Soft Brake Pedal

[cloud9]

Good to hear.

 

[zzyzx]

My speed bleeders started to weep after my last track day. I have no help for bleeding, so I bought a motive. Have yet to see how it compares to the ol fashioned way.

Could you clarify what you mean by "weep"?

 

[steveespo]

Good job Logan, glad to hear it went well.
One thing I have learned over 30 years of working on cars is trust no one with your life. When racing whether it's drag or road course you have to checklist all safety items before and during the event. Brakes,tire pressures, fluid levels, lug torque, ball joint play and tread condition are all things you should verify yourself. I also periodically go over suspension and brake attachment hardware with a torque wrench just to verify everything is tight like it should be. What that does is get you under the car where you might spot a leak, a wire rubbing or melting or some thing bent etc. There are a lot of good mechanics out there but they get paid to turn work around, a good race mechanic works fast but double checks things because someone really is putting their life on the line. That's why the good race shops usually charge more hours that your shop around the corner, dealers are the worst of both worlds, they book more hours and miss a lot of stuff. I know not all but I know I have personally caught dealership mechanics not using torque wrenches on suspension work done to my car on 2 different occasions, they love those air tools!
Steve

 

[PeteInCT]

Good job Logan, glad to hear it went well.
One thing I have learned over 30 years of working on cars is trust no one with your life. When racing whether it's drag or road course you have to checklist all safety items before and during the event. Brakes,tire pressures, fluid levels, lug torque, ball joint play and tread condition are all things you should verify yourself. I also periodically go over suspension and brake attachment hardware with a torque wrench just to verify everything is tight like it should be. What that does is get you under the car where you might spot a leak, a wire rubbing or melting or some thing bent etc. There are a lot of good mechanics out there but they get paid to turn work around, a good race mechanic works fast but double checks things because someone really is putting their life on the line. That's why the good race shops usually charge more hours that your shop around the corner, dealers are the worst of both worlds, they book more hours and miss a lot of stuff. I know not all but I know I have personally caught dealership mechanics not using torque wrenches on suspension work done to my car on 2 different occasions, they love those air tools!
Steve

+1 on that Steve.

Quick story: Good friend of mine and fellow driver uses a Tundra pickup to haul his GT3 and 24' trailer. Big truck and more than capable, but as all trucks do it works hard when he has his rig full. He has taken his Tundra back for some issues (nothing major) which required that the wheels be dismounted and remounted. Like both you and I, he is a 'detail maniac' ;D (he's a former F-14 pilot, so no big mystery there). On numerous occasions when he got the truck back from the dealer he found his lug nuts were ridiculously tight. The last time it happened he used an old torque wrench and found it took 150 lbs of force to remove the lug nuts, whereas the spec is 90 ft/lbs. As we all know, if you over-tighten the lug nuts you run the risk of snapping the lugs big time. On a truck of that size hauling that much weight I'd guess it's an accident waiting to happen.

Moral of the story is you can only trust your Mother (hopefully). Not a dealer ;D

 

[Roadhouse]

Good job Logan, glad to hear it went well.
One thing I have learned over 30 years of working on cars is trust no one with your life. When racing whether it's drag or road course you have to checklist all safety items before and during the event. Brakes,tire pressures, fluid levels, lug torque, ball joint play and tread condition are all things you should verify yourself. I also periodically go over suspension and brake attachment hardware with a torque wrench just to verify everything is tight like it should be. What that does is get you under the car where you might spot a leak, a wire rubbing or melting or some thing bent etc. There are a lot of good mechanics out there but they get paid to turn work around, a good race mechanic works fast but double checks things because someone really is putting their life on the line. That's why the good race shops usually charge more hours that your shop around the corner, dealers are the worst of both worlds, they book more hours and miss a lot of stuff. I know not all but I know I have personally caught dealership mechanics not using torque wrenches on suspension work done to my car on 2 different occasions, they love those air tools!
Steve

Thanks Steve. This is a good reminder and lesson for me (and all of us) as I'm just getting into open track driving and working on my own car.

 

[Roadhouse]

+1 on that Steve.

Quick story: Good friend of mine and fellow driver uses a Tundra pickup to haul his GT3 and 24' trailer. Big truck and more than capable, but as all trucks do it works hard when he has his rig full. He has taken his Tundra back for some issues (nothing major) which required that the wheels be dismounted and remounted. Like both you and I, he is a 'detail maniac' ;D (he's a former F-14 pilot, so no big mystery there). On numerous occasions when he got the truck back from the dealer he found his lug nuts were ridiculously tight. The last time it happened he used an old torque wrench and found it took 150 lbs of force to remove the lug nuts, whereas the spec is 90 ft/lbs. As we all know, if you over-tighten the lug nuts you run the risk of snapping the lugs big time. On a truck of that size hauling that much weight I'd guess it's an accident waiting to happen.

Moral of the story is you can only trust your Mother (hopefully). Not a dealer ;D

Thanks for sharing Pete. That's ridiculous! Unfortunately I have heard similar stories from dealers in my area.

I like to think I can trust my mechanic at the dealer, as he is a friend and a fellow mustang driver with a KB supercharged GT500. But at the same time you never know who else is touching your car while it's there. Or if someone gets distracted and overlooks something.

 

[2012-Boss]

Could you clarify what you mean by "weep"?

A small drop of brake fluid would appear after a couple of hours on top of the bleeder's check valve. This would happen with the car sitting on jacks, so I was not about to try driving it.

Others may be refering to fluid leeking past the bleeder's threads. There is a sealant on the threads when new. It wears off over time. Russel recommends that you periodically remove the bleeders and add more sealant.

Steve

 

[steveespo]

Wasn't meant to scare anyone or disrespect anyone's mechanic because there are many enthusiasts like us that work on cars for a career and not just a paycheck. The seriousness is we are running big boy cars on big boy tracks, 400+ horsepower and 150+mph speeds are nothing to play around with. Sometimes I'm surprised we are allowed to do what we do without full cages. That being said it is up to us to make sure our cars are in good mechanical condition. I also don't mind and enjoy helping others check things out on their cars at the track, it helps them but it could save me if a part failure might cause an accident in my run group. Don't be afraid to make friends and ask all the questions you have, the only dumb question is the one you don't ask.
Steve

 

[PeteInCT]

Wasn't meant to scare anyone or disrespect anyone's mechanic because there are many enthusiasts like us that work on cars for a career and not just a paycheck. The seriousness is we are running big boy cars on big boy tracks, 400+ horsepower and 150+mph speeds are nothing to play around with. Sometimes I'm surprised we are allowed to do what we do without full cages. That being said it is up to us to make sure our cars are in good mechanical condition. I also don't mind and enjoy helping others check things out on their cars at the track, it helps them but it could save me if a part failure might cause an accident in my run group. Don't be afraid to make friends and ask all the questions you have, the only dumb question is the one you don't ask.
Steve

+1. Good post Steve. I'm happy to say that a lot of clubs we drive with in this area help facilitate that knowledge transfer. Good people always sharing info and helping out.

 

[Roadhouse]

Wasn't meant to scare anyone or disrespect anyone's mechanic because there are many enthusiasts like us that work on cars for a career and not just a paycheck. The seriousness is we are running big boy cars on big boy tracks, 400+ horsepower and 150+mph speeds are nothing to play around with. Sometimes I'm surprised we are allowed to do what we do without full cages. That being said it is up to us to make sure our cars are in good mechanical condition. I also don't mind and enjoy helping others check things out on their cars at the track, it helps them but it could save me if a part failure might cause an accident in my run group. Don't be afraid to make friends and ask all the questions you have, the only dumb question is the one you don't ask.
Steve

Well said and very true. I have gleened all sorts of knowledge from others while at the track. It's pretty cool how friendly and helpful everyone is at open track events, especially to new guys.

No offense taken here

 

[2012YellowBoss]

Could you clarify what you mean by "weep"?

Forgot to post these: