And what a great drive I had! I took some backroads in the Maryville, TN area around Foothills Parkway and had a blast. Lots of hill climbing and descending. Matter of fact, I liked the loop so much that I did it twice!

Did notice a few things on the car. This is the first time that I've really pushed it like I did. It spent a lot of time in 2nd and third because of the roads, probably an hour out of the 3 that I spent driving around. Not all condensed at once, of course, but spread out. Honestly, I couldn't tell you the specific RPM's because I was too focused on the road, but somewhere in the 3k range, give or take 1k depending on the situation. About mid-way to 3/4 into the drive, I noticed a smell similar to that of a heater that has just kicked on after having sat dormant all summer long. Thought it was a bit odd to have smelled this just now. The car gets sufficiently warm on the 180 mile treks to and from home/college every 6 weeks or so, but I don't have a working temp gauge. Potential sign of the engine getting too hot? Or just burning off dust that has settled?

Also, the brakes seemed different on the downhills. These were pretty steep grades, and I am a very spirited driver on such roads, so I was stretching it out as long as I could and braking at the last possible moment. Rally-style driving, I suppose you would say. Hard, but steady. That is the proper technique, no? They stopped me in time, and I didn't have to allow for more time/distance, but they lacked the presence that they typically do. I don't know if "faded" is the right word, but the pedal feedback wasn't as stiff as it usually is. I'm thinking it may be time for a fluid change, as it has not had one in my ownership, but I didn't know if it might be a sign of trouble ahead.


Thanks!

Alex

This could be an indication that the brake bomb may be starting to go bad. Have someone monitor the level in the reservoir while you are pumping the brakes until the pedal gets hard. Do this right after shutting the engine off. If there's only a couple of pumps, I'd say that could be your problem. You should get at least 10 and up to 20 or more. The level should rise with each pump and stop when the pedal gets hard.

If you were stompin on them binders in the downhill twisties you probably got them good and hot! You're right, it's called brake fade. The fluid gets hot and it's properties change. Once you let it rest and cool down the pedal will return to normal right? If you're going to drive like that all the time or do a lot of track days you can go to a better pad and a fluid like ATE Blue ( or other brands) with a higher boiling point. That'll fix it.

I'd fix that Temp. gauge ASAP.

There's a reason why that sucker is smack dab in the middle of your cluster...

by the time you realize your car is overheated by visual/smell.. it may be too late and fried your head.

I'll probably go ahead and change the brake fluid. I had thought that once it has boiled, it's toast. I don't drive like that often, but after yesterday, I could definitely see myself doing it again.

I'll try the pump diagnosis either this evening or at some point tomorrow.

I'm in the middle of figuring out why that temp gauge isn't working, but methinks that it may be SI related since the majority of my gauges are kaput anyway. Of course, it can also be faulty senders, etc.

Alex

The fluid didn't boil or you would have lost braking alltogether. Changing it is a gret idea though. The superblue is good stuff. There's a newer one now called DOT 5.1 that has an even higher boiling point (don't confuse this with the silicone based DOT 5 like I did at first). But high quality DOT 4 is probably more than you'll ever need. Pads can make all the difference too, especially if you don't know what kind are on there now. I'm planning to get some Porterfield R4S soon. They are a carbon kevlar type. I haven't tried them yet but they have been highly reccomended.

the temp gauge sounds definitely like an SI board problem

so enlighten me on the brake fluid specs. What is the difference between wet/dry/max safe operating temps? The max safe temp is lower, with the dry temp being the highest. Where and how are these temperatures measured? For the dry condition, does that assume no water present in the fluid and you are taking the temperature of the fluid? Then the wet is the temp at which the fluid breaks down due to the presence of water, and then the max safe temp is the average temp at which the fluid would break down given normal circumstances?

Thanks,
Alex

-Alex, found this in BigCoupe. You have to scroll down a ways in the article. www.carbibles.com/brakebible.html (http://www.carbibles.com/brakebible.html)

Thanks, Joe! The link is missing an underscore mark between the "brake" and "bible"

I'm a nerd and absolutely love stuff like that. Though for some reason, my Bosch Automotive Handbook didn't have any reference to brake fluid types. Has everything you wanna know about every braking system though.

Alex

DOT 3 or 4. Hey ALex, what's this mean on the idiot lights ( ! ). I think it's a bad abs sensor. or that brake lining indicator. I don't see it listed in this american owners book. maybe I'm missing it somewhere?

hmm...I wanna say it's the abs sensor...right now I can only think of two brake related dash lights: (O) for parking brake, and (!) which I think is the abs sensor. I'll make a note to check it out this afternoon after I get out of class.

Do you the owners manual in english? I've got the german version.


Alex

nah, I found an american book in it. Listen while I'm thinking of it, when you get a chance check that temp sender in your car. This weekend I'm gonna pull my dash gauges and start repairing the speedo and replacing the SI Board. Now I've got that extra cluster and I'm gonna rebuild the speedo in that too. So If you need the temp gauge I have the extra, If not I'll either sell the entire cluster or part it out. As soon as I open mine up I'll know if the temp gauges are identical, Joe

Score.

My schedule is cram-packed this week so I won't be able to do any shade-tree work till Saturday, like you. I'll be installing a new horn in my car, assuming that it arrives on time, so I'll check it then. I've got a replacement speedo in mine now thinking that might resolve my issues, but it didn't, so I left it in there.

I'll let you know.


Alex

DOT 3 or 4. Hey ALex, what's this mean on the idiot lights ( ! ). I think it's a bad abs sensor. or that brake lining indicator. I don't see it listed in this american owners book. maybe I'm missing it somewhere?

Joe:

The (!) with solid brackets should be the brake pad warning light (brake pad sensor circuit). A (!) with broken line brackets should be the brake fluid warning light (system pressure and MC level sensors).

HTH

Joe M in WV

- must be a sensor. Rotors,pads and fluid is new. But all the sensors original, thanks!