holy moly, my brakes go out, I could've died and I'm stranded

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I'm back... I've been stranded in the mountains of NC for a bit. I went up there to shoot my first wedding. As soon as I get there my brakes go out, (the seals in the Master Cylinder). I'm approaching a line of cars about 4 deep that have come to a stop next ot Tweetsie Railroad, traveling aprox 50mph, the traffic is heavy in the oncoming lanes, there is steep embankment on the right. I panic and forget the emergency brakes and pump frantically at the pedal. I finally get pressure and start decelerating at about 6 pumps in. I make it to a pay phone cuz my cell service is no good up there. That is on Friday, I finally get my car towed in on Saturday, they tell me my car will be ready Monday, they get the wrong part and I'm stuck til Tuesday. I miss 3 deadlines and am put behind on 5 assignments. But at least I'm still alive and kickin' arse.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    chinneychinney Posts: 1,019member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by LiquidR

    As soon as I get there my brakes go out, (the seals in the Master Cylinder).



    Having my brakes go on the car has always been something that I have had nightmares about (that and being trapped in a car underwater - don't know why). How common is sudden brake failure as a general occurance among cars? Does age and servicing make a difference, or is it just one of those things that can happen?



    Do you or other AIers have any further knowledge about this?



    P.S. Good to still have you with us Liquid.
  • Reply 2 of 9
    Quote:

    Originally posted by LiquidR

    But at least I'm still alive and kickin' arse.



    ...and you can still smile about it!!



    Glad in the end everything turned out ok.
  • Reply 3 of 9
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    I had a clutch die a few times when I was driving. Woopse. No more gears! Just kind'a coast to a stop, shut off the engine and let it cool down. It was caused by "crankshaft walk" Where the crankshaft would move a little and all the fluid in the clutch reservoir would be used to fill the space until a air bubble got in. I always carry an extra bottle now.



    Another car, a custom built Celica, had the seals in the clutch cylinder break but that is a custom part and I would have to build a new one. Too much work for a car that is not street legal.
  • Reply 4 of 9
    You have to be carefull with the emergency break ... if you had remembered to use it - you could easily lock your tires and spin out.
  • Reply 5 of 9
    Yeah, in regards to the emergency brake, my brakes went out once and my first thought was, "Well, this is an emergency, and they call that thing over there the emergency brake."



    Fortunately I was only going about 25mph at the time, and yeah, when you're freaked out you lock up the wheels pretty quickly with the emergency brake. This is also why I like having a manual transmission vehicle...
  • Reply 6 of 9
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    Oh, did anyone ever have power steering die on them. I did once on a mountain road. That was some scary shit! Brakes are good, but I was headed for a dirt bank. Barely missed it!
  • Reply 7 of 9
    der kopfder kopf Posts: 2,275member
    What's the merit of engine braking in an emergency like that? Or are stick shifts more of a rarity than a rule in the US? I'd think it'd be possible to shift-brake the care all the way down to about 10 miles an hour, at which point that last brake (the "hand brake" as we call it, is that that "emergency break"?) would surely suffice to do that last part. The main problem of course being that all of that would go a LOT slower than just pulling that brake... In any case, you're lucky to have gotten out unscathed.
  • Reply 8 of 9
    i actually was having major issues with my breaks (as in i would apply them and the car would pulse to a stop...). Several times this happened where i almost but not quite continued on into an intersection. Turns out that the disks were bad...
  • Reply 9 of 9
    Quote:

    Originally posted by the cool gut

    You have to be carefull with the emergency break ... if you had remembered to use it - you could easily lock your tires and spin out.



    That's why it is now referred to as the "parking brake" by the manufacturers. Anything to limit liability.
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