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Brake problem that no mechanic can solve Forums > > Brake problem that no mechanic can solve Brake problem that no mechanic can solve
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  #1  
Old 02-26-2010, 03:21 PM
freyspath
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Default Brake problem that no mechanic can solve

Alrighty Nissan guys, I need to pick you brain for an answer to this mysterious problem im having.

Ever since I got my pathy back in October of 09, my brakes haven't been at there best. My mechanic that looked it over when I bought the car said that I had about 1-2k on my brakes before they needed replacement. That was at 80k, now im at 85, and my problem is really getting on my nerves.

Here are my symptoms:
- Brake pedal has a good amount of travel.
- Finally when I push the pedal to where the pads and rotors meet, the front end dips, so it feels like my rear brakes are shot..
- When I brake, my front brakes sometimes make a squeak...

Now, I have taken my car several times to shops to get my brakes looked at. Everytime they look at them they said my rotors and pads were fine, pads have a lot of life on them, and my rotors weren't at minimum specs. They also said my rear drums and shoes were fine. All they needed was a service. That service consisted of them sraying brake cleaner all over the inside of them, and then adjusting the "star screw" to make them expand out more. When they were all done inspecting it, they all drove it around the block and said "it was fine".


So, I decided this is ridiculous, 3 shops cant tell me what is going on, so I took matters into my own hands, and decided to inspect them myself. I took the front tires off and looked at the front brake system. Pads had A LOT of meat on them, and rotors weren't warped, or worn unevenly. The brake lines were fine, no leaks or cracks. So then I looked at the rear.. Drums were good, and shoes were around 40% of life remaining. I then proceeded to think it was air in the line, so I had it bleed and flushed.

After that guess what?!? THE PROBLEM WAS STILL THERE! I have 3 pathfinders, the two older ones both have very sensitive pedals which dont have a lot of travel in them, and when they brake they don't dip the front end, or require a lot of braking distance in order to come to a nice smooth stop.

What could this be? Only thing I can think of is maybe the brake booster?? or ABS system? The odd thing is I dont get ABS lights or BRAKE lights going off in my dash and my CEL or SES aren't on, and no codes are stored.

Ideas?? Comments? Concerns?? All are welcome
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  #2  
Old 02-26-2010, 05:16 PM
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tech22 tech22 is offline
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Alot... I don't think it is humanly possible to look at a rotor and tell if it warpped.Unless it has taken the shape of a potato chip it can only be done with a dial indicator.That being said if they didn't do this then a brake inspection was not accomplished.Without driving the vehicle for myself it would not be possible to make a proper diagnosis.A soft petal is not indicative of a bad power booster but just the opposite.Some front end dive is normal do to weight transfer and soft springs. If there are no leaks and the wheel cylinders are good along with the calibers and a proper brake bleeding was done then maybe a look at the master cylinder is in order along with the proportioning valve.The type of pad material and rotor material must match to give the best performance also.Do your best the seek out a qualifide brake tech and go over the problem with him.May i suggest you ride along with him and explane just what you feel when you are driving.As i stated, it's impossible to make a proper diagnosis sitting behind my computor. Good luck with your Pathy and let us know what you find.
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  #3  
Old 03-19-2010, 07:19 PM
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check your rear suspension parts as i bet they are shot and thus you have this bad front end dip when breaking. good luck
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Old 03-23-2010, 02:35 PM
gary3701 gary3701 is offline
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1998 Pathfinder
 
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Yes momud is correct, I had a similar problem with my wifes 98 pathy, when we hit the brakes the front end would seem to nose dive as if the rear brakes did not work at all or the front was grabbing !?!?..........So after a couple of brake jobs I replaced the rear shocks and the front struts this fixed the problem.........yes, i said shocks and struts.
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  #5  
Old 03-23-2010, 02:59 PM
freyspath
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Thanks everybody for helping me figure out my problem. Unfortunately, I no longer own the pathy. I got a great deal for it and swapped to a coupe. Hopefully when the coupe outlives its time, ill find myself back in a pathy!
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  #6  
Old 03-23-2010, 05:32 PM
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momud momud is offline
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thanks for checking back in.
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