Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Brakes hardly stops after getting new brakes?

My wife took her 98 Mystique to have the brakes done after 58k on the Odometer. They said the back was gone and the front had 1/4 left on the pads. I was suprised because it sounded like metal on metal to me, made a nasty grinding noise. They had it all damn day because they took it out for a test drive and the pedal went to the floor. They kept bleeding the brakes and finally sent her on her way with them soft but said they would tighten up... they turned the rotors but said they were at a minimum. When I got home and found out I was livid. I can slam the brakes and take 60 or 70 feet to stop from 30 MPH. I can pull the emergency brake all the way up and it rolls down my VERY slightly inclined drive way. So needless to say, it's going back. I looked at the rotors and they looked REALLY thin.

My question is (finally), has anyone else had anything like this happen to them? I am not a complete expert on brakes by any means, but know good and well they aren't right. Any thoughts?

Greatly appreciated in advance!

Did the look to see if you needed new Brake hoses? Sometime they swell up and become no good.. Buy some SS brake lines...

Good luck....

I don't know what happened on your car but I'll make a couple of observations.

New brakes often do not stop as well as the old ones until the pads and rotors seat in to each other. Depending on the composition of the pads that usually takes about 100 miles or so of driving. Some will seat in with less driving, some will require much more.

Heavy braking on new linings can be harmful to the overall life of the linings. It is usually better to try to avoid heavy braking until they seat in.

Contour and Mystique rotors wear more than most domestic cars but less than most European cars. When first introduced the 95 models often needed new pads at about 30,000 miles. Most of the time the rotors were worn to minimum thickness or less and needed to be replaced at the same time. Ford changed the materials in the pads and possibly the rotors sometime during the 96 model year and the rotors did not wear as bad, but still more than most domestics. The rotors may still be above minimum thickness after turning, but most of the missing material was probably from wear, not from machining.

After replacing the rear pads on my 98 SVT the park brake does not hold the car as well as the factory pads did, even after several months of use. The aftermarket pads (Raybestos semi-metalic) seem to be gentler on the rotors though. I think that once they heat up they stop as well, but they do not hold the park brake as well when cold. The replacement pads are not as noisy as the originals. The cold "squawk" noise from the rear brakes is gone.

In short, there may not have been anything wrong with the brake job. But again, I have not looked at or driven your car, so I can't say for sure. If in doubt, by all means return to the shop and ask them to look things over and road test the car again. Brakes are a safety issue and should be treated by all involved with respect.

Thanks for the replies, it is going back today. It may not stop as well, but I know it should stop better than that. BTW, it has had 100 miles or so on it since the brake job yesterday. When I slammed on them twice (and that was all just to test), it felt more like I was giving normal brake pressure, certianly not good enough! Someone else I talked to suggested Power bleeding the brakes. Oh well, it's going back now until it's fixed! I will let you guys know.

Thanks again!

Well it's fixed right now! They didn't have the rears adjusted for $#!^, but it stops on a dime now

Thanks for the replies

Thats funny, I thought that 75 percent of braking is in the front!

So, why is it that rear 95 OEM brakes need changing more than the front?

Hmmm.....

Sounds like someone is trying to take you for more money.

Make sure the caliper springs on the fronts are oriented correctly! That should be pushing against the brackets!

-Lance