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nothing is going my way...

S

steebsSVT

CEG'er
Joined
Jun 3, 2007
Messages
258
Location
Rochester, MI
ok, so my check engine light comes on today. grrrr.... so i take it to auto zone and they read my code, i forget the number but it was saying my engine coolant temp sensor was bad. whatever, it isn't overheating and it seems to be running the fans correctly, so i decided to ignore that for today and check on those rubbing front brake pads of mine. turns out they are rubbing, but here's the real fun part...

I can't get my wheels off!!!

now, i don't know if i'm just being dumb and SVT's have some hidden wheel release button i don't know about, but if anyone has any idea about how to get those off, that would be great.

P.S. if anyone has a shop and want's to help me with my brakes sometime, that would be great. i've got no problem working on them myself, i just have the most pathetic tool chest ever, and no garage.

thanks for putting up with the longest post ever.

~Steve
 
ok. if you were driving it around earlier in the day, then the wheels heated up because of the brakes. we get this often at the dealership when people bring in hot vehicles and they want a tire rotation and the wheels wont come off. what we do is jus hit the back of the tires. never have had a problem with any cars not being able to get the wheel off.

let us know how it goes
 
so, after about 15 minutes of pounding they won't move an inch. it's like they've been straight welded on or something. also, while i was under there i found this hanging from the drivers side.
 

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Spray some PB Blaster or WD-40 around where the rim and rotor meet and kick the living crap out of it. It's stuck from some rust on the brake rotor and probably hasn't been removed in a long time.

The part in the picture is your sway bar end link. It's disconnected. My guess is the car is driving sloppy in the front when you corner. Get it fixed ASAP.
 
i sprayed the **** out of it today, so i'll give it a try tomorrow. and is the sway bar something i can reconnect myself or should i see someone about that?
 
steebsSVT said:
i sprayed the **** out of it today, so i'll give it a try tomorrow. and is the sway bar something i can reconnect myself or should i see someone about that?
Click to expand...

The end link looks broken in the picture. It should have a stud on it for a nut to tighten on. Looks like it snapped right off the end link. You'll need a new one if that's the case. And if you replace it, buy both sides. Don't want a worn one and a new one.
 
ok, got the end links replaced and changed the brake pads (thanks todras!) but the brakes went back to sticking after about 1 day, so yesterday i repeated the brake pad change process and that lasted about an hour. as far as i can tell it will keep the correct "range of motion" or whatever until i put the brakes on hard. does anyone know what's going on here?

p.s. my brake fluid levels have stayed the same, so no leaks or anything.
 
if the pads continue to drag even after changing them then the piston seal is on its way out. what happens is when you brake the piston moves out and the seal around it stretches. when you release the pedal the seal pulls the piston back in so the pads no longer touch the rotor. it sounds lke that seal is not pulling the piston back far enough.
 
calipers are fairly cheap but no one keeps them in stock for the most part. and don't go to ford and get one....they don't come loaded with anything and they are the same price as a loaded one from say champion.
 
steebsSVT said:
thanks, that sounds like what's happening. can the seal be replaced or is the whole caliper bad?
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the seal can be replaced however its much easier to just buy a new caliper. plus im not sure what, if any, special tools you might need to replace the seal
 
ok, i'm seeing calipers from champion at $65 a piece, does that sound like the right ballpark? cause at that price i'm thinking there's not real damage being caused by the rub, i might just live with it for a while.
 
steebsSVT said:
ok, i'm seeing calipers from champion at $65 a piece, does that sound like the right ballpark? cause at that price i'm thinking there's not real damage being caused by the rub, i might just live with it for a while.
Click to expand...

yup, that is about right for a fully loaded caliper.
 
ok, i think the brakes are taken care of, or will be shortly. the next question is this. i have a CEL p0118, which is engine coolant temp sensor high input error. the engine temp stays in normal range, so it's not actually overheating. when i was checking i noticed something interesting, there is only 1 wire (black w/ white stripe as far as i can see) going into the sensor. now, is this normal or should there be a second wire somewhere in that mess?
 
One wire coolant temperature gauge sender (this points to the the driver wheel). Two wires engine coolant temperature sensor (this points to the firewall).

In this picture, the engine coolant temperature sensor is listed in red. The coolant temperature gauge sender is the "bronze looking thing" below the "co" in the word coolant.
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=983852&Forum=trouble&Words=chongo&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=983239&Search=true#Post983852
 
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Tony2005 said:
One wire coolant temperature gauge sender (this points to the the driver wheel). Two wires engine coolant temperature sensor (this points to the firewall).

In this picture, the engine coolant temperature sensor is listed in red. The coolant temperature gauge sender is the "bronze looking thing" below the "co" in the word coolant.
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/s...d=allposts&Main=983239&Search=true#Post983852
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cool, thanks man.
when i go to replace that sensor i'm guessing all the engine coolant is going to spill out?
 
steebsSVT said:
cool, thanks man.
when i go to replace that sensor i'm guessing all the engine coolant is going to spill out?
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Some. Plan to get everything ready to be put back in and you will loose very little of the coolant. If not, having a quart of coolant (plus one quart of water) helps. If you need to mess around the "hole" open, just stuff a clean rag in it to prevent the coolant from spurting out like a faucet. :laugh:
 
ok, does anyone know definitely whether p0118 is the coolant sensor or the engine coolant sensor? and can i use a volt meter to check the wiring at the plugs?
 
steebsSVT said:
ok, does anyone know definitely whether p0118 is the coolant sensor or the engine coolant sensor? and can i use a volt meter to check the wiring at the plugs?
Click to expand...
P0118 Engine coolant temperature sensor, the one pointing towards the firewall, the one listed in the red words in the picture.

An issue with the coolant temperature gauge sender will not trigger a CEL code. The fault will cuase your temperature gauge in the dash to either not register a reading or it will be pegged in the high end.
 
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