phoenix

My new Metallic Yellow 73 (new to me:D) L48 has finally landed in my garage.
This weekend was the first nice one that we have had since buying it and I tried to take it through its paces.

With winter quickly coming in Boston, I am trying to figure out what needs to be done with the drivetrain before pulling the car off the road.

Here are my observations:
1. The brake pedal goes to the floor before grabbing (I haven't bled them yet) and I have fluid leaking out of the mastercylinder.
2. The steering wheel is off center by about 15 degrees, but when the car is going straight, the car doesn't drift much.
3. E brake :rolleyes:
4. Leak in the small oil line that comes off the intake and goes through the firewall (is this the pressure gauge?)
5. Squeak in the front wheel (maybe bearing or brake)
6. AC compressor is not on
7. Various small interior things like AC switch, bulbs, clock, etc...

So the question is, do I start small and try to replace the front bearings then bleed the brakes leaving the current parts, or do I do a whole front end rebuild and brakes?

The car will be off the road from November until April either way due to our wonderful weather.

Money is also an issue, but I don't want to do this again in the near future.

Advice on any of the above observations or other comments greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Mike

Chuck H.

My advice:

1. Brakes first...for safety.
2. After that, start with small jobs you can finish in a day. It builds confidence so you can eventually take on the big ones.

Get to it! :smash: :smash: :smash: :smash: :smash:

Mack

Yeah... Brakes first. Also, I would doubt if the squeak in the front wheel is a bearing.... My experience is more of a dragging or rubbing (almost grinding) sound indicates a bad bearing. You might pull them and check them. If the bearings are o.k., then just a re-pack and put it back together.


[Modified by Mack76, 6:40 AM 10/22/2001]

GTR1999

Hi Mike,
Sounds like a bad M/C seal, is the red parking light coming on in the dash? Does the car have SS calipers. I have had SS calipers "freeze" up on me because the brake fluid built up moisture and turned to an acid mud fluid. I would get the brake system fixed first. Best place for brakes is Muskegon(my opinion).
The steering wheel may only be an alignment. How does the front end feel. i good shop will check the front end out before an alignment and give you a report. Most times at NC.
E-brake frozen- are the rivets still in the rotors? I would rather have an original e-brake frozen with the rivets there, that way you know Bubba wasn't in there first.
White plastic line from under the distributor in the block goes to the oil gauge. Where is it leaking? Maybe a loose fitting or just cracked. NAPA should have the kit for about $8.00 you have to connect at the back of the gauge so the gauge panel must be moved forward or come out. Be careful here because they are designed to break at the narrow point in the panel.
Squeek could be dry bearing, trim rings, tires, shocks- again the alignment shop could help here.
A/C open to the elements for a long time then you may be faced with a lot of contamination in the system. Mine 72 system was open for over 20 years so I'm going to replace everything when I get to it-$1,000 in parts. Is the a/c worth it? if the system was sealed then you don't have these concerns.
Small item could be tied in with the gauge repair, I use flat black model paint on the console with great success, replace all the small bulbs, oil line, etc.
I looked but couldn't find a gauge panel at the swap meet yesterday sorry, Let me know if I can help, I'm heading into work now.
Gary

phoenix

Thanks for the help and advice.

As far as the oil gauge, I will do the whole interior at once. When I pull the dash this winter, I will replace the oil line to the gauge and all the bulbs as well as replace the bezel with a replacement so I can cut it for a new stereo. (Thanks for looking Gary) :D

I do think that the break fluid leak is just the seal, but the cover on the master cylinder doesn't clip on really tightly like my other one does. Is there a way to cinch it down more than the clips do?

The brakes are not SS, but I think that it may be a lack of pressure in the system (there is a line lock on the front that hasn't been used in years, but the hoses are a larger bore than the rear line, 3/8 I think)

The steering puzzles me. It is very loose, not quite jumpy, but almost like the steering is too sensitive after about 10 degrees of turning the wheel. I don't want to get into doing the whole front suspension yet or the steering system if I don't have to. Is there a way to diagnose the steering problem before I take it on?

The ebrake cable is frayed, so I will buy and replace that first. If they still don't work, I have a set of replacements. I haven't replaced them before, are they a very difficult job?

What about bearings? Any tricks? Should I do all 4 or just the front?

Thanks again for the help.

john's '81 mouse

quote: "Is there a way to cinch it down more than the clips do?"

Sure, just remove the two master cylinder bail (lid) holders, and bend them a littlle in the middle, and reinstall. When properly adjusted(bent), these should snap on pretty tightly. You DO have a rubber gasket in the bail/lid, don't you?

phoenix

Thanks John. That's what I like, a nice simple and free fix. :D

Alwyn678

Congratulations on the new 73.........oh yeah do the brakes first for sure :yesnod:

rollavette71

Note that my '71 with 40K on the odo squeaked. Turned out it was the front bearings... the grease had
started to harden up on the outer bearings (but not the inners, for some reason). I cleaned them
up, repacked, and no more squeak. FWIW!

Hank

redwingvette

If you our going to fix the oil pressure line I would use copper tubing. The plastic lines can get brittle after awhile and there is nothing worse that oily carpet. You may want to have the gauge checked before you put it all back together also.

Money is never any problem for Vette onwers.

We have all been there.
You will find away.
Brian

phoenix

I bent the master cylinder retaining clips- no more leak :D
I disconnected the oil pressure connector on the intake manifold (there was a crack in the plastic tube. There was plenty of slack, so I cut it, reattached it and - no more leak :D

I'm 2 for 2 on the simple stuff.

I crawled under it today and the entire front suspension is covered in grease. From what I could tell after cleaning some of it off is that the suspension has had some parts redone with poly and others are original. I think that I will probably buy a front bushing kit and then replace what needs replacing as I go.

Should I do the bearings and brakes first?

Just trying to figure out a starting point before I put her up on stands for the winter.

Thanks for the help :cool:

ksbunting

Mike,
Sounds like you received lots of good advice.
Just wanted to say "Congratulations" on getting your Corvette home so you can begin enjoying it and working on it.
There's a good Corvette body shop in Sudbury (has been in same location for 22 years) and the owner owns several Corvettes himself so he really knows the mechanicals as well as the body. He's worked on mine and will be painting it soon.
Enjoy and happy motoring

john73bb

Have you ever rebuilt brakes before? Get a rebuild kit (seals, and o-rings for the channel between caliper halves). The calipers come off and you can take them apart. Then hone the bores with a brake hone (you can get them pretty cheap at parts stores). If the bores are not too badly pitted in the area where the seal rides then just clean them real well, hone them, and put them back together. If they are badly pitted in the seal area then replace them with stainless steel sleeved ones. Use silicone grease on the rubber seals on the pistons. I recommend getting the speed bleaders to make bleading easier. While you have the calipers off, flush the lines. Then put all the calipers back on and bleed them. You may want to put in a rebuilt master cylinder too. Just be sure to bench bleed it before putting it in.

This is how I did my brakes a year and a half ago, and they are working fine.

Good luck.

phoenix

KS, You must be talking about Bill Kearney? :D

He did a lot of work on my 76 before it was totalled. I consider him a friend and have referred many people to him for work. Definitely a class act.

Have you seen his Blown 67? Is that a work of art or what?