I had or have a soft pedal on my 86 IROC... after bleeding the brakes I found that the e-brake cables were frozen... I replaced them and after a lot of cussing I got the pass side caliper to become functional... the pedal got much more firm and the brake lite on the dash went away... the drivers side caliper is another story... after figuring out that the e-brake cable is part of the adjustment system, I have come to the conclusion that what ever the h*ll is wrong with the driver side caliper is something totally wack...

thats the back ground

any way it sounds like I need to rebuild the calipers... at least the drivers side for the moment...

what tools are needed for this and what are yalls magic tricks for rebuilding these rediculously expensive units...

any links or insight in this would be most appreciated as this has been driving me nutz for awhile...

I have heard special tools are required and I'm hoping that the group knowledge hear has out smarted the bastards that put this thing into service...

thanks for any help you can give...

zroc

 

GM didn't wise up for several more years after yours on the inherant problem with the rear disc brakes. Seems it took more stick shift cars rollin away to take notice.

They did finally put out a TSB regarding the problem.

Do a search here and look for the topic that was here about two or three months ago about this same thing. I posted the TSB info.

If you can find it, send me an email and I'll dig it up.

Mike

 

man... I got back to july and gave up... a lot of krazy stuff in there...

I got the pn's from the post TomP gave I just need to bite and do it...

the helpful hints and what to avoids is what I could use now...

I have not driven this car much... but from inspection the calipers look like they have been replaced... also on the paking brake lever on the driver side looks like its not seated... hmmmmmmm... maybe its just not assembled correctly... !@#$%^&*

I wanna pull this thing apart and put it back together in one session... anyway... I'll check back later and see what yall have to get me through this without consulting a shrink after I'm done...

thanks again

zroc

 

Glad I could help so far; let me see what else I can do.

Pick up a Haynes 82-92 Camaro manual from Pep Boys or Autozone or etc (or http://www.haynes.com ). It'll give the pic-by-pic on how to rebuild the rear calipers. It's the same pictures & info that's in the GM shop manual!

You might want to visit an auto parts store and pick up everything you need first; some will be special order, so you'll have to wait for it. Hint- go to a "real" parts store, they'll get it faster than a chain parts store will. You probably have a local parts store in your town... one of those noname deals. They're not fancy but they get mechanics their parts, usually the next day.

Think about new brake hoses (axle-to-body, right caliper to axle). Think about new pads. Think about new caliper mounting bolts (Bendix H5014, each $6, complete for all calipers = order 4 of them). Think about new caliper bushings & slides (what rides over the mounting bolts)- Bendix H5611, contains bushings & slides for both rear calipers. Think about new bleeder screws ($1.00 each). Think about caliper paint. I like gray, but red also looks hot. Hey, if you go thru disc-brake-hell, might as well make it look good!

Basically, you remove the caliper from the car. Cap the brake line of the car so you don't drain the master cylinder. Dump the caliper out over a pan so you don't soak your shirt (don't ask), and put it on your newspaper-covered workbench. Work the e-brake lever back and forth to pop the piston out of the bore. Don't put your fingers between the piston and caliper housing! If the piston doesn't extend and pop out, you'll have to remove the nut from the e-brake lever. This'll eject the piston out. Remove all the washers from the e-brake lever and keep them IN ORDER to help re-assembly.

Remove the piston boot from the caliper housing by prying it up and out with a screwdriver (watch your fingers, the screwdriver slips). Remove the piston seal from the caliper housing. Check the housing for rust. You can use a fine sandpaper to clean up rust- but if the housing is severely pitted, the caliper can't be used. "Rinse" the inside of the caliper housing and actuator screw and new piston in brake fluid. Then, re-assemble the caliper using the rebuild kit (piston boot, seal, and sealing washers for the e-brake lever) and the GM recall pistons. When the caliper's back together, clean it with "brake cleaner" on a rag, and paint it.

It's not bad at all. Just a bit messy. It'll take longer to take the caliper off, and put it back on the car. The only special tools needed are a socket set, screwdriver, hammer, and the Haynes (or similar) book.