Hey guys. I did search the site, and I browsed through the Brake forum, forgive me if I have missed the obvious.

I have an 83 Trans Am, and the brake performance is bad. RPM's don't pick up when I hit the pedal so the brake booster diaphragm isn't leaking badly. They don't slowly sink. The reservoir is full. There's no shudder or shimmey while braking. I do need to check vacuum pressure it is receiving.

They just engage deep in the pedal, and I have to put quite a bit of force into it. Especially for stopping completely. I'd like the brakes to lightly engage when I tap the pedal, like a normal car :P It feels like manual brakes...

The e-brake needs to be pulled up as far as it can go to grab.

Where should I begin? Blindly replace drums, rotors, shoes, and pads and then troubleshoot? Is this a hardware or a maintenance [shoes,pads,etc] issue? The previous owner said he replaced the front pads, which is fine, but this feels like the force necessary to grab efficiently isn't being applied.


Can the brake booster or master cylinder cause hardware issues like this?
I don't think bad rear brakes could cause this much of a difference... or am I wrong?

Thank you for any and all advice/speculation.

-Tuna

 

For starters, you can adjust your rear drums: Take off the rear wheels and drums, tighten the adjusters until you can barely get the drums back on.

Check the drums for an un-worn ridge at the edge. This will keep you from being able to tighten the brakes all the way. Removing the requires a trip to the machine shop/brake shop/auto parts store to turn the drums.

 

If it hasn't been done yet, it's time to overhaul your 30 year old brakes. On the front reman calipers, hoses, rotors and wheel bearings. A good cleaning and new wheel cylinders on the rear (and pads and drums if needed). Flush new fluid through. It's a lot easier and less expensive than you'd think.

You can chase down and fix your issue now but you'd still have near failing parts down there, which I'm guessing is a result of deferred maintenance or a failing booster.

And you could disconnect the rear brakes completely and provided you capped the lines so as not to lose fluid, you'd probably never notice braking-wise.

 

Thank you both. I'll begin with naf's suggestion and replace the brake system, I figured it is just old and shot - I was just looking for some verification before I go spending a few hundred dollars on parts. MoJoe - Thanks for the pictures, I've never seen drum brakes from the Firebird yet. One wheel bearing is beginning to get noisy anyway I believe the wheel bearings need to be pressed in & out by a machine shop? I'll dig for that answer if you guys don't reply. I have no idea as to the history of this car, even if I have a cheap car I believe in writing down what was serviced and when . Then I'll begin diagnosis as to remedy any other issues if they're still present. I'll post my findings for anyone else who comes across this issue.

-Tuna

 

Parts cost should be well under $200. Check and compare at Rock Auto. Most reman calipers run around $13 each. Get the regular brake hoses and a solid rotor. You can do the wheel bearings and a youtube video or two can help.

I like to prefill the caliper with fluid as much as possible before installing. Makes bleeding it quicker.

DO NOT led the master cylinder go dry while bleeding the brakes.

 

Ahh, that's where I went wrong - I don't mind cheap parts for all intensive purposes [functionality] but o'Reillys up here wants $19.99 per caliper! I thought that was cheap. Makes sense to prefill.

Turns out I have four wheel disc brakes. The brake light is on all of the time. The brake fluid is really dark and grungy. I really like drum brakes, but I can't stand the springs in them. I'll flush and replace all fours. I bought a rebuild kit from Rock Auto before, I didn't trust it as it was undeniably cheap. For bottom of the line parts, it worked really well.

 

If you've got the Delco rear discs you'll want to try to get the recall kit: Part Number: 18019028 from GM Parts Direct, listed as "Actuator" and included parts for both rear calipers, pistons, springs, seals, etc.

An over the counter reman or rebuild kit may not have the upgraded pieces/parts for those brakes. If those brakes were not maintained well, expect to find the calipers frozen. The parking brake must be used religiously to maintain proper adjustment.