Nug Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 My Dad has an '84 Gl sedan (ea81, 3 speed auto, pushbutton 4wd, trunk luggage rack, 0 rust) and the brakes take big pedal effort to stop the car, especially when warm. New M/C, booster, pads, shoes, etc. New vacuum lines to booster that won't collapse. There is a new check valve in the booster line, no Vac leaks, everything looks kosher. Any Ideas? Stuck calipers, maybe? Let me know something. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 Does your '84 have the vented rotors? If not consider replacing the rotors and calipers with the vented type. They are more effective with stopping ability. Also, replacing the rear drums with disks is also an option. Rear disks are economically feasible if you get the parts from the junkyard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nug Posted August 29, 2003 Author Share Posted August 29, 2003 My Dad probably won't want to change anything, other than fixing the problem. He's not real interested in modifying anything, although he showed some interest in the weber swap, mostly because he spent an assload getting a new Hitachi put on it. Don't know whether vented or not. He got a pretty good deal on the car, $2000 for 40K! It has something like 136K on it now, 99% highway miles, 1% doing donuts in a snowy field. I imagine It may be for sale sometime in the forseeable future, for a reasonable sum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nug Posted August 29, 2003 Author Share Posted August 29, 2003 The brakes were fine until a few weeks ago. Whether vented or not, something failed and his mech can't figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 Define "big pedal effort"... do you have to pump up for pressure? Are they just REALLY hard to push down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLCraig Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 Are the rear drums adjusted properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 Is the check valve in the booster line in the right direction? and also after getting a whole bunch of new parts the older lines could have been filled with gunk and it has loosended up and caused blockages, also if you are using a newer MC, i don't have specs but i imagine they get bigger every few years to help brakeing it may be reducing the pressure to the pads, as far as hydraulic principles if you have a bigger MC the effort goes up and the pressure at the pads goes down. new pads do take a few hard stops to seat, and i would reccomend bleading the lines just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 you can test the booster for proper operation by depressing the brake pedal while it is running - hold the pedal down and turn the engine off. The pedal should fall towards the floor if the booster is recieving vacuum and is not leaking. Internaly collapsed brake lines will cause a hard pedal. As will rust frozen calipers. Note either of these conditions will result in rapid pad wear and hot to the touch wheels near the brake rotors. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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