Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

I bought a 1977 corvette last week! my concerns is with the brake pedal is very low. I dont see any fluid leakage on wheels. Where do I start, the booster hold pressure, the master cylinder? everything is original equipment.The disc brakes pads are realtively new, and I dont see any broken hoses or leaks.

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

By very low, I presume that you mean "soft", going too far to the floor without "sticking" the brakes? If so, you might have a bit of air in the hydraulic lines. Bleeding out the air is pretty simple. One guy pumps the brakes, the other guy backs out the bleed valve a bit and holds a container to catch the fluid until the air bubbles are out (once each wheel).

There are some good kits for one-man bleeding, including some fancy bleed valves and catch containers. :)

bill.

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

Hi abo1958 and welcome to the forum. It took me a long time to get used to the short pedal travel on the Vette compared to the brakes on my import. I did find out that they will lock up just fine when an oncoming driver made a left in front of me. PG

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

A low pedal could be air, but it would be spongy too. I had master cylinders starting to gowhich madethe pedal low. Seals let the fluid leak by. Yes, as other reply stated, bleed first, and then go from there.

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

Thanks to ALL. I meant very soft, and all the way to the floor!!! the car does stops but.... I will start by bleeding the system, if problem still there... I'llrebuild/buy the master cylinder, unless someone suggest differently. I'm very inexperience with this type of car but I like the look and feel.

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

If you are not sure take it to someone that does brakes.
You screw up and you not only hurt yourself but could mess someone else up as well.

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

thanks for the advice, I would not want to hurt me or anyone else. I'm trying to get as much knowledge as posible then I'll take itto the brake shop so I do not get tricked into a massive and expensivebrake job.

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

There are a lot of things you can do yourself to improve or repair your Vet.
Asking questions and reading are the best way to go.
Brakes and steering can get you into a lot of trouble.
If I were you I would get a written estimate for the repair on brakes from a couple of places before I got the work done. This way you can compare to see if you are getting ripped off.
Also, find some guys in your town who own Vets and ask them where they go.
Good luck,
Schoon

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

The brakes on our Vette's can be repaied with some basic hand tools and with the help from other corvette forums members.
A good book to start with is the Haynes Repair Manual, you can get it at any auto parts store.
Other books you'll want to have are
Corvette Shop Manual
Service Manual and
Corvette Assembly Manual, put these on you Christmas wish list.
The net is loaded with free information, scroll down to part 12 & 13 on this link http://www.idavette.net/hib/vette_bbfh.htm this should get you started, PG.

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

The master cylinder is very easy to change. Just be sure you bench bleed it completly before you put it back on or you will be bleeding the system forever!

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

PG that is good link! Thanks.
Well! I gave in and took the car to BrakeCheck, one caliper was leaking and the rear parking brake hardware was rusted out in both drum(so I had no parking brake) I was stiffed for $245 for one new front caliper, brake pads, flush, and adjust parking brake some...They claimed it wastoo much at risk to contniue working on it, beacuse of the rust...I drove ithome today, the parking brake does not engage,but brake felt more solid.I went on mamotorworksand ordered the parking brake kit, and new hoses. I will get busy reading and findinganother mechanic....

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

Hope you ordered the stainless steel parking brake kit. Might also consider replacing the cable that runs between the trailing arms as it usually gets rusty inside and hangs up which wears out the parking brake shoes.

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

Well I got the regular kit, but I willcoat partswith grease to prevent moisture/rust. I did get the cables and shoes too.It should last for a while...Thanks.

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

Better to paint the metal parts than to grease them as the grease could/will eventually find its way to the friction surface of the shoes. [:o]

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

A good paint to use is POR-15 POR-15.com
I have used it on my vet with very good results.

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

Very good stuff but wear gloves as I haven't found anything that w/ get it off your skin except time. :eek:

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

Schoon, I can appreciate your point of view and I personally feel that you're being very responsable sharing your point here, but ifeveryone takesthis view to heart, we'll all be going to shops with our problems instead of turning wrenches ourselves. Then we'd only have a forum where we told of the horror stories about getting ripped-off by 'Vette mechanics. LOL But really, I think that if one uses their head along w/ having some kind of mechanical ability, and refers to the Know-how guys here on the forum, that person will be safe and inturn keep others safe on the road also. I agree that areas like brakes should be taken very seriously and double-checked prior to moving the car. The system we have really is quite basic. The "basic"systems in our older 'Vettesare IMO the beauty of them.
And your safety concern is not taken lightly. Thanks.

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

I agree that it is better to do the work yourself but there are a lot of people with old cars thatarenot mechanically inclined are are much better off for everyone's safety it they get things like brakes done by someone who knows what they are doing.
I watched someone do a brake job before I went and did it myself and so on.
I am not saying AOB1958 is not capable of doing the brakes himself but it sounded to me like he might need to see it done the first time so he would get a better handle on it for the next time.
Schoon
PS
I need some help posting pictures.

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

Thanks again for the info, where can I get this paint Por-15?

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

Never mind por-15.com.:eek:

RE: Brakes pedal is very low! help
 

When you call up to order the paint ask tell them what you want to do with the paint.
They are very helpfull.
Also, when you use the paint stir it up good then pour some into a glass jar or hard plastic jar or something.
You don't want to dip the paint brush in the paint can.
This stuff is very strong and will eat through a soft plastic cup.
If the paint is not flaky you can paint right over the rust. If it's loose or flaky wire brush it first.
They will advise you to buy a bottle of marine clean from them.
It's very good stuff it removes all of the dirt and grease.
Most important thing is to make sure surface your going to paint is dry.
Good luck,
Schoon