Technical Brakes problem Punto SX 1995

[MarioRazor]

So, my Punto 75 has a very dangerous problem. Sometimes in the middle of a drive on a motorway(when brake is not needed a lot), if you push the brake, it just doesn't even try to stop, like you're pushing and theres no glycerine. And if you re-push the brake 2-3 times it will start stopping. Can someone tell me whats going on and how can that be fixed?

 

[varesecrazy]

not good,

with engine OFF,
pump brake pedal until STIFF / hard,
then keep foot pressure on pedal, start engine = pedal should DROP / lower a little = brake servo working.

turn OFF engine pump pedal again, until hard..leave foot resting on pedal , does it SLOWLY go lower..??

that is fluid leaking, - if no fluid is leaking outside of brake / wheel components..,, then it's most likely the brake servo seals are failing,

Charlie

 

[MarioRazor]

not good,

with engine OFF,
pump brake pedal until STIFF / hard,
then keep foot pressure on pedal, start engine = pedal should DROP / lower a little = brake servo working.

turn OFF engine pump pedal again, until hard..leave foot resting on pedal , does it SLOWLY go lower..??

that is fluid leaking, - if no fluid is leaking outside of brake / wheel components..,, then it's most likely the brake servo seals are failing,

Charlie

Thanks for the reply.
I've tried to start the car while holding the brake. I pump the brake pedal and its just hard, next I start the engine while holding the pedal, it just goes down, so the brake servo is working. I will try to do that what you said, but do I need to hold the brake while I'm turning off the engine? And it should be harder, right? And if it is slowly going down(leaking), how much does it cost to get it fixed or can I do it myself?

Thanks,
Mario

 

[flisko]

you made quite a few topics about your car, brakes dont work, rotten on both sides, probably head gasket failure..., i would personally rather buy another same spec punto and use this one for parts

 

[MarioRazor]

you made quite a few topics about your car, brakes dont work, rotten on both sides, probably head gasket failure..., i would personally rather buy another same spec punto and use this one for parts

What if I told you.. we don't have enough money? Actually we have money, but my dad doesn't want to spend money on cars anymore. He just doesn't care.. And almost all of the puntos which are on sale there in Macedonia, are rotten and even worse than mine.

 

[flisko]

how can there be any worse punto than yours considering rust lol

 

[MarioRazor]

how can there be any worse punto than yours considering rust lol

visit Macedonia.

 

[(CZ)enda]

Can you get the whole assembly from a scrapyard? The assembly is (theoretically) repairable, but it would be real pain in the nether parts to disassemble/reassemble the thing.
Anyway, my first step would be a thorough purging (removal of trapped air) of the braking system.

 

[MarioRazor]

Can you get the whole assembly from a scrapyard? The assembly is (theoretically) repairable, but it would be real pain in the nether parts to disassemble/reassemble the thing.
Anyway, my first step would be a thorough purging (removal of trapped air) of the braking system.

How can I remove the air? Any tutorial? And how much would an used assembly cost? If it's cheaper to fix the current one, I'd fix it if I had a tutorial..

Thanks,
Mario

 

[(CZ)enda]

You will find Haynes Repair Manual in pdf ready for download using ye ole Google in no time. IIRC, it includes nice pictorial guide to bleeding the brake system. The brake fluid needed is plain old DOT 3, sold at gas station etc. You should not need more than 0,5 l.

 

[MarioRazor]

You will find Haynes Repair Manual in pdf ready for download using ye ole Google in no time. IIRC, it includes nice pictorial guide to bleeding the brake system. The brake fluid needed is plain old DOT 3, sold at gas station etc. You should not need more than 0,5 l.

Thank you very much. Will try it out soon.
Mario

 

[fingers99]

Rule out air in the system and leaks. Once ruled out, I'd think more likely to be a master cylinder issue than the servo. Rebuild is possible, but a new master cylinder is very cheap (£20 or so).

 

[dave]

What if I told you.. we don't have enough money? Actually we have money, but my dad doesn't want to spend money on cars anymore. He just doesn't care.. And almost all of the puntos which are on sale there in Macedonia, are rotten and even worse than mine.

buy a bicycle :idea:

as you have no floor i guess the brake pipes are also rusted and probably leak. no brakes means you may crash and no floor means you probably will be seriously injured in that crash.

 

[MarioRazor]

Rule out air in the system and leaks. Once ruled out, I'd think more likely to be a master cylinder issue than the servo. Rebuild is possible, but a new master cylinder is very cheap (£20 or so).

Thank you, I will try it out.

 

[(CZ)enda]

buy a bicycle :idea:

TBH, I did some research using local prices. New floor is some 50-70 €/piece, i.e., say 120 €. Plus some 20 €/piece for sills, 40 €. Brake pipes (the long ones, original Fiat) were, IIRC, 50 € for a pair. This totals more than 200 € for material only. Plus, there is the possibility of a blown head gasket.
No matter how hard it may sound, the car, as-is, is worthless. After investing more than 200 € and a lot of time and effort, it will be hardly worth more than, say, 300-400 €.
Guess it is time to call it a day and send it to Chinese ironworks. There must be better cared-for Punto waiting somewhere.

 

[MarioRazor]

buy a bicycle :idea:

as you have no floor i guess the brake pipes are also rusted and probably leak. no brakes means you may crash and no floor means you probably will be seriously injured in that crash.

My Punto is 20 y/o and was used almost every day, so it's normal to have that much issues. They need to be fixed, but if you fix everything it would cost more than the whole car (In Macedonia, about 700 eur), but almost all of them are rusted and have issues. You really need to have luck to find an saved Punto with just minor issues.

 

[(CZ)enda]

I really do not think the car is worth the effort. Some stuff can be left as-is (e.g. my 1996 Punto 55 S is heating only the lower half of the rear window and it is dented from all sides as my wife was using it to learn driving - I simply do not give a flying Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo about these "cosmetic" issues), but the safety-related problems must be dealt with seriously. Should you be hit from side, the car would crumble like a cardboard box.

 

[flisko]

I really do not think the car is worth the effort. Some stuff can be left as-is (e.g. my 1996 Punto 55 S is heating only the lower half of the rear window and it is dented from all sides as my wife was using it to learn driving - I simply do not give a flying Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo about these "cosmetic" issues), but the safety-related problems must be dealt with seriously. Should you be hit from side, the car would crumble like a cardboard box.

tru dat

 

[MarioRazor]

See, I bought this car about 7 months ago and it's getting fixed more and more.. There were no lights at all, no trunk amortizers, engine fan wasn't working, exhaust was rotten, oil leaking from the head gasked, 100k/km without changing filters, alarm system wasn't working, siren of alarm too, the windshield was broken, no wipers & wiper motors, etc. And now, look at it. It just needs to get welded underneath, check for HG failures, buy a new steering pipe(the pipe that turns the wheels with the power of the steering wheel, i dunno whats it called), fix some interior things, fix the brakes, fix the auto-starter of the engine fan, fix any leaks(if there are any), put an antenna(radio works even without it), and fix dents.. From the day when we bought the car, to now, we have spent at least 600$, and 600$ more to go.. But the car costs about 700-800$ in Macedonia..

 

[dave]

but even fred flintstone's car is better than this punto