Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
04-11-2006, 04:39 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 10
Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
First off, I'm new to this forum. Feel free to rip me a new one if I've posted this in the wrong section. :P
Being ignorant in the field of car repair, I took my vehicle to my
trusted mechanic this previous weekend to have the following service
performed:
- Steering/Wheel alignment (Off by -2)
- Tire rotation and two new tires for the front
- Fix a hole in my muffer
- Oilchange
- Fix a transmission leak (Transmission filter/pan gasket & speed
sensor - two leaks apparently)
I got the car back on saturday afternoon, and drove home. As I was
driving home, I smelled a rubber smell (not burning rubber, but, just
mild rubber smell) which at first I attributed to the new tires.
I parked my car at home and did not notice any problems such as fluid
leaks or anything else. Two hours later, I decided to drive to a local
electronics store to get some computer parts, and as I was coming down
a hill towards a red light, I began braking and found that my brakes
had failed completely - the pedal went straight to the floor with
absolutely no resistence whatsoever. I managed to stop the car by
pressing the brake pedal all the way to the floor to engage the manual
assist, and gradually applied & then fully pulled the e-brake to assist
with stopping. I came about 10 feet from flying into cross-traffic and
hitting half a dozen cars.
Needless to say, I was shaken up and angry. Being saturday afternoon,
there were no places I could send my car to, so I had it towed back to
my apartment garage. In the garage, I began examining it to see if I
could spot any brake fluid leaks, and found that brake fluid was
leaking from around the left front wheel well.
I jacked the car up and peered under it, to see the brake line making
contact with the left front wheel. It did not appear to be properly
clipped to the wheel strut, and I surmised that this may have been due
to carelessness or negligence on the part of my mechanic, but I'm still
unsure of that.
Monday morning, yesterday, I towed the car back to my mechanic, and in
the process of doing so, both the inner and outer sidewalls of the
brand new left front tire completely disintegrated, leaving the tread
intact. Upon outfitting my vehicle with the spare in my trunk, the tow
truck driver immediately saw where the brake line had been worn through
by the wheel and commented that I was extremely fortunate that this
incident did not happen on the freeway.
Unfortunately, my webhost is down right now, so I can't post the
picture I have of the disentegrated tire, but when my webhost comes
back up, you can click this link to see a picture I took with my
cameraphone.
http://www.ramenbudget.com/miscgraph...re_damage1.jpg
(Note: That picture will not work until my webhost resumes operation).
At any rate, I need to get some opinions of experienced professional or
amateur mechanics or 5.0 Mustang enthusiasts in regards to what might
have caused this. I should be able to provide detailed answers to any
questions you may ask that might help shed more light on this incident.
Thanks ahead of time for any replies!
Being ignorant in the field of car repair, I took my vehicle to my
trusted mechanic this previous weekend to have the following service
performed:
- Steering/Wheel alignment (Off by -2)
- Tire rotation and two new tires for the front
- Fix a hole in my muffer
- Oilchange
- Fix a transmission leak (Transmission filter/pan gasket & speed
sensor - two leaks apparently)
I got the car back on saturday afternoon, and drove home. As I was
driving home, I smelled a rubber smell (not burning rubber, but, just
mild rubber smell) which at first I attributed to the new tires.
I parked my car at home and did not notice any problems such as fluid
leaks or anything else. Two hours later, I decided to drive to a local
electronics store to get some computer parts, and as I was coming down
a hill towards a red light, I began braking and found that my brakes
had failed completely - the pedal went straight to the floor with
absolutely no resistence whatsoever. I managed to stop the car by
pressing the brake pedal all the way to the floor to engage the manual
assist, and gradually applied & then fully pulled the e-brake to assist
with stopping. I came about 10 feet from flying into cross-traffic and
hitting half a dozen cars.
Needless to say, I was shaken up and angry. Being saturday afternoon,
there were no places I could send my car to, so I had it towed back to
my apartment garage. In the garage, I began examining it to see if I
could spot any brake fluid leaks, and found that brake fluid was
leaking from around the left front wheel well.
I jacked the car up and peered under it, to see the brake line making
contact with the left front wheel. It did not appear to be properly
clipped to the wheel strut, and I surmised that this may have been due
to carelessness or negligence on the part of my mechanic, but I'm still
unsure of that.
Monday morning, yesterday, I towed the car back to my mechanic, and in
the process of doing so, both the inner and outer sidewalls of the
brand new left front tire completely disintegrated, leaving the tread
intact. Upon outfitting my vehicle with the spare in my trunk, the tow
truck driver immediately saw where the brake line had been worn through
by the wheel and commented that I was extremely fortunate that this
incident did not happen on the freeway.
Unfortunately, my webhost is down right now, so I can't post the
picture I have of the disentegrated tire, but when my webhost comes
back up, you can click this link to see a picture I took with my
cameraphone.
http://www.ramenbudget.com/miscgraph...re_damage1.jpg
(Note: That picture will not work until my webhost resumes operation).
At any rate, I need to get some opinions of experienced professional or
amateur mechanics or 5.0 Mustang enthusiasts in regards to what might
have caused this. I should be able to provide detailed answers to any
questions you may ask that might help shed more light on this incident.
Thanks ahead of time for any replies!
04-11-2006, 04:44 PM
#2
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Southwest VA.
Posts: 3,915
RE: Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
dude, i hope someone can answer this for you. i have never heard of anything like this. what size wheels do you have? are the rear tires bigger than the fronts?
04-11-2006, 04:47 PM
#3
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 10
RE: Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
Wheels and tires are both stock. Mustang is completely stock except for the removal of the air silencer baffle from the intake.
The tires were brand new Continental (yeah, not the best choice as I'm learning now) 225/60r15. Wheels are stock 10-holes.
The tires were brand new Continental (yeah, not the best choice as I'm learning now) 225/60r15. Wheels are stock 10-holes.
04-11-2006, 04:50 PM
#4
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Southwest VA.
Posts: 3,915
RE: Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
man id say someone has messed something up badly or he has left something out of adjustment. does the car pull bad or anything? is it driving normal....[X(]so far im still lost here.
04-11-2006, 04:55 PM
#6
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Southwest VA.
Posts: 3,915
RE: Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
that is the weirdest thing ive ever heard. you could call a ford company and ask one of their technical guys. someone here may have seen this before but not me. good luck with it bro.
04-11-2006, 04:58 PM
#7
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Southwest VA.
Posts: 3,915
RE: Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
after rereading your post, id say the brake line was bent during the work done to the car. and was bent into the tire. id tell this mechanic that he had better replace your tire and brakeline or youll be seeekin legal assisitance, since hid neglect put you in a direct personal safety hazard, that could have costed you your life.
04-11-2006, 04:58 PM
#8
Gentleman's Relish
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: AZ
Posts: 13,090
RE: Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
your webhost must still be down (no pic). Is teh car lowered at all? Sounds like the Mechanic forgot to fully tighten the strut bolts that attach the lower part of the strut to the hub. The extra play would be enough to work against the brake hose. Is there a brake fluid leak?
04-11-2006, 05:01 PM
#9
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 10
RE: Opinions needed: Brake and tire failure on a 1990 5.0
Yes, my webhost is still down.
Other opinions I've collected are the same as yours, Derf00; many agree that it sounds like the brake line was not properly reattached after rotating the tires and adjusting the wheel and steering alignment.
In regards to the brake fluid leak, immediately after the failure, I had my car towed back to my apartment complex and began examining the vehicle for leaking fluids, as my first suspicion was that the master cylinder had blown. I discovered brake fluid dripping in large quantity from the left-front wheel well.
I proceeded to jack the car up and examine it further, and found that the brake line was making contact with the left front wheel. Pumping the brakes with my hand resulted in fluid spraying from a hole in the brake line.
The car is not lowered at all, and is totally stock.
Other opinions I've collected are the same as yours, Derf00; many agree that it sounds like the brake line was not properly reattached after rotating the tires and adjusting the wheel and steering alignment.
In regards to the brake fluid leak, immediately after the failure, I had my car towed back to my apartment complex and began examining the vehicle for leaking fluids, as my first suspicion was that the master cylinder had blown. I discovered brake fluid dripping in large quantity from the left-front wheel well.
I proceeded to jack the car up and examine it further, and found that the brake line was making contact with the left front wheel. Pumping the brakes with my hand resulted in fluid spraying from a hole in the brake line.
The car is not lowered at all, and is totally stock.