Hmmmmm......Something to definately look into. Sounds like you're on the right trac. good luck, I wish you, in repairing this. be careful and stay safe. No need for failed brakes. The "Hail Mary" couldn't hurt but don't sell it. never give up. Cheers

 

Guys- Yeah when paying for repairs, you wish they get it right the first time. But I was thinking they are only "band-aiding" the car. Me and a friend just yesterday replaced the Alternator (which was only a 37A) with a 63A; 3 new belts and a new Fan Clutch. We did it right. But now a new sound (could be the water pump). Well, we weregoing todo the water and pwr steering pumps next, butthen its the brake light again!

It seems like the problemsmay never end. I'll probably get the shop to check the wheel alignment first. Not sure if I want them doing the brake job. They may charge me an arm and a leg.I'm guessing new calipers, rotors and pads are needed. But this bleeding sounds like a pain. Its aggravating whenpaying for their knowledge and labor and wondering if I could do a better job.

 

Hi dar322 and welcome to the forum, you'll find a lot of great people here to answer all your questions and to guide you thru a repair.
Congratulations on buying your Vette, the next thing you need to buy is a Haynes Repair Manual from your auto parts store.
Corvettes are easy to repair with basic tools and skills.
On our cars the calipers are fixed and the pistons float. Whats that mean? It means that when you step on the brake pressure pushes on the pistons which makes your car stop.
When you take your foot off the brake it releases the pressure, but the pads are still in contact with the rotor- than on the next revolution of the rotor the pads are pushed away, how far away is determined by the "Run out"
The run out is caused by worn or improperly adjusted wheel bearings and how much worpage is in the rotor.

These cars are old and they will need some work, you've got to look under the hood at least every few days and check all the fluids and look around for leaks and such.

Parts: I try to stay with stock replacements and lifetime FREE replacements.

Alignment: that should be done, but first lets check the brakes and bearings.

Hope this helps, PG.

 

The Shark rotorswere originallyturned after theywere mounted on the hubs. Therefore if they've ever been removed and turned or replaced, there's a very good chance the runout is out of spec. As the rotor turns and moves back and forth wrt to the piston, it causes the piston to suck air past the seals giving spongy brakes. If you get new rotors, try to index on the hubs to get in-spec runout. If that doesn't work, then you'll need to get them turned on the car to achieve acceptable runout.

Recommend while you have the rear rotors off that you rebuild the parking brake and cable with a stainless steel kit. Rust is the most common reason for it to go south.

Get a factory service manual. You'll save yourself a lot of time. A factory assembly manual comes in handy also.

 

The mechanic that you initially went to is plainly "full of crap." If you don't have a leak somewhere in the brake system, then you can't get air into the system. The brake system is a CLOSED one. Make sure the rotors are true, the pads are good, the calipers seal and bleed the system completely. There is no mystery to the brake system in that year 'Vette. What the hell is "shimming the pads?" I know you should stay away from that mechanic !!!!!!! You have to have SUPER screwed bearings to effect the brakes. You ahould have had some serious indications that have told you to "CHANGE THE BEARINGS" before they ever effect your brakes. I've gone through my brake system completely and it's not rocket science, the same old basic stuff. If anyone has ever blown smoke up your butt, it's that mechanic. Reading stuff like this "drives me crazy" to say the least. Any good brake shop can do a good job on that car. The beauty of the older 'Vette is that it's the old basic american set-up that doing work on is simple. Go to the basics of a brake sytstem and your problems will be solved. If you sell the car due to this problem, then you'd sell anything you'll get next. Don't let anyone confuse you and tell you this is SO complicated,'cause it's not.

 

Well, I didn't hear anything from the vette shop today. Several weeks ago I paid for themand theyrepaired the rear rotor runout and system bleed.Fixed it for 3 weeks. Maybe the rotors are original and the previous brake jobs only replaced the pads? Aren't the rotors riveted on? Anyways, I'll have all winter to figure it out. I also will buy a water pump and power steering pump. The heat riser rattles and is all rusted out. The carb probably could use rebuilding. The engine...well maybe exhaust valves...who knows. See you all next spring.

 

Okay, a co-worker who has built several race cars took the car for a test ride and determined the brakes need bleeding and the rears aren't grabbing at all.Air in the lines. So bleeding is the first step.

 

Rotors with excessive runout will pump air past the seals even if the system doesn't leak.

 

The OP did say they had to remove excess fluid from the MC. sounds reasonable to think maybe the intake of air is causing a backup.

 

Never heard that, but I really don't know squat about disc brakes. Just the basic, "If it leaks, stop it. If it's got air in it, get it out."

So,....... does this mean that my brakes and headlights don't take the same fluid? [&o]