Teves Brake system

[Tinker]

For those of you that are interested, here's a little history about Teves Brake System the company that built the brake system in the Reatta. As you can see, they have been around for a long time.

Is it only the Reatta that has these problems? Could it be that the brake fluid used in this country is detrimental to the materials used in Germany to make the Teves system for the Reatta?

Maybe we should use only Bosch brake fluid for our cars?

[reattadudes]

the Teves brake system was also used on the Pontiac 6000 STE, and the Chrysler TC, and others. they also had the same problems the Reatta has.

[padgett]

I originally planned to get the Teves on our 90 Bonneville but the dealer didn't put in the right check mark.

No ABS can compensate for bad tires/conditions.

In europe safety checks are much more exhaustive (have heard of cars being rejected because of a rust hole). In many states (including Florida) there is none, zip, zilch, nada.

The catastrophic failure (hard pedal, no brakes) seems to be a jamming of the main valve, something regular draining/flushing (I would drain the resovoir first, then flush with new fluid) seems to eliminate.

Keep in mind that we have three documented cases only, not a good sampling, but sounds like the pedal went to the floor first, then the reaction occured.

Must wonder if old/bad accumulator might have been a factor. Think in at least two of the three instances the accumulator had been recently replaced. A disintegrating rubber seal could clog anything. Good reason to discharge accumulator and drain resovoir before flushing (to remove any particles.

Remember to flush rears first - the rear circuit does not go through the main valve.

"Test 7" checks the main valve every time the car is started.

I really do not think the Teves is any more prone to failure than any other system and need to prepare for same reactions as any other massive brake loss (pump parking brake, drop to low gear, know how to spin a car).

What does Teves have to say on the subject, expect someone here has a technical contact ?

[Barney Eaton]

According to a list in HPBooks, Brake Systems, the Teves Mark 2 ABS system was used on lots of cars. It may not have been standard but they show Lincoln used it '85-'92, GM use it on Buicks, Cadillacs, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac.

Ford on the '87-'92 T bird, and Cougar. SAAB 9000, Peugeot, and VW Passat.

I often suggest a Reatta owner find an independant SAAB or VW shop to flush the system. I have not seen the system on a VW but the components are spread out differently on the SAAB because of space.

It's not the fluid it's the maintance. In Europe, it is common practice to flush the system every two-three years. A mechanic that knows the system would recommend replacing the accumulator before it fails. All this makes a difference between a good working system and the panic we sometimes have when the unmaintained system fails.