braking problem Shelby CSX7000

[Jim Maxwell]

I am beyond my area of expertise here and I ask for help. A friend has a CSX 7000 series with only ~500 miles. The car has a braking problem, in that the car don't stop!!!! Well, it does, but very slowly. We find out the rears are grabbing the discs much sooner and tighter than the fronts. The front system has a larger master cylinder, there is a very firm pedal, no air in the system and no visible way to adjust the proportioning. Any ideas?

[rdorman]

What does SAI say

Doesn't the car have a balance bar? Make sure it it not binding throughout its travel and try changing the bias there. Beyond that look for glazed or tapered pads, and check the pressure off the master cylinder. Is there fluid coming out of the back of the front master cylinder? Does the car pull?

Rick

[Jim Maxwell]

The car does not pull, there are no fluid leaks. The mechanic reports there is no balance bar. He has spoken to the Shelby dealer that sold the car and they don't have any ideas. I have recommended he pull the pads to have a look at them, but he doesn't think that's it, since the front wheels can easily be turned when the rears are locked up when the car is on the lift with someone pushing the brake pedal. I'll have him check the pressure. He did say when he lbed the system he got much better flow from the rear system than the front. I had him check for crimps or dents in the front brake lines. None found. Thanks for the help!

[427Aggie]

I asked about the bar on the other post but if I read you right you are saying that there is only 1 cylinder for both the front and rear brakes?

Matt

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Jim;

Check the front "soft" lines..... Thought I had a caliper sticking on my Mustang,changed it,still "sticking",checked and rechecked everything,untill I took off the soft line from the caliper to the hard line.... Plenty of fluid at the hard line,but little coming thru the soft line,it either partially collasped or had some debris in it and it was less than a year old....

Or possibly the side of the master cylinder that supplies fluid to the front could be partially stopped up..... I would start by bleeding the system at the master cylinder and see what comes out of the front line as compared to the rear line,then work my way down the system.....Hope this helps....

David

[Jim Maxwell]

Matt, the mechanic tells me there is no adjustable bar between the two cylinders' linkage. He was surprised. (He is an outstanding mechanic who works on all kinds of exotics). Daivd, I wouldn't be surprised if both front soft lines are bad. That has happened to me, too, but usually one brake starts sticking before the other. There is no pulling. I'll let you know what we find. Thanks for the help!

[David Kirkham]

What calipers is he using? What size mastercylinders is he using--front, rear?

David

[KobraKarl]

Jim,

Since I have not had the pleasure of wrenching on a Kirkham or Shelby I am wondering , even though there is no balance adjustment, there is presumably a pivot point between the two masters that allow the balance of pedal pressure to bear on the front brakes even after the rears have locked up....if not , an overly tight e-brake adj. could restrict pedal movement, ...

I would say , if you can turn the front wheels with the rears locked up , you probably have a mechanical restriction to the pedal arm or a completely failed master cyl. , Air in the lines or a blocked hose wouldnt manifest that way.

Good luck Kk

[strictlypersonl]

Jim,

Unless Shelby has changed the original design in the 4000 series, you've got a balance bar in there somewhere. I suspect that the lengths of the pushrods are not adjusted correctly and the balance bar is bottoming out in the housing before you're getting much front brake. This Wilwood page has some good general setup information.

[KobraKarl]

Bob,

Good call..!

KK

[csx700?]

jim
i'm not going to ask who assembled the car ( the gasbags might get upset ) but have you checked the front and rear brake master cylinder bore sizes? i'm thinking someone has them reversed, SMALL DIAMETER BORE should go to the FRONT and the larger diameter bore to the rear. i've heard that this happened many times on the 7000 series cars. hope this helps......john

[Jim Maxwell]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I wll pass these on to the mechanic and go look at the car myself tomorrow. I'll try to get the answers to the questions you have all asked, as well. Club Cobra and the members are the best!!!!

[kountzecobra]

"Gasbags"?

[ToyCollector]

David,

I am not up on the latest medical technology, but maybe his doctor prescribed GasBags to contain some problems.

[csx700?]

............see what i mean about gasholes.................when they post it's just like blowing hot air. get it gasbags with holes............gasholes

[Turk]

csx700,
Last time you took on someone one on one, you failed miserably. Why do you think taking on an entire group of diverse people with varied interests, cars and level of tolerance of others will get you any higher scores from the judges?

You might be surprised, how many of those "Gasholes" own a car manufactured by the very company who seem to be helping you with your current difficulties.

So called Gasholes, collectively have made far more contribution to this forum financially, intellectually and yes sometimes, controversially. Some of us have served as moderators, some still do.

We are nothing more than a group of professionals with similar tastes, and disdain for certain things. We may very well all be Republicans as well as Gasholes. You wouldn't attack us because we are Republican now, would you?

Please don't attack us, for our namesake. We are really really nice people if we may say so ourselves. No one else will.

Your contribution within 164 posts thus far has been confined to YOUR problems.

If Gasholes bother you so much , may I suggest you too form a similar organization for like minded people. You are even welcome to pick name that sounds similar to ours.

TURK

[Jamo]

And, might I add...

[Dan Semko]

CSX700?
Too much time with the car started and the door closed again?
Not a healthy way to start the New Year. If you spent as much time resolving the minute problems with your cobra as you spend stirring the pot, you'd probably be enjoying your car as much as others.
P.S. I'll give you 20 grand for it right now!

[Specialk]

nm

[Dan Semko]

kris,
huh??