Brake problems

[davg]

The brakes on my S3 are to say the least crap, I have what seems to be a common fault with the pedal going all the way down to the floor.


I have had the brakes bleed numerous time and replaced the master cylinder, checked for leaks both vacuum and fluid and found none. The only thing left to do is change the servo…..

Question is do I need to drop the engine to do this?



Regards

Dav

 

[Adam P]

Davg, i wouldn't know about the servo sorry mate hopefully someone else will be able to help with that one. However i found that the standard brakes on the s3 were sh**e
even when they were working as they should. I firstly upgraded the pads to ebc red stuff, still poor. I now have a complete LCR Brembo setup and its much much better. IMO it should have come with them from the factory. Maybe an idea for the future once your sorted. Having no confidence in your brakes is not a good thing.

 

[Crazypete00]

i might be wrong but if it was a vac leak then the pedal would go hard and not travel much. also the same for the servo. a pedal that travels all the way to the floor would be boiling brake fluid, air in the system or leaking pipes.

a while ago i had a tiny leak near the steering rack which rubbed on the brake pipe. it was fine under normal braking but if i had to brake suddenly then the pedal would go the floor and squirt a tiny bit of fluid out. at first i couldn't find the problem as i wasnt loosing noticeable amounts of fluid.

 

[davg]

Thanks for the reply’s chaps.

When the car is off the pedal remains hard and does not sink to the bottom, but when the car is on and I press on the pedal it will slowly sink to the floor.


So yes I think the servo is fine but there must be a leak in the system somewhere. I have not driven the car for a while and as per Adam P "Having no confidence in your brakes is not a good thing"


I have a garage looking into it now as it done my head in - I’m sure it will be expensive!!

 

[Crazypete00]

ye sounds like a leak. check by the steering rack where the pipes go behind it. it was a common fault as after some garages have done work on your car in that area they may route the pipes too close to the rack which after a while will make the tiniest pin hole.

 

[davg]

Thanks for the tip mate, I pop in there today and have look.

These pipes, are the ones that run behind the heat shield to the ABS pump?