1) Car is having difficulty starting. It seems to crank a lot more than normal before finally starting. Should fire up right away no?

2) When I start driving and step lightly on the brake pedal, the brakes lock up (only when stepping on the pedal). I continue to drive and they return to working normal. It's almost as if the car needs to warm up for the brakes to work properly??

Any ideas?

 

cranking could be several things. Whens last tune up? vacume leak? spark? starter not spinning fast enough? Yes it should start in just a few seconds.


Brakes, lock up as they skid on payvement? or peddle gets stiff? They should fuction same all the time.

 

kinda sounds like a vacuum leak....maybe? i'd try a new coil for the starting problem....mine was getting harder to start a summer or two ago then i put a new coil on it and it got better.

 

The brakes lock up (skid on the pavement) when you touch the brake pedal. There is no difference in the feel of the pedal. When you drive normally you can apply pressure to the brake pedal and the car slows down gradually; with this problem, as soon as you step on the pedal and apply pressure, the brakes lock up immediately.

 

wow, thats really strange. I have no useful info on that one.

Might want to try this in the suspension forum, you would prob get better info.

 

Which brakes are locking on you? Fronts, rears, or both? Do you have rear drum brakes or disc? is there pulsing in the pedal when you lightly step on it? Does the car feel like it is nose diving excessively?

 

Hey, when was the last time you had your brakes inspected? You might want to take a look at the rotors and pads, as well as the drums and shoes in the back if so equipped. If the rotors and/or pads are wearing funny, that may indicate something wrong in the system (bad caliper, brake hose, master cylinder, etc.). Also, check the rotors for surface rust. I don't know what kind of climate you live in, but a moister climate can make the rotors rust over a period of non-use...sometimes as fast as overnight if the rotors have been heavily rusted before. I had an '83 Camaro that had this happen to it (I live in central NYS), and the same thing would happen with the brakes until the car seemed to warm up. It would of course get worse the longer the car went without being driven.

Pull off the wheels and take a look. If the rotors are NOT rusty, then look at the pads and rotor surfaces (front and rear on BOTH sides) and see how they're wearing. If something doesn't look right, you need to start looking further up the system. I suppose a vacuum leak is possible, but I would think that a vacuum leak would weaken the power brake booster and therefore make it a little HARDER for the brakes to stop the car....

As far as the starting problem: like someone said above, when was the last time a tuneup was done? Spark plugs make a phenomenal difference in something like that. If the car has not been tuned up in the last two years, I'd replace the plugs, cap and rotor, and possibly the wires. Coil is not a normal wear item, but it IS possible that it could be weak. Also, just a friendly warning from my own personal experience---do not use platinum plugs if your engine burns ANY oil. For some reason, platinum plugs foul much faster in engines that burn oil, which will definitely impact the way the car starts up.

Hope this was of some help to you. Good luck.

 

I know what the brake thing is. You need to replace your front brake hoses. Its how mine started. Then one night my brakes lock and would not let lose. Had to remove my brake pads and just use the E-brake to get home.


The hose will look fine on the out side but inside is another story.

Change them brake hoses soon, trust me. Its seams livable until they lock for good.

Problem is the hose falls apart on the inside and pressure gets in, but not out very easy.



start thingy


It could take more to crank as its colder out so it take an extra min to suck the oil up to prime the fuel pump. Fuel pump doesn't trip till you reach 7psi.

 

Yep, we should've ALL changed our brake hoses at least once by now. I'm on my third set. So if anyone reading this hasn't changed the brake hoses yet, DO IT THIS WEEKEND!

If the rear drums are in bad shape, they might be getting condensation in them, and locking up when you first touch the brakes. My dad's old car had that problem with the rear drums; turned out the previous owner had knocked out the little plug to allow the shoes to back off, and never sealed it with a rubber plug, so moisture was getting in there.