Alright, so I have a 91 Firebird 5-speed with a 92 Camaro 305 TBI under the hood.

I've only had the car since late summer of last year and even during the test drive, it pulled HARD to the left side whenever I would hit the brakes.

A quick search here told me to check the brake calipers and the rubber lines leading from the caliper to the junction block.

Ok so I did that today because I was bored (even though it was 22* outside and snowing...)

I took off the drivers side first, only to find a completely rusted caliper which was likely frozen, brake pads that crumbled apart to the touch, and the rubber line coming from the caliper was severely cracked in many places and near the point of leaking. So I tore all that off, and since the rotor wouldn't budge, I'd assumed it was just rusted on that badly. LOL little did I know I had to remove the castle nut on the spindle. I ended up removing the entire hub and pounding at the rotor, thinking it was just rust. Then I looked it up and saw how to remove a rotor .

Anyway, so obviously, the drivers side was completely toast.

Now, on to the passenger side. Removed the caliper and it was in SLIGHTLY better condition, but the pins were a lot more difficult to remove. Also, the pads still crumbled to the touch and the rubber brake line was in the same condition as that of the driver side. The rotor came off a lot easier this time...

So, then I went to Advance Auto and started muling parts. It started out with just two "rebuilt" calipers and all the hardware to go with them, and the rubber brake lines. Then the rotors, and the inner and out bearings for them, AND the friggin seals. Then I needed brake fluid (mine was a nasty, thick black... thought it was oil at first and I will be replacing it all.



THEN, I needed grease for the friggin bearings....

I was near deathly afraid to see the total off all this SH*T, and went into immediate sticker shock when the total came up as $200 even

It would have been even more, except I had both calipers there and that eliminated the core charge ($40 each... extortion!!)

At this point, it was getting late, very effing cold outside, I was starving, and I about threw up when I heard that price. So I paid for the parts, brought them home, and threw everything in my basement; where they will sit until tomorrow morning, when I'll hopefully feel like freezing my ***** off again just to get this car back on the road.

Oh, and one last thing. Here's what happened when I had the driver side on jack stands and attempted to open the door. Evidently, I have a failing door hinge pin. Grrrr.....



Saving grace: Luckily, there's a nice little write up on how to install brake rotors correctly, right here in this forum.

 

failing door pin? if the hinge is even still attached to the car is a friggen miracle from the looks of things. Are you sure its the door pin and not a structural issue with the car?

 

ohh, 200 bux for a complete brake job worth of parts is not a terrible price , considering you have new rotors and bearings, calipers pads and lines.

 

Yes, I'm positive. Everything was perfectly aligned until I put the car on jack stands and tried to open the door. That's when all hell broke loose.

 

Yeah, so, anyway...

Not that I expect this thread to go anywhere, but I might as well finish it.

With the help of my father, we prepped all the parts, greased the HELL out of the inner and outer bearings, and the inside of the rotor, and the spindle.

Everything fit perfect.

Now, here's the messed up part. I already had the wheel hub off of the driver side (because I couldn't figure out how to get the rotor off, remember?) so while I was down there, I checked the ball joint. JUNK. Dunno how the castle nut even came off the ball joint. The threads were a mess, the grease boot was torn to shreds, and the shaft flopped around like, well, use your imagination.

Sooooo...I took the whole A arm off and brought it to a shop. $40 and 15 minutes later... voila. Brand new ball joint. (Moog, if anyone is curious).

Threw that all back on the car, put the hub/rotor/caliper assembly back on, then did the passenger side. I didn't have to remove the hub from the passenger side, which made it A LOT faster!

So then finally I poured some brake fluid in the master cylinder and had my father pump the brakes, so I could check for leaks. The passenger side caliper hose fitting leaked like a siv. LOL easy fix, I threw a double gasket on it. So then we bled the brakes and took it for a test drive.

WOW.... like WOW!!! That $240 in parts made a HUGE difference in the way it drives and stops. She stops STRAIGHT and SOLID as an arrow now! There was some front end vibration before. GONE!

LOL now for the rest of the car

 

Even regardless of the pads, rotors, etc - it's truly amazing what a new pair of rubber brake lines will do for braking power.

There's only one rubber line in the rear, driver side - when it gets a little colder outside you could tackle it and the rear brakes and you'd be complete(ly frozen)!

 

LOL yeah, no thanks. I froze my *** off enough all this weekend to keep meat fresh for a week.

My main focus now is on the interior. It's about 80% complete.