Time for a badly needed brake job!!I, need some advice

69vettester · 02-15-02, 01:15 PM

My stock manual brake setup has never worked well , and recently degraded to a scary, pedal to the floor situation.
There is no leak in the system but the fluid seems to be bypassing the seals somehow?? Can someone advise on what the possibilities are with this?

Yesterday I got a new master cylinder ,and bench bled and installed it, as soon as I get off work, Im going to start bleeding the calipers, and see If I cant get some brakes!
Im going to get all new SS sleeved calipers asap, but for now, can I do something with the pistons and seals to get some decent brakes while Im waiting??
Any ideas on what best to do in this situation??
Ill post the results of the new master cylinder and caliper bleed, when I get it done..
Later..
TC

Bob Chadwick · 02-15-02, 01:43 PM

I have the same problem on my Acura Legend, mainly when the brakes are hot, and have been told that it is either the master cylinder or the power assist.

Shop around for the prices on the calipers. I made the mistake of thinking that the prices would be fairly close and overpaid by a factor of 2 - 3.

Bob

c4ever · 02-15-02, 02:12 PM

My advice is don't drive it until the system is 100%. No sense in fooling around with brakes. You don't want to bruise that baby

wolf_walker · 02-15-02, 02:41 PM

Flush the old fluid out of the lines and replace the rubber while your there, denatured alcohol and a large syrenge(make friends with a nurse

)

VetteBrakes did me right and had nice parts, not real cheap but what is for these things. I'd let it sit till I could get all the parts together and knock it out in a weekend, get a buddy that will do what he's told to help bleed the brakes, and bleed them correctly.

69vettester · 02-15-02, 10:10 PM

Must have been something to do with the old mastercylinder being bad, plus I know there was alot of crud in the system, despite have this system flushed 3mos ago by a shop. I dont think they payed attention to the job though cause the fluid I just drained was funky.
The brakes came way up and are real firm now. Better than theyve ever been since I Got her (25K miles ago). Im confident with them so Im on the road until I get the new calipers ordered.

Wolf_Walker, Is there a difference in the calipers VB&P makes and the ones that ecklers and zips sells??
Also, VB&P website isnt working for me anyway, None of their menu works so I cant shop?? Im not sure if its my browser or their website. Been like that for 4 days now, Im thinking its my browser, cause I called them, and the lady wasnt sure , but she thought everything was working and hadnt heard otherwise ..ect.
Could someone go there and let me know if its working on their computer??
http://www.vettebrakes.com/

Thanks everyone for the feedback...
Cheers and Beers

Tom

c4ever · 02-16-02, 12:07 PM

Tom,
Glad to see you got her goin. Vettebrakes site is working fine. Must in your browser.

wolf_walker · 02-16-02, 12:21 PM

Yep, their site is fine.

On the calipers, I dont know anything personally about ecklers or anyone else's. I do know you should look for stainless steel sleeved piston bores in them, and a good warrenty. VB met all that for me, and the "propaganda" in their catalog was pretty good also.

Order one of their catalogs, there's lots of good stuff in there.

69vettester · 02-16-02, 02:41 PM

Thanks..
Will do..
Tom

80convertible · 02-17-02, 09:34 AM

I agree that vette brakes makes great stuff. Believe it or not, I went to my local Autozone and got s/s sleeved brakes with lifetime warranty for $55.00 each. I have had no problems with them and along with performance friction pads, she stops almost as quickly as my wife's volvo 960.

Regards,

Jim

Nut · 02-17-02, 11:14 AM

Tom,

Stainless sleeved VB calipers on mine since 1986. Actually I had them redo the originals. Never a leak on any of them. The soft pedal I had last year that scared the crud out of me turned out being out of round rotors that caused the caliper pistons to cavitate. Even though the brake pedal did not pulsate, the pistons were sucking air (IN) the calipers. Had the rotors remachines (ON) the bearing assemblies. 10K miles later, just as perfect as they day I got it back. Glad for you it was just crappy fluid.

Later............... Nut

wolf_walker · 02-18-02, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Nut
Tom,

Stainless sleeved VB calipers on mine since 1986. Actually I had them redo the originals. Never a leak on any of them. The soft pedal I had last year that scared the crud out of me turned out being out of round rotors that caused the caliper pistons to cavitate. Even though the brake pedal did not pulsate, the pistons were sucking air (IN) the calipers. Had the rotors remachines (ON) the bearing assemblies. 10K miles later, just as perfect as they day I got it back. Glad for you it was just crappy fluid.

Later............... Nut

This situation is one of the prime reasons I've found horror stories of full brake jobs and still haveing no brakes. I've talked to several shops seeking advice and they kinda shuddered and said they wouldnt touch it. I dug for info and discovered later that the rotors were turned ON the rear hub, reasonably sure the front is likewise. Key part is you shouldnt just slap rotors on one, they should be turned while on the car, takes a special machine, but is pretty common. I've also found new rotors to often be not quite true, never hurts to check.

I've had a ball unlocking the mysteries of the vette, and to think, my optomistic self thought I could just slap new seals in the calipers when I first got started on the 74..

Nut · 02-18-02, 08:25 AM

Wolf, Your response got me thinking I had this wrong. My guy told me he had a special machine/fixture to do my rotors. So I called him this morning. You are absolutely correct. He did turn them on the car with a custome fixture that he built that can be adjusted for just about any car. He only works on Vette's, Camaro's and Firebird's. The testimony is the same. Great job and solved my problem. And thanks for clearing this up for me.

......... Nut

wolf_walker · 02-18-02, 01:23 PM

I was tought back in school years ago that turning any rotor on the car was better than doing it on a lathe, it's just more trouble/more expensive. Most cars I dont bother, but the vette is another story...

Nut · 02-18-02, 01:34 PM

I concur. It was well worth the extra $$ I paid for the work. Nary a brake problem since. And because of that special service, this shop has me as a return customer.

.......... Nut

02-18-02, 08:42 PM

Tom, check out http://www.fixvetteparts.com

I just had them do my differential, T-Arms, and Calipers, and they were very reasonable. Also the Caliper setup they have is pretty unique, and may be just the ticket.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Steve