Sticking Brake Pedal - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

rubberduckie · 07-19-2006, 12:32 PM

Went to take the Box out today and noticed as soon as I was leaving the garage that the break pedal was sticking. It would come up slowly, but very slowly. I made an appointment at the dealership, but before I fork over the big bucks could the high temperature and high humidity today have anything to do with this? I have never had this problem before. Also, can anyone guess as to how much the dealer is going to charge to find/fix the problem. I know my breaks are not great, but shouldn't that make them have less grip, not more? Thanks everyone!

Perfectlap · 07-19-2006, 12:37 PM

ha! when it comes to that pedal don't waste any time in getting to the stealership.

rubberduckie · 07-19-2006, 12:39 PM

Why not? Any advice on what to do?

Perfectlap · 07-19-2006, 12:46 PM

Any car that has brakes operating at less than 100% is a car I don't get into.

If you have AAA I would call them and just drop it off at the dealer or your mechanic of choice. They'll prioritize cars that have been towed in.
It may not be a big repair who knows maybe you just need your lines flushed but really brakes are not to be fooled with.
I had coworker run over a guy on a bicycle (RIP) late one night and they impounded his car and took apart his brakes to see if they were faulty.
He was cleared after appearing in court. The cyclist ignored a red light an intersection.

rubberduckie · 07-19-2006, 01:02 PM

I found this on a Rennlist thread
"On sticking brakes, if your rubber hoses are more than 10 years old, replace them. Over time they swell internally, which impacts the hydraulic pressure and the ability of the pistons to relax after braking. People have rebuilt "sticking" calipers only to still have the problem afterwards, with the solution being new rubber hoses."
Does this sound right? and if so what is this going to set me back?

ohioboxster · 07-19-2006, 01:12 PM

To answer your original question, no. The humidity will not affect your brake pedal. Lets start with the basics. Lets have year, miles, auto or stick and do you see any fluid on the floor or ground? If your pedal is weak or mushy this most likely means you have air in the line. If you have a leak then you will be low on fluid hence the sucking air into the system and dripping fluid. Pop the hood and check the level first. This will give you a good place to start. Im not saying if its low then all you have to do is add fluid but atleast we will know some basic element of the problem. The 5-speed uses the same reservoir for the clutch as brake system. I ask the year and miles because brake fluid absorbs water. It could something as simple as flushing the system with new fluid. So give me more info and I will try to help. Dont be so quick to just hand money to the dealership unless you are just not a do it yourself kind of person.

Perfectlap · 07-19-2006, 01:33 PM

brakes are not a good DIY area to be learning on. I'm all for doing maintenance on your own, replacing pads on this car is very easy for example, but he stated "I know my brakes are not great" and that he already had an appointment with the stealership. A trip to the dealership for a thorough look is not at all a bad thing and far from a waste of money.

ohioboxster · 07-19-2006, 01:43 PM

I respectfully disagree perfectlap. Im not sure of his skill level it was not stated but could be assumed as basic, not sure. As far as where I disagree with you, my opinion is everytime you take your car to the dealership its a waste of money. Just my opinion.

rubberduckie · 07-19-2006, 01:45 PM

Thanks for the advice. My baby is a 1997 tip Boxster with 47,000 miles and no signs of fluid on the garage floor. The fact that it is an older Box makes me hope that it just needs new rubber hoses, but the pedal is not weak or mushy as yuo discribed, rather somewhat herd to compress and rises back up very slowly. I appreciate all the hlep!

rubberduckie · 07-19-2006, 02:30 PM

Just went out to check the brake pedal again and now it is also clicking when it goes up or down in addition to sticking and being very slow to rise. What does this mean??

Perfectlap · 07-19-2006, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ohioboxster

I respectfully disagree perfectlap. Im not sure of his skill level it was not stated but could be assumed as basic, not sure. As far as where I disagree with you, my opinion is everytime you take your car to the dealership its a waste of money. Just my opinion.

yes I will agree:
(a)what it actually costs to repair - (b)mark up Porsche charges = (c)waste of money

rubberduckie · 07-19-2006, 03:19 PM

I posted this question on another forum also and one response was that it might be due to the fact that the car hasn't been driven for 2 weeks and one of the pistons got stick. They mentioned that simply driving the car could unstick it. I would like to give this a shot, but I don't want to damage the car if this ends up not being the problem. Any suggestions? should I give it a shot?

Grizzly · 07-19-2006, 03:46 PM

Whether you agree with Perfectlap or Ohioboxster as to who should check it out and do the repair really doesn't matter. What matters is that someone get to the bottom of the problem. Test driving it around to see if the malfunction will correct itself is really not a good idea when you're talking about brakes. Know what I mean?