Well, I finally put the "GM 82-88 rear caliper recall kit" in this weekend! My brakes kick butt now; and I even got my parking brake back! I also used the V12 Phoenix Injector to bleed the rear system, and it was so easy... much easier than the standard DIY way of pumping the pedal. I recommend that tool highly.. if any of you are going to swap to rear discs, pick up this tool!! http://www.brakebleeder.com

 

on my old camaro, the pedals were very loose & i always had to push the pedal all the wayy down to brake, ont he new camaro i got the brake and gas pedal are very stiff, it feels very wierd and i really need to get the hang of them.

 

i thought happiness was a warm gun

 

I want rear disks. Hopefully I will get some one day, drum brakes are crap!

 

Yes and no. If you know how Drum brakes work, and you actually have self adjusters that work, and you have good pads and don't brake stand, drum works fine in the rear.

But on the other had, I disc are easier to replace, they require less know how, and are generally chaper to replace Drum vs Rotor....

So you could say there crap, but if there working properly there not a bad method of stoping a car at all.

 

Actually, the 82-88 style of rear disc (don't know about 89-92) isn't that easy, compared to the fronts. To remove the rear passenger caliper, you need to remove the rear LCA-to-Axle nut & bolt. The lower control arm is in the way of pulling the lower caliper mounting bolt out!

On the driver's side, you need to remove the hard brake line from teh caliper to replace the pad. There's no caliper hose on that side due to the tight bend needed.. a hose would've crimped shut.

Plus; here's something for us V6'ers to think about- the rear disc setup weighs a bit more than rear drums.

 

Well at least your brakes work properly.My right front brake locks up when I have the pedal is pressed half way down.The rears are sticking a little.I probally need to try and bleed the system probally dont you think.

 

Yup. May have to flush, remove pads from caliper push break pedal to get the caliper to come out then get a C-Clamp and push uit back in to get it moving smoothly.

 

Have you replaced the brake hoses yet? That's something we should all do; brake hoses deteriorate internally, and get plugged up. Also, when reinstalling the caliper, be sure to use a silicone lube on the slides & caliper mounting bolts.

 

at the strip, drums are better than disc. They can be adjusted so ZERO drag is on the rear breaks. just don't drie in reverse. With disc, there is allways going to be some drg.

 

Tom,

The time has come for me to do some major brake work. I need to replace the left rear wheel cylandar, replace the brake line, and flush the brake system (my fluid is black as coal). How much did that V12 cost and can it be used to flush the brake system too.

Also does anyone know whare I can get steel braided lines to replace my rubber ones? One brake line has a nick in it from a rock and another got squished and damage by a bad bump. Some smart a** decided that running the brake line over the track bar was a good idea. So when I hit the bump it smashed the line, and popped the seals on the left rear wheel. I think all three are contributing to a bad pull to the left when I brake. I have to pull the stearing wheel to the right every time I brake.

 

There's prices up on the website; and yeah, it can do anything you'd ever want to do with brake fluid on a car. In fact, it even works on clutches. They had an advertisment in Hot Rod for a V12-DIY kit for $40, but it doesn't come with many accessories, so I looked at the V12 with the "10-pak" accessory kit. Then I looked at the V12 with the SmartPak kit. Then I finally bought the V12 with the SmartPak and Red Case (I had to have a case!!) for $125. They have prices up on the website.

I actually flushed the rear system when I rebuilt the rear calipers. I have a message up on the Suspension/Chassis/Brakes board about it (look for "I fixed my 84 disc brakes"). When I had both rear calipers on my workbench, and the hoses plugged up, I siphoned out the old fluid from the front part (secondary system) of the master cylinder. Then, I partially filled the secondary side of the reservoir with new fluid. I unplugged the right rear brake hose, and hung a paper towel over it (so fluid wouldn't spray everywhere), and put a pan under it. Then I used the V12 with the UniversalPortAdapter right on the master cylinder's secondary reservoir. I forced a bunch of new fluid thru until new stuff was spritzing out of the rear line. Then I plugged the RR line up again, unplugged the left rear line (and led 3/8" vinyl tubing from the steel line to a pan), and repeated the V12 procedure at the m/c until new fluid came out. Then, I put the calipers back on. Now, I had no old fluid in the rear system at all.

Then, I put the calipers back on. At the right rear, I opened the bleeder valve, and led tubing from it to a pan. Then I used the V12 on the m/c again to fill the caliper until new fluid came out of the tubing, and repeated this for the left rear caliper. The video that comes with the V12 (I'm not sure if it comes in the V12-DIY kit) was a great help... the same stuff is in the V12 manual, but it helps to "see" air being pushed out of a brake system.

Summit carries the braided steel hoses for our cars. I read an article somewhere that recommended against the braided hose for a street car- they said that there's no way to check the exterior of the hose for cracks since it's got the braided covering. But, that was the only article I read that mentioned it. Brake hoses should be replaced every now and then, anyway. Summit sells them in a kit that comes with all three; the front two, and the rear axle-to-body one. Two companies make DOT-approved hoses (can stand up to the rigors of the street)- Russell and Earl's. I think both have websites somewhere on the net.

Oh- A bad pull to the left when you brake, eh? Say you slam on the brakes (and get pulled to the left). If you release the brakes quickly, does your car yank to the right? If so, your right brake hose has internally deteriorated so much that it's partially clogged. (Brakes apply = brake fluid delayed to right caliper = car jerks to left, Brakes released = brake fluid stays pressurized in right caliper a bit longer = car jerks to right). It can make for a wild ride!

 

Tom,

Thanks, you gave a lot info!!

Yeah I knew about the cautions of steel braided lines. I'm setting up a complete check up and repair schedule for my '92 RS. It will included checking and replacing brakes lines every 1 and 1/2 or so. My car drives 170 miles a day and I'm getting tired of having to fix little things on the side of the road. So I'm setting this inspection and repair schedule to help avoid theses minor part blow outs. I have been keeping an eye on the major stuff and completly forgot about the little things like brake lines (little = not often thought about).


When I step on the brake and it pulls to left it does jerk back to the right a little, but not as much as it does when it pulls to the left. So I will replace all of the lines instead of just the damaged ones.

Thanks for the info, and I will definetly get a hold of a V12!

 

Let us all know how the "fun" goes! I was actually thinking of either rebuilding or replacing my front calipers (if I rebuild them myself I know where they've "been"), just for the reason that they're the car's originals- at least since I've had the car. I bought it at 67,000 miles in '94, now I'm at 227,000- maybe it's time for calipers!

 

Tom,

Here the list of what I will be doing.

1.) Replace brake lines.

2.) Rebuild front wheel calipers and replace the rears (there cheap enough to just replace)

3.) Flush the brake system front and rear.

4.) When I took care of my distributor o-ring I found out that I get to tear down the top end of my engine. The RTV forma-gasket that was put on in the valley of the lower intake is falling apart, and has blown a small leak. so I figured that I might as well take care of the valve cover gaskets and head gaskets while I am there for good mesure.

5.) It's time for a cooling system flush, and to replace the hoses.

6.) Timing chain, finally.

I figure I will do this in stages. First the brakes, then the intake and heads. Then I will do the cooling system and timing chain all at once sence I will have to drain the cooling system to do the timing chain.

I got my car with 132,000 miles on it, I am now at 179,000. The previous owner was my G/F's borther and used to brag about how he never had to open the hood on the car. So I figure the poor car is over due for most of this work!!

As I complete each step I keep every one post on sucess and faliurs a long the way. Wheee fuunnn!

 

Sounds like a good list; it'll keep you busy! At least most of it isn't too "technically" hard, just a lot of work (valve cover gaskets). I tell ya, when I was putting the rear axle on, I bought a ton of stuff for the rear discs- two new hoses (right rear caliper uses a hose), two new e-brake lines, rear axleshaft (commmonly misnamed as "wheel") bearings & seals, caliper mounting bolts, bushing kits, etc... back when carparts.com actually sold carparts, they had an online coupon thing I cashed in on. It was "$50 off $100+ order". My order should've been for $120something, I got it for $70something.

Carparts.com merged with JCWhitney (and now sucks), but I know http://www.expressautoparts.com is still around. (http://www.wrenchhead.com seems to be out of the parts business too!) Maybe you could search Yahoo.com for "expressautoparts.com and coupon" and see what happens.