ok, so I thought I would fix the shake in my car, which I figured out was a brake sticking on drivers side. So I went out and got a new caliper. As I was pulling old one off, I noticed the rotor had a red ash deposit on it, (probably from getting so hot). I also noticed the one of the metal sleeves that the bolts to hold the caliper go thru, did not slide back and forth, so I greased both sleeves when I reinstalled the new caliper. This time I also bleed the brakes. I noticed that the pads were wore a little bit crooked , probably from the 1 sleeve not moving, and it's like the pad was hitting rotor at a slight angle because of it. I did'nt have enough for new pads, so I put old ones back on. they were near new still.

Now, my problem is...SAME PROBLEM.. If I go to hit the brakes hard at a stop, they will stay halfway stuck, and I have a heck of a time getting up to speed. I got home today after doing that, and my rim was so hot it was smoking. Now If I got a new caliper, and I bleed the brakes...could the problem be from not bleeding the other side, when I changed that a cpl months back.? This shake has been going on for quite a while. The only other thing I notcie, is that If I pull on the e-brake while driving, it seems to be liitle harder than normal, and pulling it all the way up, dont stop me as good as it used too...Im stumped here, If its just the pads, I will gladly buy a new set, but Im sick of throwing money at this picky car... Could anything else be going on, such as, brake booster, frozen/clogged brake line, bad negative battery cable have anything o do with it?..lol...Im stumped..plz help!

 

This same exact thing happend to me, buton the passenger side. I changed the caliper, and still no luck, so i started digging. I did some research on line, on this forum, and several other forums i belong to, and what i found out, was that the high pressure line (the rubber one that connects to the caliper) has a tendancy to detiriorate on the inside, and cause sort of a check valve. It will allow the caliper to close and stop the car, but it wont open back up, because the lining if that hose is in the way. SO thats where i would start. Ive seen hoses anywhere from 12bux up to 20 bux. Not a terribly expensive amount of money, and a cheap place to start. Hope this helps.

 

the hoses can go bad, collapsing inside

 

well..that's a a great place to check. I had a friend tell me he had the same problem and it ended up being the master cylinder.? Different car though. He said he dorve a long ways with the same problem. When it locked up on him, he would pop his hood, and crack the brake line loose right on the brake master cylinder to relieve the pressure on that side. Do you guys think it could be the master cylinder? Another thing I did notice, when I bleed the brakes on that side, is when my friend pushed pedal down, and I had the bleeder cracked, fluid came out decent, but not a solid squirt.There was no more air, but I thought a lot more fluid should be going thru it, then what was..

I really appreciate the help. I will try a new line first chance I get. Let me know if you think it could possibbly be the master cylinder though.

 

BUMP.....Could it be my master cylinder?...anyone!@

 

ok, I tried a new brake hose on drivers side, and it fixed it! $14 fix..thank you guys so much!

 

not a problem. glad it was only the hose!

 

would this also cause a problem when shifting into reverse. I have a 97 neon sohc mtx and whenever i shift into reverse i notice i have to give it more gas to get it going whereas going forward doesn't require much effort. the clutch and throwout bearing is brand new.

 

It would cause a problem any time you hit your brakes. The fluid will not return, thus causing the brake to not release like it should. One way to tell if a brake is sticking or not, is drive the car 3-5 miles, then feel all your rims. If any 1 is hotter than the others, you probably have a brake stuck.

 

ok, I tested the reverse thing the other day, and my car did bog down even more it seemed in reverse. I replaced halfshaft yesterday. While pulling it out, it ripped in half as my friend was pulling on it...lol The inner cv joint was contaminated, it had rust colored wtr inside it.Also, there are 3 ball bearings inside the cv joint. One of them didnt have any bearings left on it. I knew it was gonna fix my problem as soon as I seen that, and sure enough, my car drives like a dream now.. No shake whatsoever...it's scary. Also it seems to have more low end torque, and I dont have to get on the gas as much going up hills now.
I spent $55 on aremanufactured drivers side cv joint (half shaft). With a $50 core charge. The job took me less then an hour.. If your car shakes, especially in 4th and 5th gears, between like 2200 and 3200 rpm, you probably have a bad inner cv joint. Also my joint made a crunching noise everytime I took off from a stop.
Now the only problem I seem to have is my engine jumps a little more than I think it should. I have mp front and rear engine mounts, and all the other transmission/engine mounts are good. However, when a friend was working on my car, he put the front engine mount on without the weight that bolts on with the front engine mount. Im thinking that weight helps counteract against engine shifting.? So I plan on trying to get that back on if I can.