ok one of my frineds who uses this site( he didnt want ot ask )( to embarassing!). his 86 ta and it well has a problem(to say the least!!!) he has no irepeat no back brakes or emergency brake to speak of! can anyone help us figure this out????could this be the calipers? he does have four wheel disk brakes.could this be a brakes line somewhere clogged???

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1989firebird formula

Mods: converted from T.B.I. to a carburator 305 to a 350. Flowmater exhaust,hedman shortie hedders,202 heads,350 horse cam,bored.40 over, Edlebrock torker2 intake.

Future mods performer rpm intake (polished). and comp roller cam, and way better heads. defintely a 400 small block in the works!! and a hei proform distributor.

[This message has been edited by burnoutrpm (edited January 15, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by burnoutrpm (edited January 15, 2001).]

 

i just swapped in a disc brake rear and have had nothing but trouble. If you look back on the board back in the summer there was a big discussion and it seemed alot of people had the same problem you describe. I havent figured out mine yet but im sure it has something to do with the emergency brake lever. If it is not used enough the piston in the caliper will not be adjusted tightly enough against the pads.

Im sure someone can help you out more.

 

Read this whole page, especially the bottom:
http://www.isthq.com/~dan/1LEbrake.html

Your friend has the "J65" braking system, by the way.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

I have the same brakes on my '86 and when I changed the pads, not only were the rotors rusted, they were also rusted to the axles!! Fortunately they are still good, but since then I noticed the rust has been rubbed off, but I didn't notice any performance increase. It was also a real pain to push the pistons back into the bores, but they did go in. I got a price for rebuilt calipers, about $75 each after the core exchange.
My question is this, since my parking brake still works, does this sound like the typical problem with the system? Or are the pistons just a little too sticky to work by brake pressure alone?? Is this even a possability? Should I do the upgrade, or just try the rebuilt calipers and hope for the best?

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'86 TA, T-tops, T-5, 3.73, 4 wheel disks 350, compucam 2040, performer intake,SLP Headers, 3" race magnum muffler, 1.6 Comp rockers, Ripper shifter, perf. friction pads, Hypertech ignition, Earls brake hoses, Hotchkis springs, Tokico Illumina 5 adjustable shocks and struts, Lakewood panhard and trailing arms
14.73 @ 95... traction still a problem

 

ok i know this is totally un-related to the subject but in your intro you say you still have a problem with traction? have you tried slicks??? just wondering let me know they could help alot!

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1986 Trans AM
305 TPI
4 Wheel Discs
9 bolt Borg Warner Rear
Completely Stock
Soon to upgrade to a 383 stroker w/TPI, pocket ported 64CC heads, ported intake, comp cam, TPI air foil, Adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator, possibly bigger injectors!
Current project: Keeping my car running until I get the money for the above mentioned project! :-)

 

SlowTA, I'd say try the upgrade parts. Altho- usually the e-brake doesn't work anymore when the car's rear discs are shot. So maybe yours are just a little rusty? When I did the axle swap, I rebuilt one caliper, but the other one had too much internal rust to be rebuilt. I bought a rebuilt one from Pep Boys for $56- and it doesn't work. The one I rebuilt works great. I bet the guy that had the axle before me had the recall work done; and I gave Pep Boys a recall-fixed caliper for their crap "rebuilt" one. Damn.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

I do have slicks, but haven't had them to the track yet. I was actually refering to the Lakewood trailing arms and Tokico adjustable shocks & struts. With those mods I dropped 2 tenths off of my 60 foot times, better, but not great. I really want to try the Spohn relocation brackets before the slicks, combined they might too much for the T-5! I haven't even had the slicks mounted yet, they were one of those spur of the moment swap meet deals!
The price quote I got for the calipers was from a place that has a huge Delco sign out front. I know that doesn't really mean all that much, but the guys seem like they know there stuff in there, I'll have to ask if the calipers have been updated or if they are just the rebuilt crappy ones. But if you think they are a little rusty I could just try to rebuild them first

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'86 TA, T-tops, T-5, 3.73, 4 wheel disks 350, compucam 2040, performer intake,SLP Headers, 3" race magnum muffler, 1.6 Comp rockers, Ripper shifter, perf. friction pads, Hypertech ignition, Earls brake hoses, Hotchkis springs, Tokico Illumina 5 adjustable shocks and struts, Lakewood panhard and trailing arms
14.73 @ 95... traction still a problem