lizardkng

Ok brake folks...

I mentioned this in my engine swap thread, but thought Id ask you guys directly...

Car sat 7 years, engine swap is complete.

Test drove it...found that I had to stand on an almost impossible-to-press brake pedal, just to get it to stop....found we had neglected to reconnect the brake booster to vacuum...LOL

Reconnected booster...brake pedal became a LITTLE softer (not much)...but now Im hearing a loud hissing sound from underneath the driver side dash whenever I press the pedal.

Secondly, I noted a nasty shake over about 40mph on the first test drive...brought it back in, and as we were going to take it for a second test run, we found the drivers side caliper was locked up.

Now, I can get calipers from O'Reillys for $9.99 each, that, plus some lines and pads, and get the rotors turned for $9 each...and I can have a whole new brake system up front, very affordably.

I guess my questions are:

Would you think that JUST replacing that brake line (due to internal decay and a clog) would be alright, or since its pretty cost effective, just replace all the front hardware?

Whats with that hissing noise under the drivers dash?

Thank you

DENN_SHAH

iTrader: (1)

after it has sat that long, i would replace both calipers, pads, both front hoses, grease seals, rear shoes & wheel cylinders, the rear hose & turn both rotors & drums. clean & check the front bearings for any signs of damage or rust pits. also check the rear axle seals for signs of leaking.

on the hissing, you need a booster. you may as well get one that comes with a master cylinder as yours will probably be bad soon if it isn't already.

having it down this far, i would completely flush the system. pull the proportioning valve off & flush it with denatured alcohol & blow it out. when you have everything off, blow the lines out with compressed air & then pour some denatured alcohol in the lines & thoroughly blow them out, do this 2 or 3 times. go back with DOT 4 or DOT 5 mineral brake fluid, don't use DOT 5 silicone brake fluid. you'll need a little under a galloon of fluid.

lizardkng

Ok, sounds good.

Now lets pretend that money is an issue

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Leave the car parked, or sell it.

If you can't "afford" to fix the brakes, you can't afford the car at all. It's about as simple as that.

Yes you have to replace the booster to take care of the hissing; it's the rubber diaphragm inside it, broken, leaking vacuum.

Get the booster/master cyl combo. The MC is all but free when you get it that way, and that sure beats the crap out of doing all the rest of that, and THEN discovering that you SHOULD HAVE replaced the MC anyway.

Calipers, pads, rotors, and brake lines is a good plan, regardless. As cheap as that stuff is, there's NO EXCUSE for trying to jerry-rig around it. The WHOLE brake system costs far less than the set of tires you're also about to have to buy. You're sure not going to save any money, when you end up having to replace the utility pole you wrap the car around, or spend the rest of your life buying a couple of broken schoolkids you can't use, or whatever, because you COULDN'T STOP.

Gumby

Its probably nuting but a bad brake hose. Has happened to me before. Line looks fine on outside but inner linner comes lose and only lets fluid go one way. Almost a common problem on GM cars.

Losen bleeder and see if it lets lose. bit of heat willl make a bleeder come lose easier.

line is $10, change it, bleed it and go.

cheap way like I did to get home few years back when a rubber line went bad on the inside. Pull the brake pads and only use the Ebrake to stop till ya get home. Park n fix at lesiure and money.


Even cheaper back yard way, only got money for gas and gotta drive it now, take a hammer or vise grip and bang squeeze and pinch the steel part of the line to that caliper closed. Be careful but long as line is blocked it wont work and bind and rest will work. Though you will have an awful pull to one side if you slam on them.

Did just that last week when my right front brake steel line started leaking just before the rubber. Had to get home and to store for parts. Didn't want it leaking to much and killin my master cylinder. [run it dry and they fry] and it got me where I needed to get. Changed the rubber line while I was at it too.
Plus new calipers n rotors, fluid.

lizardkng

Ok ok, youre right...stopping is important.

I was hoping not to have to replace EVERYTHING...

I was trying to save a little money...after shelling out over 2k already

I just ordered 2 loaded calipers, 3 hoses, wheel bearing seals, etc etc...

I will hold out on the booster, because im on a budget here...that will likely have to wait till next week

Gumby

Yep brake parts are really cheap if you shop right.

I just did rotors, drums, seals, 2 lines, fluid, calipers and pads $192 on my V8 GM wagon. Would will cost around $250 for a 3rd gen. My wagon uses both the bigger 12in rotors and 11in drums plus uses the extra wide 4in drums that go past the backing plates. Lots of big extra cooling fins for towing package upgrade. Since it uses all them bigger better brake parts they are a bunch cheaper then the normal 11in rotors or 9-10in drums everyone here has???

They first gave me 11in rotors and it was obvois they were to small.
They were $30 each lifetime.
12s were $18 each lifetime???

Did it in two stages, well worth it.

Knaveofdarts

Hissing under the dash and hard to push pedal is, as previously stated, a fairly obvious brake booster failure. If you're really stretched for cash you may be able to get a junkyard booster because they don't break all that often. But you really should replace that for safety reasons.

It's also causing a vacuum leak, so the car will probably idle better once you fix it.

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

Yep when my pedal hissed when i pressed it, it was the brake booster.
Good luck