Q:I have a 2000 Ford Focus and my brakes were going bad so everything was replaced by a professional mechanic. New brake shoes, pads, rotors, calibers, master cylinder, and brake booster. Now I have no petal, when I press down on the brake it goes right down to the floor and gives no resistance at all. The car does not stop. The mechanic doesn‘t know what is wrong with it and cannot fix it. I‘m looking at forking over MORE money to have it looked at by someone else and I have already gone into considerable debt just on the work that I‘ve had done. If anyone can offer any answers, or suggestions about what may be wrong, it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

This is the simplest thing to do first: check the brake fluid level. It could be that when all the work was done on the brakes before they changed out the fluid and either didn't replace it, or didn't tight everything and you've developed a leak. You can always test it yourself by adding brake fluid (if it shows low) and if it leaks out fast, you'll know that someone didn't tighten everything. By the way, it'll take a few times pressing on the peddle before the brake fluid gets all the way through the brake lines.

Q:As any rider knows, a front wheel‘s lock will result in bicycle‘s tip over, thereby throwing a rider over the handlebar of the bicycle. Is there any brake system used to prevent a bicycle‘s tip over? Or any patented brake design used to address the bicycle‘s tip over.

It is the same. ABS stands for Anti-lock Braking System.

Q:I have a craftsman riding lawnmower that has the single pedal clutch/brake system. The clutch engages and disengages perfectly but when the pedal is completly depressed there is supposed to be brakes and there are none. Surely I can adjust it.

Follow the brake rod to the rear of the tractor should be on the right side of most mowers. You will find rod goes to a mechanism that is used for brakes. Sometimes you can adjust a couple of bolts on this mechanism to increase tension on the braking system. I believe you will need a 7/16 wrench to do this.

Q:I just changed my front brake line and can‘t get my front brake to pressure up. How do you get the pressure up in a brake line on a harley 1200 xlc?

Scoring on the piston skirt is caused by insufficient lubrication. That can be caused several things including having been too hot and excessive piston clearance. Were it me, I think I'd measure the inside diameter of the cylinder if for nothing else, peace of mind. When the front cylinder is coming up on compression, the connecting rod is going to try to **** the bottom rear of the piston against the cylinder wall. You might also look at the front top of the piston, especially the part above the top ring and see if it appears to have extra wear. Harley is known for using very tight clearances between the piston and cylinderwall, so I doubt the piston was too loose. It might not hurt to pull the rear jug and take a look at it. It would be very annoying to replace the front piston, put everything together and then find the knock was actually being caused by the rear cylinder. I don't know how large of an area is scored, but if it's not that large, the knock may be from the rear cylinder. I've pulled engines apart and was amazed at how well and quiet they ran considering what I found inside. Like the time I found large pieces of piston skirt in the oil pan and the remaining skirts fell apart on 6 of 8 pistons when removed from an industrial engine. I doubt the cylinder is badly worn, but it would still be advisable to measure it and if ok, hone the cylinder before installing a new piston. Be sure to lubricate the piston and cylinder before installing. I like to use STP for that purpose.

Q:Need to do a presentation on the safety features in vehicles.i don‘t know how a anti etc etc looks like.

Courtney Clench (student at MIT) has a pretty good drawing along with an explanation of how it works. Here's a link to what she created:

Q:The disc‘s in the front of my polo keep on warping i‘m going onto my 4th set of front disc‘s and the car has only done a total of 25000km(my brake pads are wearing just fine). if anyone could offer some advise on how to solve this problem.

The brakes are normally reliable on all VWs, I have just changed the discs on mine for the first time at 125,000 miles, it may be the way you drive, for example, when your brakes are hot don't press the brake pedal at lights or when you stop, use the hand brake instead, avoid sharp acceleration when you know you are coming to a stop soon after, between red lights for example. The discs are warping due to heat build up, which is then locked into one small space by the pads.

Q:i have a 95 ford windstar and i need the diagram for brake lines from the abs unit all the way back. please help i cant finish till i get thisi cant even find it in the haynes book

hi, its seems that your coat obviously has a very horrible smell to it, before i had a pair of gloves, and their was this smell to them, it smelt so horrible, but i just used alot of washing up powder until it went, i did think that the smell went from when i pour orange juice in a bowl and put my gloves in there, but to be on the safe side of not wrecking your coat, dont try that, but use a strong washing-up powder. sorry that the advice is not much. good luck :)

Q:there are no leaks and the master cylinder is full

Your calipers may be worn out, which you will be able to tell if there is a grinding sensation when you brake. If they aren't getting fluid, they will wear out quickly. Brakes are no joke; get them looked at right away. There is a special horror that comes when your brakes go kerflooey and you are still in motion. I just got a new pair of pads and calipers for a '97 Explorer last June st me around $600 (I called five places and picked the cheapest).

Q:I would like to know if anyone can identify the block that the brake lines hooks onto that is mounted by the coil spring housing. the structure has some lines coming out of it. one line to master cylinder, one line to each of the two calipers. 1993 ford ranger two wheel drive. Can anyone identify this part, and if so, where would I be able to find a replacement. It is necessary, for my breaks are leaking around this area.

I believe your talking about the proportioning valve, that might be a dealer only item but you can try a parts store, those rarely go bad, make sure it isn't one of the brake line fittings that go into the valve that's leaking.

Q:I was wondering if my brake system was contaminated completely what are all the parts that I would need to do the complete overhaul on my brake system I appreciate all the help that I can get thank you

just flush the system out and top up wiyh clean brake fluid dont need overhaul for contaminated brake fluid .;ok all the best .