Vehicle inspector made brake-fluid leak so bad that my brakes hardly work

[kalrith]

I had a Missouri vehicle inspection today, and they found the following things wrong with my '92 Cougar:

• right inner tie-rod end
  serp belt
  wheel cylinder
  brake shoes

I guess there was just a piece of rubber that was holding in the brake fluid in the wheel cylinder. When he checked it, the piece of rubber came off, and now brake fluid spews out whenever I press the brakes. The brakes also go almost all the way to the floor instead of about half way, and I've lost at least 50% of the braking power.

They say that I'd have to get the wheel cylinder replaced anyways, and that it was good to happen at the shop instead of on the highway. I say that my brakes functioned fine before they touched them and now it's a hazard for me to even drive the car. What do you think?

On a side note are the issues above things that I should let a shop fix or are they easy enough to do myself? I'm somewhat handy with a car, but I don't want to tackle things that wouldn't be worth the time and effort compared to the labor charges at a shop.

Thanks!

 

[bruceb]

First, I am surprised the shop is even looking at the serpentine belt, unless, when they looked under the hood for emissions tampering, it was in very bad shape. As to the brakes, did they remove the wheels to check or just do a brake test on the pressure scales like most state shops do ? If they took apart the wheels, maybe they damaged something, but it is more likely that the parts really were ready to fail.
Can you fix it yourself ? ? As long as you can remember how to install the drum shoe springs, using the correct tools, as they can be tricky to get into place, yes. The drum shoe cylinders either mount with a clip or 2 small hex head bolts from behind the drum, along with the brake fluid line. You hould have the drums cut at a brake shop or if they are old, just get new ones. And you will need to bleed the entire brake system. Tie rod, you need a mechanic, as it will require a front end alignment after. And personally, if one is bad, I would change both to be on the safe side.

 

[kalrith]

They removed the wheels to check the cylinder. He said he touched it to checked it, and that's when the rubber piece came off. I've never dealt with drum brakes before, so I don't know much about them.

Does anyone else think I should get both tie-rod ends changed?

 

[bsobel]

Your lucky it happened at the shop and not while driving (I've had that happen while driving back in 94 or so)...

 

[Zenmervolt]

Changing the tie rod end requires an alignment. You won't be able to do that part yourself. As far as changing both, if the other side is OK, I see no reason to change it. You may need to have the other one changed in the future, but it's not guaranteed.

Brake components are solid pieces. A properly functioning brake cylinder can suffer light blows from a hammer without problems. (I don't recommend it as normal procedure, but it does give you an idea of their durability.) If normal inspection manipulation caused it to fail, it was already in very, very, very bad shape and it would be difficult for me to blame the mechanic.

ZV

 

[kalrith]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
If normal inspection manipulation caused it to fail, it was already in very, very, very bad shape and it would be difficult for me to blame the mechanic.

The more I think about it the more that this seems to be the case. My tags expire in 5 days anyways, so it's not like I'd be driving the car for long if it wouldn't pass inspection.

They said that serp belt had chunks missing, so it's probably in pretty bad shape.

So do you guys think I could change everything except the tie-rod end? I might get a quote on just the tie-rod end and then on all of it just to see what they'll charge me. I'm pretty pressed for time as I'm trying to fix up an old house to get it ready to go on the market.

On another aside I bought the car with 64k miles on it, and now it has 114k miles. I haven't done any long-term maintenance on it. Is there anything (such as the timing belt) that really needs to be replaced to prevent damage to the vehicle? This is just my dd for 10 miles/day at 35mph or less, so I don't care about the car, but I don't want to take too great of a risk of spending more money than I need to on it. I'll probably drive it for 3-5k more miles before getting rid of it.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Not the inspector's fault. It was almost to the failure point to begin with.....this is like unscrewing the cap on the salt shaker in the school cafeteria and waiting for someone to try to use it and spill it all.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: kalrith
On another aside I bought the car with 64k miles on it, and now it has 114k miles. I haven't done any long-term maintenance on it. Is there anything (such as the timing belt) that really needs to be replaced to prevent damage to the vehicle? This is just my dd for 10 miles/day at 35mph or less, so I don't care about the car, but I don't want to take too great of a risk of spending more money than I need to on it. I'll probably drive it for 3-5k more miles before getting rid of it.

No timing belt on any of the engines in the '92 Cougar. As far as maintenance at that mileage, brakes, accessory belts, fluids, air filter, fuel filter. That should cover it.

Potentially plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor as well, but if you're planning on getting rid of the car soon, then it seems silly to spend the money on these items.

ZV

 

[kalrith]

ZV, thanks for the input. It's reassuring that there's no timing belt. I recently replaced the air, fuel, and oil filters, changed the oil, and add fluids when necessary. I guess the main thing I haven't done is replacing any belts or changing the fluids, but hopefully that won't be necessary with as few miles as I plan to put on it. If the plans change, then it might be worth it to do that plus the other maintenance you mentioned.

 

[bruceb]

Since the serp belt had chunks out of it, it may be wise to also check the serp belt tensioner. The only resason I suggest doing both tie rod ends, is it is cheap to do while the other side is being done. And with that kind of mileage, it will need replacement sooner or later. A new tie rod
end on both sides, will make the car handle almost as good as new. They have ball joints, where it connects to the steering knuckle and they do
wear out, causing excessive play. I had a car once, where the tie rod just came apart at the adjuster. Luckily I was just leaving a bridge toll booth, but the car had to be towed anyway. When that happened I had the shop do the other side as well. Cheap insurance in my view.

 

[thedarkwolf]

You can change the tie rod yourself but you would need to get it aligned after. Just measure the threads that are showing on the old one or count them and put the new one on the same amount and you will be close enough to get it to the shop.

 

[kalrith]

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
You can change the tie rod yourself but you would need to get it aligned after. Just measure the threads that are showing on the old one or count them and put the new one on the same amount and you will be close enough to get it to the shop.

That's what my brother said too. He said it might be hard to get the bolts off on such an old car though. My father-in-law is coming up this weekend. I'll talk to him tonight and see if he wants to help me (more like me help him) fix any of the problems. I got an estimate of $450 to fix everything (just one tie-rod end), but he said that the cost might come out lower than the estimate.

How does that price sound?

 

[bruceb]

At autozone .. duralast tie rod ends for your car run about $26 each for inners and outers in zip code 65058 .. Also either inner or outer will work on either side ... prices are for the 6 cylinder car. So your are looking at about $120 or so with tax for all 4 tie rod ends