For as long as I can remember I would never trust my brakes in an emergency stop situation.

 

Sat in the car with the engine off I can press the brake pedal a couple of times and it goes hard.

Engine running, the same - although if I apply more pressure I can get the pedal to travel to the floor.

Driving, the same - I can get the pedal to the floor, the car does brake quite quickly but feel there could be more if the pedal wasn't travelling to the floor so easily.

 

Since having this problem I have changed discs and pads front and rear, changed to braided lines and swapped the master cylinder, and bled numerous times with a the help of an assistant. I am thinking possibly it could be the servo?? What else is there?

 

Any other vehicle I drive and attempt to push the pedal to the floor the vehicle has already done an emergency stop.

 

Cheers, Dan

Did you bleed the ABS unit as the first step ?

ive had same prob but as TonyB try bleeding the abs unit first worked for me

get the pedal to travel to the floor.

 

You're right - that's not right. Even on a track day at Thruxton in my OEM-spec NA, that never happened. Brakes went a bit off (natch) but pedal didn't go right down.

Clearly the pedal should not go to the floor, but a master cylinder brace will also help with the general feel of the pedal.

Is your car a uk car or a jap import?

 

The import brakes are crap unless you upgrade for bigger discs/calipers.

 

Even the standard UK brakes are rubbish.

 

Even with upgraded but not bigger discs/pads my first Zed was still not great for braking.

 

Current Zed has uprated K Sport items which make a huge difference.

I disagree, when working properly the standard brakes, UK or import, are OK. They are not brilliant, but perfectly acceptable. Mine would fairly easily lock the wheels at 50mph or more. That didn't stop me upgrading to a 350Z setup though.

Yeah, pedal to the floor isn't a good sign! I rebuilt mine a few years ago and they've been fine - as above not brilliant but more than acceptable for fast road use.

 

Sounds like it could be air in the system somewhere - as above it may be worth bleeding the ABS unit first...

 

(Assuming that it isn't losing fluid?)

Definatly not right! As said, you've either got a leak or air in the system. The fact you can pump it a few times and it improves supports that thoery.

Despite the general opinion that stock brakes are naff I would say differently, if they are in good order they will lock up and engauge the fronts at 60mph even with good tyres if you stamp hard enough on them. Where they fall down is thier ability to do this repeatably, they do over heat quite easily, but you would be on the verge of loosing your liecense by the time you achieved that on the road and driving like a chav. For track driving you definatly need an upgrade but on the road a properly functioning stock setup is more than adequate. What you must appricate though is that they don't feel the same as modern brakes, modern cars intially bite hard then loose that urgency quite quickly, the zed like many older cars the initial bite is softer and less noticeable however the bite continues at an equal rate throughout your braking.

A stock z32 hauls from 60 to 0 in roughly 130ft about the same as a ford focus. Bigger brakes won't make you stop any shorter it's grip limited and I seem to remember the ABS is a bit basic compared to a modern one.

In short, check for leaks, bleed the system inc the ABS unit.

Feel àround the bottom of the brake booster for rust as a hole can develop there.

I disagree, when working properly the standard brakes, UK or import, are OK. They are not brilliant, but perfectly acceptable. Mine would fairly easily lock the wheels at 50mph or more. That didn't stop me upgrading to a 350Z setup though.

 

Yup - what Andy said.....

 

.....Stock ZX brakes are very good - even by todays standards IF they are working properly!! But 25 years of hauling a 1.58 tonne 155mph junior supercar to a halt naturally will have taken their toll. So, replace pads and discs, refurbish callipers and change fluid. Restore them to original working order and you will be pleasantly surprised just how good the OEM set-up really is; without the need to spend £000s on a fancy upgrade....!!

Is your car a uk car or a jap import?

 

The import brakes are crap unless you upgrade for bigger discs/calipers.

 

Even the standard UK brakes are rubbish.

 

Even with upgraded but not bigger discs/pads my first Zed was still not great for braking.

 

Current Zed has uprated K Sport items which make a huge difference.

 

I disagree. See my post above - and import TT brakes are the same as UK-spec:wink: Only the early NA brakes were different - thinner front discs I believe.....

I disagree. See my post above - and import TT brakes are the same as UK-spec:wink: Only the early NA brakes were different - thinner front discs I believe.....

 

And I disagree, the standard Zed brakes are garbage for a performance car mate.

And I disagree, the standard Zed brakes are garbage for a performance car mate.

 

Well maintained Z brakes are fine for everyday road use - especially with good pads. I track day'ed my OEM NA at Thruxton and the instructor was quite happy. Yes, after a few stonking laps, they started to go off a bit but you'd get that from most non-track-prepared cars.

 

There are many upgrades incl pads (MJP's and Pagid are ones I find are better than OEM for road use) which improve performance before going to disc/caliper changes - but the most important upgrade is to make sure your brake system is well maintained. Or get a real 1999 ;)

And I disagree, the standard Zed brakes are garbage for a performance car mate.

 

I have driven a 300zx with a genuine 11k miles on the clock (PhilP now owns it) and believe me, in its "nearly new" condition, the brakes were every bit as good as my (then) SLK350 AMG sport.... which at the time had around 20k miles on it.

 

As said, most standard set ups are now tired and in need of serious refurb work - they were certainly not "garbage" when working as they once did....:wink:

Thanks, I dont think the ABS unit was bled, I have also read elsewhere that the brake booster can be bled??

 

Is there a particular procedure to bleeding the ABS unit?

 

Thanks

Pre '94 models have two bleed nipples on the ABS unit. Make sure you follow bleed order and

procedure as per FSM:

 

http://www.300zx.co.uk/tech/manual/manual/br/005.gif

 

The bleed nipples are next to pipes marked FR, FL (front pair) and B (back).

Brake fluid is hydroscopic so it will absorb water. I know you said you have bled the brake system numerous times but have you change/flushed the fluid?

300zx brakes are total ****. if you think there good you have never had a car with proper performance brakes. the best brakes I even had was on the Porsche thay will mega but on my lotus elise it had special ceramic discs and pads once they were warm well you have never felt anything like it could brake the car for 100mph to dead stop in seconds just fantastic when I first got the z I relised just how crap brakes are on the 300zx even after rebuild and ungraded discs and pads and brake cylinder brace there still no good for a performance car. my bmw x5 could out brake my z all day long

300zx brakes are total ****. if you think there good you have never had a car with proper performance brakes. the best brakes I even had was on the Porsche thay will mega but on my lotus elise it had special ceramic discs and pads once they were warm well you have never felt anything like it could brake the car for 100mph to dead stop in seconds just fantastic when I first got the z I relised just how crap brakes are on the 300zx even after rebuild and ungraded discs and pads and brake cylinder brace there still no good for a performance car. my bmw x5 could out brake my z all day long

 

Sorry Dan - but that is just rubbish!

 

I currently have a 15 month old SLK350 AMG Sport and the brakes are excellent..... But the brakes on my ZX are pretty comparable to be honest.... So don't think you can tell me that I have never driven a car with "proper performance brakes" as I have owned more than my fair share of new high performance machinery.

 

As said before, most 300zx brakes are just worn/tired/knackered. When new and working properly, the ZX brakes are just fine. FACT! I have driven ZXs with tired and worn callipers so I understand why you'd think that - but the OEM set up, if not worn to buggery after hauling a 1600kg car to a halt for the last 20+ years, is actually very good when in proper working order!

Cheers guys, I don't know what to think now. Tonight I have bled the abs front and rear (no air there anyway). Went for a blast up to 70 or so mph and performed an emergency stop. Straight away the pedal travelled halfway and clunked to a stop. The car slowed down and I was getting little chirps from the tyres as (I think) the abs was kicking in, I got no feed back through the pedal though.

 

I did notice when bleeding the abs the pedal would travel all the way to the floor, and as soon as the caps are back in place and it's made a sealed system the pedal dosnt seem to travel far at all...

I did notice when bleeding the abs the pedal would travel all the way to the floor, and as soon as the caps are back in place and it's made a sealed system the pedal dosnt seem to travel far at all...

 

What do you mean by "as soon as the caps are back in place"?

Sorry wrong word, I meant nipples.

Don't think there should be feedback when the abs is activated think the z32 was one of the first cars to stop that horrible pulsing pedel feeling early ABS units caused. Your only notion of it should be the as you described chirp chirp chirp from the front tyres.

Sorry Dan - but that is just rubbish!

 

I currently have a 15 month old SLK350 AMG Sport and the brakes are excellent..... But the brakes on my ZX are pretty comparable to be honest.... So don't think you can tell me that I have never driven a car with "proper performance brakes" as I have owned more than my fair share of new high performance machinery.

 

As said before, most 300zx brakes are just worn/tired/knackered. When new and working properly, the ZX brakes are just fine. FACT! I have driven ZXs with tired and worn callipers so I understand why you'd think that - but the OEM set up, if not worn to buggery after hauling a 1600kg car to a halt for the last 20+ years, is actually very good when in proper working order!

 

i rebuilt mine new seals and pistons new master cylinder dab discs with halk pads all to notch stuff . and there still crap am sure there out dated FACT. THERE CRAP the worse brakes I have had on any of my cars times have moved on and now there there are much better brakes around

i rebuilt mine new seals and pistons new master cylinder dab discs with halk pads all to notch stuff . and there still crap am sure there out dated FACT. THERE CRAP the worse brakes I have had on any of my cars times have moved on and now there there are much better brakes around

 

Maybe you should consider the fact that you did a poor job of the rebuild or components were still failing? I also concur that the performance of the stock braking system can be very good when healthy so it appears that you're in the minority. Granted they will fade quickly with prolonged hard braking, such as track use, but for general fast road use they're more than sufficient.