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Alright, so I haven't done the brakes on the car since I bought it, and since the fluid is pretty dark and it is the original M.C. I figured I'd just got ahead and do everything. The car gets driven 600 miles a week, so slotted/drilled stuff is a little unnecessary. I am going to do the following:
AC Delco Master Cylinder (Not really sure of any alternatives to this, if anyone has any better suggestions feel free to let me know)
Braided Stainless Hoses from Corvette Central (They are only about 30 more than rubber for a set, so I figured it is an upgrade that is worth it)
AC Delco Calipers + Blank Rotors. I chose these for price, I can get a set of rotors for about 150, and calipers in the mid 300s
Pads- Hawk HPS street pads.
I would not waste your time unless you are going to do the C5 upgrade or better. All the stuff will be fine unless you see leakage or experience a fault with that perticular part. Just get a bottle of brake fluid, a turkey baster, a bleeder wrench, a set of pads and rotors and you'll be good. I flushed my brake and clutch systems when I got my car within the first two weeks. The brakes still sucked, so if you think they will improve then probably not. Suck out the old fluid out of the reservoir, pour new fluid in, and bleed all around until it comes out golden. Do RR, LR, RF, LF, or you may not get a good pedal. Then slap on your pads and rotors, lube up your metal to metal contact points and your slides and you'll be good. Although..... you may have to activate abs to bleed properly. I'm not sure, my 85 didn't have it.
Oh, right. I guess I should have mentioned why I'm doing everything. The car has 150k on the clock, and the calipers/M.C./Hoses are all original. A couple of the calipers are creaking/ slowly retracting and a couple of weeks ago my brakes did go completely soft (I believe the O-rings in the M.C. are starting to go). This is why I was going to do a complete overhaul.
EDIT: The P.O. removed the ABS, so I don't have to worry about that.
You're right, drilled rotors are not needed for your use...or ever really.
The rest sounds good. Hawk HPS are a very good pad. I've used them on a street/track car and they are much better than off-the-shelf stuff you'd get from normal parts stores.
Is there something wrong with the master cyl? Just preventive? Just in case...? Same with the calipers, it there a reason you're changing them? If they work but are just ugly you can take them to a machine shop and have them blasted, They look like new, and it's a good prep for painting them too if that's something you want to do. BTW, the OEM are not AC Delco, something cast in Austraila but I can't remember right offhand.
IF you are planning on doing all this, and think you might want to upgrade any time in the future, look into the J55 (Heavy Duty) brake calipers and rotors. Got mine from Rock Auto and they're about the same price as std brakes.
Edit: you answered some of the stuff after I started this reply :-)
I wasn't really looking for a performance increase, more so just maintenance and long lasting durability since most of the parts are old and worn out.
Clyclonite, thank you for your reply. I was considering the J55s, but since the car is mostly just a street driver, I am not sure if the small extra cost is worth it. If I purchase the J55 calipers and rotors, will they bolt up to my car without any modification to the bracketry? Is there any other modifications that are needed to make the J55s work such as a bias spring or anything like that? Also, are the pads the same between the J55s and the standards?
Thank you
Last edited by Inpheksion; 10-17-2013 at 10:47 PM.
I did not know AC Delco is not OEM for the Vettes. I will probably still go with them, because out of what most part stores carry, they seem to be of the highest quality.
I wasn't really looking for a performance increase, more so just maintenance and long lasting durability since most of the parts are old and worn out.
Clyclonite, thank you for your reply. I was considering the J55s, but since the car is mostly just a street driver, I am not sure if the small extra cost is worth it. If I purchase the J55 calipers and rotors, will they bolt up to my car without any modification to the bracketry? Is there any other modifications that are needed to make the J55s work such as a bias spring or anything like that? Also, are the pads the same between the J55s and the standards?
Thank you
You can probably get a good pair of J55 for about the same amount of a pair of stock fronts. You will need the j55 brackets, but that is it. Everything else is the same as stock, including pads.
I did exactly that on my 93 since I got a nice set of calipers here in the forum, changed seals and o rings and installed new steel braided lines.
My MC did not have any leakage and was working fine, so I left it alone.
I run probably 2 bottles of fluid until i got it clear everywhere.
Make sure that the calipers get filled with fluid or otherwise it will be hard to disperse the trapped air out of the lines.
Check the bleeding order in your fsm.
Start now spraying PB blaster on the union of the hard lines at the frame to the rubber lines once a day. (assuming you're doing this in less than a week)
I could be wrong, but braided SS lines are still just rubber on the inside. If it was me, I would save the $30, or go for true SS lines, which are very expensive. JMHO
I highly recommend upgrading to J55 rotors. I use them with Hawk HPS pads. While the HPSs have TERRIBLE cold bite, they really stop the car well when warm at autocross.
Autozone rotors are sufficient and the remanufactured calipers are working great for me. I did 20 autocrosses on my car with them this year and my car has 126k miles. Inbox me if you have any more questions!
OH and use Valvoline DOT 3&4 brake fluid. You can get it at Autozone. Get a 32 ounce and a 12 ounce bottle. Do yourself a favor and get some speed bleeders too, you'll thank me later.
I highly recommend upgrading to J55 rotors. I use them with Hawk HPS pads. While the HPSs have TERRIBLE cold bite, they really stop the car well when warm at autocross.
Autozone rotors are sufficient and the remanufactured calipers are working great for me.
OH and use Valvoline DOT 3&4 brake fluid. You can get it at Autozone. Get a 32 ounce and a 12 ounce bottle. Do yourself a favor and get some speed bleeders too, you'll thank me later.
one last caveat; some aftermarket stainless braided brake hose (and no I don 't remember which ones) have been reported as being just a wee bit too short; when your suspension is at full extension, make sure there is some slack in the brake hoses
Start now spraying PB blaster on the union of the hard lines at the frame to the rubber lines once a day. (assuming you're doing this in less than a week)
IME those are a PITA to disconnect.
sorry for the dumb question but what is PB blaster? I had the same problem trying to change brake lines in the front. Couldn’t get them loose so the old lines are still on the car
PB Blaster is a lubricant/rust dissolver better than WD 40. A great product when working on rusted bolts to help free them up. Sprayed on a couple of times over a couple of days I have never had it fail to free everything up enough to disassemble the.parts.
Yes!...p.b. blaster, or really any penetrating lubricant. Get a good 12mm. Line wrench, or some vise grips. When I replaced my brake hoses, they were a pita to get off!....don't give up!, They'll finally give up, whoop it's ***!.....
PB Blaster is a lubricant/rust dissolver better than WD 40. A great product when working on rusted bolts to help free them up. Sprayed on a couple of times over a couple of days I have never had it fail to free everything up enough to disassemble the.parts.
Holy old thread....
In tests that you can watch on YouTube, Deep Creep from Sea Foam proved to penetrate and lower torque the most. I use it now, but PB Blaster was my old go to.
To the brake question(s) above.
1. IF you car does nto see track or autocross duty, stick with pads made for the street. There is plenty of information that can be looked up, but the cold bite was mentioned. This is very important for a street car.
2. The Braided stainless lines still being rubber on the inside is true, the braided exterior protects them and limits swell. It is a nice upgrade, and I have done this on a few cars, usually results in a bit better pedal feel. That's it. I like them for a firmer pedal and a slight reduction in pedal travel. It's not something that will make a huge difference.
10-17-2013, 09:55 PM
Opinions on the following brake overhaul.
