaced the pads.
A few weeks ago, the car ('95 Plus 8) began to pull to one side, and so I
took a quick look from the outside, and cleaned away any excess oil/grease
from the suspension. I wanted to see how badly they pulled to one side, so I
did several hard stops on a deserted road. The pulling seemed to decrease
after several hard stops, so I tried an experiment. I drove to the local ski
resort (still closed, road deserted), and on the way down I made repeated
hard stops -- 60mph to ~5mph -- all the way down. The brakes began to smell,
then fade, till I got to the bottom, by which time the brakes were smoking,
the discs were dull red, and braking ability substantially reduced.
A drove a few miles to let the brakes cool, and tested them. The result:
normal braking ability, no pulling to one side.
So, my questions to this knowledgeable group:
Does this make any sense as a way to rid brake pads of oil?
Is it likely to cause (or have caused) any damage? (warped rotors, melted
lines, glazed pads?)
Apart from the questionable practice of driving a car to the point of brake
failure on a public road, it was easier and more fun than changing the pads.
I already give my Alfa an occasional "Italian tune up," is this the
equivalent "English brake job?"
Thanks,
Brad
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