Help Wanted Please

[elfairmont95]

hi i just bought a el fairmont 95 model but there seems to be a problem with the steering in my opinion and the brakes, havent taken it to the mechanics yet but just wanted to get a few ideas on what the problem may be,

the brakes have a nasty shudder in them but the car came from brisbane in the city and i would assume the brakes have been used alot, could it just be the brake pads and mabye they need bleeding?

the steering is very touchy the car hates bumpy roads, if you go over a bump it try to shoot you off the road and some times it gets the feeling on bumpy roads or roads that are not very smooth that you are aqua planing even though the road is dry and you sort of loose control of the steering for a split second.

does anyone have any ideas what the problem may be.

[elfairmont95]

also forgot to add the car has been lowered and has 17inch mags with new low profile tyres

[Dezza]

The shuddering brakes is probably warped rotors. It is quite common.

As for the steering, not sure sorry.

[elfairmont95]

thanks mate yeah i was hoping it wasnt the rotors but i will have to take the wheels off and have a look on the weekend.

[Skooter]

Maybe really shagged ball joints

[elfairmont95]

also just wondering i have a eb xr6's are the calipers the same as the el's ?

[BIG XR]

the front will be, the rear is not. the steering issue could be wheel alignment or the wrong offset wheel. also you could get your rotors machined if there not undersize.

[BIG XR]

you won't be able to tell by eye if your rotors are warped. colour can sometimes give a sign but its hard to tell without checking runout. if your steering wheel shakes while braking its most likely front, if you can feel it vibrate through the whole car its probably rear. its better to machine front and rear to be sure.

[FalcmanKAOTIC]

Get your discs machined. As for the steering?

[elfairmont95]

thanks for all your help

[JC]

I had very similar issues with my recently "purchased" EL. The thing that cured the symptoms the most was rebuilding the front callipers, using a PBR calliper kit, available at most auto/brake places for $20 to $25 per side. My calliper on the front left was stuck - wouldn't budge, so my theory is that every bump I hit was forcing the pad to grab the disc, and shooting the car all over the road. This is the first (and cheapest) thing I would do if I were you.

Once the callipers are rebuilt, you can then determine if the discs need machining. If they are undersize, get a new pair of no-name brand slotted discs for around $99 plus postage off ebay. They are pretty good value for money.

My car also needed just about every bush in the front replaced. A few you can do yourself, but the rest need to be pressed out, and the new ones pressed in - expensive. It would be around $500 labour, plus parts (around another 500 for the front at retail prices). Once these were all done, my car needed a wheel alignment badly, as the steering was very light, and the tyres squealed, even at the straight ahead position. After the alignment, it's all good. It now drives (handles) better than my AU2 wagon. Nolathane makes a huge difference to everything!

You won;t get out of this (properly) for much less than $1500 all up, but the results are well worth the effort and expense. Anything you can do yourself is going to save $$$$ in labour, too. A few links below for cheap (but good) parts:

Slotted Discs

Full nolathane bush kit (EF/L)

Caliper Kits EA-AU1

[elfairmont95]

was your problem that one of the slides was siezed in the calipers? cause that was my first thought. also thanks for the information

[JC]

Yes, one of the slides was seized, and the piston was seized, and the bleed nipple was all rusted, so the brakes wouldn't even bleed on that side.

Took me about 3 hours to pull apart, thoroughly clean and sand the piston and recess smooth again, and refit everything back - the end result is nothing short of spectacular.

[elfairmont95]

well see that was my first thought thought, so ill be pulling the wheel off and see with any luck its that, ill get under and the car and see what bushes are ******, would u think the stabiliser link would make the steering a little touchy coz i was sort of thinking that maybe the thing wrong or would u say it wouldnt do that? ihavent looked yet but for som reason i was wonder if the link would do this

[JC]

The most likely bushes to make the car unstable would be upper and lower ball joints, and the radius rod (Z bar) front bushes. If these are worn, there is too much front/back movement, which creates instability at any speed above around 40km/h. It's hard to tell if bushes are stuffed - but look for signs of hardened/perished bushes - these will definitely need replacing.

[elfairmont95]

ok well the powersteering pump is stuffed, its leaking badly. so i got another, now how the hell do u get the fan belt loose, to remove this pump, ive always done muy own repairs like, i guess there is a trick to it lol, its only a power steering pump i havent seen any thing so hard to remove as far as power steering pumps go. any sugestion and tricks to doing these on an el. now i remember why ive stuck with old cars lol

[elfairmont95]

if some one could quickly give soe advice on that please

[elfairmont95]

worked it out eventually, just had to slide the belt off the pully