help brake problem

[lobie]

I recently bought some spun metal rings to cover my late wheels on my crossover so they now look like this



quite smart and retro I thought first time out drive to mablethorpe and back and a bit of riding round while I was there. All was fine


Fast forward to this Friday am I'm on my way to Bus Type Just about to Join the m54 and suddenly no brakes at all (brown trousers)

so I pull into ind est and cool them down, remove covers and hub caps and set off again brakes have worked fine since then

Question is can I buy vented front disc for a crossover and would this work with the holes in the wheels covered or do I just need to resign my self to the fact I have to run later wheels

help!

 

[lobie]

just found this post seems it is possible to run discs and solid wheels

now I'm confused

someone please help

 

[Moseley]

I don't think that the brake design will rely on ventilation from the wheels, I'd have thought it more likely to be a problem with a sticking calliper / piston. Even if ventilation was poor, you'd have to do a lot of successive hard braking / a good period of dragging them to build up enough heat for them to fade completely.

When was your fluid last changed?

Also, what do you mean by no brakes? Pedal to the floor, or just couldn't get any bite?

 

[lobie]

Pedal to the floor

 

[Tofufi]

In my experience (going over the Pyrenees) it takes a LOT to overheat the disc brakes...

That said, I'd not want to speculate on how much difference those trims would make.

 

[Moseley]

Pedal to the floor

Ok, that would indicate boiled (old) brake fluid. Change this for starters - no amount of heat in the brakes should ever allow the pedal to hit the floor.

It may be that if there is a high amount of moisture in the fluid that the pistons have started to corrode and stick. How long has the fluid been there for?

 

[Trikky2]

I boiled the brakes and ended up with a pedal on the floor many years ago but that was due to the combination of descending an alpine pass with a fully laden bus and the fluid being old. The discs were red hot and it was the moisture in the fluid that vaporised.

Like others have said, if you have had this happen whilst driving on normal roads then you either have a sticking caliper which is overheating (which can also be caused a by failing flexi pipe) or you have some other brake fault.

Solid wheels might make an overheating problem worse but would not be the root cause.

 

[lobie]

If it is a sticking calliper will I need to replace it or is there a way of sorting it out

 

[Moseley]

If it is a sticking calliper will I need to replace it or is there a way of sorting it out

It depends on why it is sticking, which will only be known once it is stripped down. If piston / bore are corroded, then yes. If it is just a build up of crap, then it can be cleaned and rebuilt with new seals.

 

[lobie]

brakes sorted callipers rebuilt

but a mechanic advised against fitting the wheel discs that make the wheels look smooth as in his opinion thought this could cause over heating and said the wheels have holes in them for a reason

opinions please

anyone running disc brakes with solid wheels

 

[Bluesnailman]

I have solid 14" wheels and futbus disks. Never had any problems in Picos de Europa, but then mine use vented merc A class disks.

 

[our bus 68]

I recently bought some spun metal rings to cover my late wheels on my crossover so they now look like this



quite smart and retro I thought first time out drive to mablethorpe and back and a bit of riding round while I was there. All was fine


Fast forward to this Friday am I'm on my way to Bus Type Just about to Join the m54 and suddenly no brakes at all (brown trousers)

so I pull into ind est and cool them down, remove covers and hub caps and set off again brakes have worked fine since then

Question is can I buy vented front disc for a crossover and would this work with the holes in the wheels covered or do I just need to resign my self to the fact I have to run later wheels

help!

Where did you get your covers from? I'm desperately trying to hide or replace my late wheels