Some advice on front end repairs and brakes

13-11-2005, 08:22 PM

heya guys

my little bro has an ed fairmont ghia, and he has superlows all round, with monroe gt's in the front, and standard shocks in the rear.

the rear shocks seem ok and dont bounce around when you push on them, but the fronts bounce for like 2 seconds or so when u push down on the front end. so we are thinking the front shocks are buggered....... but could it be that the lowered springs are causing the gt's to bounce? or will some new monroes in the front fix the problem? the front end bounces really badly over bumps and it's quite scary......

also the brakes in his car are really spongey and not that great. he's running performax pads and have been run in after about 2000kays and the rotors are new. still they dont have much bite..... could the buggered shocks be causing this????
would a v8 brake booster fix this? whats the correct way to bleed abs brakes?

also, how much does it cost to rebush and new balljoints in the front end of an e-series if you do it yourself?

cheers guys........... jack

PULLY6 · 13-11-2005, 08:31 PM

I have EXACTLY the same problem with my car mate. I have superlows and standard struts/shocks.

I think the King Superlows are just altogether too soft. I rode in a mate's EF XR6 - he's running Monroe GT Gas and heavy duty springs in the front and rear, and the ride/handling is SENSATIONAL!

As for brakes, I just put DBA Slotted's and Ferodo HD pads in the front, and my brakes suck. I'm almost thinking of trying a V8 brake booster too.

Papa Smurf · 13-11-2005, 08:36 PM

I also have bad brakes in my EB. I have overhauled all calipers (even replacing the pistons) replaced the M/cyl with a NEW one, machined all discs and replaced the pads. I am of the opinion that the only other thing it COULD be is the Booster? But maybe the Brake hoses are at fault? Hopefull I can find the problem soon :(

13-11-2005, 09:48 PM

Well i've heard the v8 booster make the world of difference, as this is what the xr6's got too. and ive driven an el xr6 that had really nice brakes.

i also overhauled the calipers and unseized the guiding pins..

MustangNicko · 14-11-2005, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woodstock_rocks

also the brakes in his car are really spongey and not that great. he's running performax pads and have been run in after about 2000kays and the rotors are new. still they dont have much bite..... could the buggered shocks be causing this????
would a v8 brake booster fix this? whats the correct way to bleed abs brakes

I recently rebuilt my front calipers (i sand blasted them and put in new seals/pistons), new bearings, slotted rotors, EBC greenstuff pads and a fresh system of dot4 fluid. The brakes are unreal, never go spongey unless i get them REAL hot. There is hardly any slack at the start of the pedal either.

If i were you i would pull the front calipers and re-seal them or get change over reco'd ones. Sounds like there is a blockage (maybe rust), the seals could be worn or the pins are too tight. There is a correct way to bleed ABS but buggered if i know how. I just bleed it the standard way... RL ... RR ... FL ... FR. Seemed to do the trick.

14-11-2005, 12:02 PM

Yeh but are you in an xr? or just pov spec gl/fairmont? cos if you're an xr you get the v8 booster. i told ya, my friends xr has awesome brakes, so i reckon it's a booster thing for sure

MustangNicko · 14-11-2005, 12:05 PM

Yeah, EL XR6. I reckon you should get the calipers done and do a full brake fluid flush. Throw in some harder compound pads, actually makes a difference to pedal feel too

Greg302 · 14-11-2005, 07:13 PM

i use to have the performax pads in my eb xr8, when they were cold they wernt very good but onced you got some heat into them they were execellent

14-11-2005, 11:37 PM

So no-one's ever replaced the bushes or balljoints on an ed before? no-one can help me with the booster question??