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Old 22nd January 2009, 14:49   #1
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Bolero brakes failed - fixed. Now its not the same.

I recently had a total brake failure in my bolero, on investigation it was found that one of the brake fluid lines near the left rear tyre was cut. I had been pumping out the fluid with every press, till I realized there were no brakes.

Luckily, I managed to limp to the service center without any incidents; they fixed the problem, did a complete check and returned the vehicle.
Now, the problem; there is too much play in the break pedal. Not sure if i can call it play, but yes, I have to depress the pedal more that what I used to do before this incident. I not comfortable driving like this, I did call up my Service advisor. But he said, “These are self adjusting brakes, do drive around for a couple of days, if you are still not satisfied, you can bring your vehicle again”. I have driven around for 2 days, things haven’t improved, I would like to have the more precise braking that I had before this incident.

Question that I have is what is a self a adjusting brake? More over these brakes are hydraulics, correct? Since there is too much play, does that mean, the brake fluid is not filling the tube correctly? The brake shoe are too far arpart, or I don’t know… not very familiar with the braking system. Apparently it is not the simple hydraulics that I think it is.

Any tips, on how to resolve this problem? Hope, the drums are not soaked in brake fluid, is that the reason why I feel the reduction in braking quality? But, I am sure that is one of the first things the Service center guys whould have done, ensuring that there brake pad / drums are dry.
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Old 22nd January 2009, 15:12   #2
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is it possible to have a total brake failure? isnt it dual circuit ?

i think you need to bleed the the system again , if its not done correctly or not done at all .
The front disk brakes are self adjusting , and not the rear drum ones .

if the brake pads or the shoes have been replaced ,there will be difference in the feel of the brake pedal .
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Old 22nd January 2009, 15:21   #3
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There might be air bubbles in the brake fluid line. Get them to bleed it properly and refill brake fluid.
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Old 22nd January 2009, 15:33   #4
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The brake pads are the same, it is just 11K odd kms old.

Will get them to bleed the brake. May be some time this weekend.
Thanks for the tip.

@siddartha
The info about it being dual circuit, now, that is very comforting. Any idea if Bolero has this set up? Does all vehicles have this?
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Old 22nd January 2009, 17:09   #5
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Hi Spinnerr,
Almost all 4 wheelers have a dual circuit to meet emergencies. If you are so curious to check in your Bolero, just follow the brake pipings from the Master cyliner.
Siddartha, Self-adjusting drum brakes are more common now-a-days. The days of adjusting the brake drum have gone.
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Old 23rd January 2009, 15:00   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ilangop View Post
Hi Spinnerr,
Almost all 4 wheelers have a dual circuit to meet emergencies. If you are so curious to check in your Bolero, just follow the brake pipings from the Master cyliner.
Siddartha, Self-adjusting drum brakes are more common now-a-days. The days of adjusting the brake drum have gone.
so if the bolero infact had a self adjusting system why was more pedal travel being experienced?
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Old 23rd January 2009, 18:46   #7
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Infact somthing else happend today, this was inside my office campus, the roads are cemented ones. They have these plastic speed brakers at regular intervals.

As usual I slowed down at one of them, but insted there was a loud screech, may be the tyres locked up or may the drums made the noise. Whatever it was, it was loud, could make it out from the number of people staring at my vehicle.

Self adjusting or otherwise, it is time I took it the service center and got it blead. Not very confident driving around with this kinda braking.
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Old 24th January 2009, 16:32   #8
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you can easily differentiate from drum noise and tyre noise.
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Old 29th January 2009, 20:26   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by siddartha View Post
is it possible to have a total brake failure? isnt it dual circuit ?

.........................
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spinnerr View Post
...................
@siddartha
The info about it being dual circuit, now, that is very comforting. Any idea if Bolero has this set up? Does all vehicles have this?
Like most of the vehicles today, Bolero too has a dual-circuit /tandem cylinder brake system. This system prevents a "sudden" total brake failure if there is a leakage in the brake circuit. However, if this leakage is ignored, then there is a possibility of a complete brake failure due to gradual leakage. I have experienced this scenario once in my Zen ( explained in my earlier post http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post1091939 )

@Spinnerr : The leakage of the brake fluid would have caused the brake-fluid indicator to glow. Did you notice it ?. If you didn't see it in spite of the leakage, then please get the indicator checked too. It's just too important to be ignored. In my case, in a rare combination of malfunctions, the brake-fluid indicator had failed along with the leakage.

BTW, I owned a Bolero-GLX for 7 years and never faced any brake related issues.

cheers,
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Old 3rd February 2009, 19:24   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ak-47 View Post
@Spinnerr : The leakage of the brake fluid would have caused the brake-fluid indicator to glow. Did you notice it ?...
Honestly, I totally forgot about that indicator. I not all sure if it was glowing at that time. Thanks for reminding.

BTW, the brakes are back in their old form, as you guys had suggested, got it bled at the service center.

Thanks everyone!
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Old 4th February 2009, 11:01   #11
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forgot abt the indicator? pal isnt it almost "in your face", when you are driving?
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Old 4th February 2009, 11:50   #12
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Well, when you get into the vehicle and start driving, and you realize that you have no brakes. looking at the console is the last thing that struck my mind; I was more worried abt driving it up to the service station without nicking anyone, without any incidents.

Now that i know there is this light, will keep an eye open for it.
BTB when you are diving one of those not-so-loaded-with-sensor vehicle, you let the feel of the vehicle do all the reporting. But then, will take a peek at the console from now on.
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Old 4th February 2009, 12:17   #13
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Two points:

1. One senior citizen drove the car for a few days with the brake light glowing (handbrake was on) and complained about the poor pickup. So the light may not necessarily be noticed.

2. As for the screech I had a similar experience in my Santro AT. On opening we found that one front disc pads plate was bare - pads either worn out or (more likely in my judgement) fallen off.
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