Don 79 TA

ok so i got around to installing the brakes on her 88 formula 4wd
i used these new parts:
Raybestos drilled/slotted rotors, clean surface with brake cleaner (front and rear)
SSBC dual piston front calipers
Earls brake hose kit
new master cyl
new wheel bearings
new emergency brake cables (old ones stuck)
new rear calipers (left one was frozen)
used caliper grease on all pins
Brute Powerstop rear pads

gravity bleed brakes, then bleed them with someone helping.

got all the air out of the lines and they seem to bleed correctly with nice fluid coming out

all connections were thoroughly cleaned out, no debri was in the lines after cleaning and replacing everything.

the rears did not gravity bleed. the fronts did nicely

the problems i have:
it's a very nice firm pedal, doesnt sink or anything
all connections are good
power brake booster is fine
the rear e-brakes do not hold the car, pulling up on the lever is really hard, was nice and easy without the cables on it so the mechanism is ok, you can see the brakes move as the e-brake is applied. i didn't adjust it underneath as i left it where it was (where the cables are)
so, if i have the car in the air and apply the e-brakes and put it in drive it spins
also when i bleed the rears, after pulling the e-brake up and down and then bleeding, the pedal went down while bleeding, when i did that a few times without the e-brake, the pedal didn't go down, and a stream did come out, just not powerful like when we pump the ebrake then bleed which makes the pedal go to the floor.

the fronts bleed fine.

we drive the car around, it has a nice firm pedal, just didn't stop, sorta feels hard, but the power brakes are working.

it seems that if i slam on the brakes it will lock up the fronts, so the fronts (wet outside and rainining) are working, just doesn't seem like the backs are

if i have her run it while in the air and apply the brakes, the wheels move
but i do see the calipers moving and sliding around,
i made sure the "pin/nipple" on the brake pads were in the caliper

is there an adjustment or did i forget/miss something?

first time with GM 4wd brakes
it's also a 9bolt rear

any suggestions?

ebmiller88

iTrader: (7)

Rear brakes PBR or the old iron style? (Sounds like the old style) The brakes will take a bit for the pads to "bed" into the rotors and vice versa, they need to get used to themselves. Baer's website has some good pad bedding and rotor seasoning procedures so look them over:

www.baer.com


I think the rear calipers may need further adjustment, if they have been rebuilt and such they will take a bit of adjustment time to get to where they need to be, whether it be with the pads and pistons or the e-brake lever. Also, when you adjusted this lever and bled the brakes, the cable moved the piston so that's why the pedal went down, sounds right to me. I suspect they need to be bled further and given some time to break in.

Ed

Don 79 TA

Thanks alot ED
I figured it was something with the adjustment

i had another idea.
can you pull up on the brake and while it's up bleed them? (meaning not pressing the brake pedal and just using the e-brake)
i didn't see anything in the manual about that

i did want to do the brake upgrade that you had, but i got some of these parts for free, so my only cost was going with the SSBC dual piston calipers

i do have to agree with you, while it's nice, it's not going to be good enough for stopping as you are only clamping a 10" rotor

i am going to redo the left rear brake line, then bleed them again
should the rears gravity bleed?


it's rear iron calipers, single piston

Don 79 TA

got it fixed today
went down
re-adjusted the right rear brake hose, was sorta twisted
gravity bled the rear, cam out this time
did the e-brake up and down a few times
pulled a shim off the front brake pad, re-bled whole system
works much better

needs time to seat though
so will get some time on it