not weird brake thing

mike76c3

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 5, 2008
Messages
101
Location
So. Cal.
My pedal goes to the floor, with the motor running or not. Pumping several times doesn't change anything. With the motor running, when the pedal is pressed or released, motor RPMs surge briefly. The car has been mostly sitting for the last 6 months. Brakes have worked fine up until now. Fluid level was a little low in the master cylinder.

Is this strictly air in the lines and/or master cylinder, or possibly hardware failure? If so, anything I should be focusing on?

Thanks,
Mike
 
So I'm looking at rebuilding one or more calipers? Maybe I can get one of the people who have done that and made them look nice to do mine . . .

Thanks,
Mike

P.S. Any recommendations on a source for either a kit or individual parts? I get the feeling this will turn into another Hydroboost vs. lip seals vs. o-rings vs. Wilwood thread. Not that I'm for or against any of those. Funds are tight right now, and I don't drive the car much, so a low-cost short-term fix is preferred. Having to redo labor at some other time to implement a "better" and/or long-term solution isn't a concern, as I have some free time on my hands right now :-(
 
Power brake? The idle chage sounds like a bad booster.

Are the calipers leaking? Before you buy new calipers, make sure it's not the master cylinder (more likely).
 
I'll say it before Gene. "Hydraboost"

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

hardware failure - seals

hydraboost? Don't C3 Corvettes have enough power-steering fluid leaks? :huh2:

Looks like I need say nothing, except that I ditched my power steering leaks with the rack install ten years ago.....

and with the OEM booster, I never had an issue with stopping the car, just the terminal feel of that saggy pedal, all I had to do was press fairly heavy and it was on the floor every time, not the case NOW.....

:cool:
 
So I'm looking at rebuilding one or more calipers? Maybe I can get one of the people who have done that and made them look nice to do mine . . .

Thanks,
Mike

P.S. Any recommendations on a source for either a kit or individual parts? I get the feeling this will turn into another Hydroboost vs. lip seals vs. o-rings vs. Wilwood thread. Not that I'm for or against any of those. Funds are tight right now, and I don't drive the car much, so a low-cost short-term fix is preferred. Having to redo labor at some other time to implement a "better" and/or long-term solution isn't a concern, as I have some free time on my hands right now :-(

unless you want to try our your mental health insurance, and give your neighbors a whole new level of cuss-word vocabulary - O-ring.

However, should you wish to try - I've got a complete set minus one or two square rubber seals that are yours for the asking.

Did I mention I have Wilwood d-8s now..... the line above informs as to why (at least half of it anyway) :(
 
BUT, then again some of us not into track driving, are very happy with SS lines calipers that I would be VERY surprised there are ANY 40 y/o cars on the road today without them....gotta be kidding......and so to go with O ring pistons/seals....and silicon DOT5 fluid....

then after playing with master cylinders for a while, still having what I thought was a soft pedal....

HYDROBOOST cured that on a A-B direct install without touching a brake line.....

I know, example of ONE, but I damn well know my own observations, even with some reluctance upon trying the project.....

:yahoo:
 
BUT, then again some of us not into track driving, are very happy with SS lines calipers that I would be VERY surprised there are ANY 40 y/o cars on the road today without them....gotta be kidding......and so to go with O ring pistons/seals....and silicon DOT5 fluid....

then after playing with master cylinders for a while, still having what I thought was a soft pedal....

HYDROBOOST cured that on a A-B direct install without touching a brake line.....

I know, example of ONE, but I damn well know my own observations, even with some reluctance upon trying the project.....

:yahoo:
Why fix when you can patch :amused:

Disclaimer: I jumped the HB bangwagon :huh2:
 
Well, I went through the troubleshooting procedure and found that the driver's rear caliper is leaking. So, I ordered the o-ring kit from Mike at Classic Corvette Parts. :D

I also found that my previous 20 inches of vacuum is now like 14 inches, so I need to troubleshoot that. :(

Mike
 
I've installed Mike's kit and the brakes are great, made a huge difference. Now, when you take the caliper halves apart, make sure the two halves make good contact. I use a Sharpie, paint one side black and rub it against the other half.... I failed to do this on my first set that I rebuilt and there was a leak..... :banghead::banghead:
 
I've installed Mike's kit and the brakes are great, made a huge difference. Now, when you take the caliper halves apart, make sure the two halves make good contact. I use a Sharpie, paint one side black and rub it against the other half.... I failed to do this on my first set that I rebuilt and there was a leak..... :banghead::banghead:

It was your thread that inspired me to try doing it myself:

http://vettemod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2822&highlight=ring+calipers

I have some of the cast metal color POR 15 that I'm going to use. Parts should be here Tuesday or Wednesday, so I'm going to start on disassembly and cleanup tomorrow.

Mike
 
Is it true?

While disassembling one of the calipers, I snapped off a bleeder. Am I screwed?

Mike

P.S. The before pics:

572511de53b40476.jpg

The leaky culprit:

572511de53d0820c.jpg

Hopefully they'll look a lot better than this when I'm done:

572511de53da70cc.jpg
 
Might be more expensive than a $60 calipper from the part store ..... Tey a "easy out" , it's a left hanh thread tool and can extract broken bolts or bleeder nipples
 
before you run your easy-out into the bleeder hole (the very small bleeder hole), heat the offending part up to glowing red with a 0 torch. When you run your easy-out into it while hot the part will come out very easily. To prevent doing the same with the rest of the bleeders, heat up the bleeder to glowing red (between orange and cherry red); then put your wrench on it to turn it out.

If it doesn't go easily after heating. remove your wrench and get a candle. Press the candle (unlit of course) against the threads. The wax will run down and into the threads making removal a lot easier - that trick has saved many a day for me when removing rusted, stuck exhaust manifold bolts.... or the last time, a broken water/timing cover on a 455.

If you take it to a machine shop - that is exactly what they will do and in that order.


I forgot, there is one other, quicker way..... if there's a bit of the bolt above the surface, get a nut of the same diameter as the bolt - then weld the nut onto the broken end through the hole... it is a bit tricky to do, but it does save a lot of time if you can do it..... the nut gives you something to turn, but more importantly, the heat from the welder is focused on the bolt - thus loosening the bolt
 
:bonkers: I about shit, looking at them brake pads, YGTBFSM......


:goodnight::flash:
 
:bonkers: I about shit, looking at them brake pads, YGTBFSM......


:goodnight::flash:


Yeah, I guess I shouldn't be too unhappy that there was a problem that forced me to get in there.

It was the caliper with the problem, so as soon as I took the wheel off and saw it, I stopped the bleeding process, which the next step was to spray the bleeder with PB Blaster and let it sit for a day. I forgot about that, and got confused and thought it was the caliper that was already bled and that my roommate had just overtightened it. Plus, it was off the car and thus easier to apply too much torque. About a half a second after it snapped off, I realized what was going on. So, from now on, as a precaution, I will always apply PB Blaster before loosening a fastener that won't easily unfasten.

No success on getting the bleeder stub out. Heat wrench, freeze spray, more heat wrench and wax, all were unsuccessful. :mad:

Would like to go with the spiffy new aluminum option, but I've been between jobs for awhile. At this point, I'm starting to feel guilty about any time/effort/money I spend on the car. I realize in the grand scheme of things, and at this point in my life, that a few hundred less in my IRA won't really impact me much when/if I actually get around to retiring. But I still can't bring myself to spend the money. And, I already bought the o-ring kit for both calipers. So, I'm going to call some parts places/rebuilders to see if I can find a core to rebuild. Mine isn't rebuildable, so if I buy one, I'll have to pay the core fee, and then either rebuild it with the o-ring kit, or only use half the kit.

I liked the way the POR 15 looked on the first caliper half I tried it on. Of course, that's the caliper that I screwed up . . . :surrender:

Mike
 
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