The brake pedal on my 74 Vette has gotten very soft in the last month or so. I checked the reservoir and the 2nd reservoir is extremely low and I found the leak at the Rear Right Caliper. It is leaking extremely bad now.

What fluid should I put in the Reservoir? I Know it is DOT-3 fluid, but unsure of what brand I should put in)
Also, I have never worked on the brake system before, so should I let an experienced person do this?

 

If you have no idea, you could read up on rebuilding Calipers and rebuild that Caliper yourself. However I have no way of knowing your mechanical skills and abilities.
When in doubt, get a replacement Lone Star Caliper and have a experienced corvette mechanic install it or help you install it.
Any Dot 3 or 4 brake fluid is fine as long as previous owner did not convert it to dot 5.
Tip, Dot 3 and 4 smell like brake fluid. Dot 5 has no smell.

 

Where do you live maybe a nearby member could help you.

 

I recently viewed on youtube a easy way to determine if you have DOT 5 or not. Place some of the brake fluid from the master cylinder in a jar and add a small amount of water. If it is absorbed you don't have DOT 5.

I use any brand DOT 3.

 

If one is leaking, and you have to bleed the brakes anyway, I'd do both callipers. You may be faced with doing part of the job all over again in a year's time.
And, after all, brakes are your friend.

 

It's a 47 year old used Chevy, time for a brake job.

 

While doing a rear coil over install with new Van Steel trailing arms, I also rebuilt the rear calipers. New metal lines for rear calipers and rubber lines all around along with master cyl. At bleed time I used the Motive power bleeder which showed one rear leaking bleeder screw and also front caliper leaking. Rebuilt front calipers as well. What I found in the tear down of the calipers was crud and goo that you likely have also. My car is a 1975 coupe. I have to agree with others for you to do a brake rebuild.

 

Thank you! I was able to get the correct fluid (DOT 3) and confirmed it is the rear right caliper leaking. Ad for doing the brake job, I have been reading up on replacing calipers/pads and I do feel confident. Got one from Lone Star on the way now.

Thanks so much for the help. I know if the wrong fluid was used or mixing fluids destroys brake systems, lol, I didn't want to take a guess mess up the whole system.

Thanks again.

 

This is a somewhat common issue for these cars and if it sits long periods of time even more so. Brake fluid is corrosive so the piston seals in the calipers are usually the culprit to leaks. If it were me, I would do all four corners. News seals, clean and paint them, and fresh dot 3. Less expensive and very effective. If you do this use high quality seals for the pistons.

 

I never understood why people just don't replace the whole brake system. Even if it's not broken today it will be soon. These cars are all over 40 years old and the brakes should not be trusted. Every time I buy a "new" C3 I replace every part of the brake system. It will be money well spent down the road.

 

I guess i would be in minority..
i am not messing with calipers that do not leak and working properly . Even recent two front lone star replacements leaked in less than 12 months. The only other 2 calipers that are fixed for some time is rear one i replaced with new pistons and o rings and they already had stainless inserts, and the one that came with car as i got it which is one half of casting delco and the other side no name..and zero issues..this includes multiple removals and installation.
also note for me..start driver rear inside top bleeder then outside bleeder..
i use drip method and if it takes time to start dripping i open inside bleeder and suck on outside bleeder to draw fluid through caliper then it flows great..
also get some vendor new usa rubber lines

bleeding all brakes for sure a good idea every few years, unfortunately always something leaking so mine is pretty fresh!
cheapest dot3 i can find at local stores.. note..i warranted 2 lone star calipers and the only issue orwarning from sponsor vendor was if other than dot3 was used no warranty..

 

Spend some extra cash and get Wilwood calipers. Won't leak.

 

It was expensive, but in the end, after like almost 9.5 years, I have not had a single brake issue...... glad I did it now. Was some group buy on here. I ordered mine from Van Steel, one of our forum supporters. I only got them because of the sale really.... anyway, here they are: http://www.vansteel.com/index.cfm?fu...&subgroup=1962

 

I don't know your skill level, but I can tell you from someone who is not an expert, it looks harder than what it actually is with most of the fear coming from doing something wrong means not stopping at speed. But in reality, replacing calipers is not that difficult. I rebuilt two on my mustang and replaced the other two on my mustang by myself and I replaced all 4 on my 1980 with ones from auto zone. No leaks since then. You could go the rebuild route, Rock Auto sells kits to replace the wearable parts. One thing to look at is the lines. Check them for rust and corrosion. You might as well replace any lines while you have the lines emptied. Just after the job is done, test braking several times to ensure all is working before you ago above 10mph.

This job can get messy quick. So be sure to lay a couple sheets of cardboard down to catch any spills. Wear rubber gloves, you don't want to wash your hands in brake fluid all day. And on that note, DON'T get any on your paint job. If you do, wipe it off immediately. It is highly corrosive and will eat through your clear and paint.

When you bleed the lines after replacing the calipers, it can get messy again as you are letting air out of the line as you pump the brakes. Unless you want to buy a pump, this a two man job. One to pump brakes, one to open the line and watch for continuous fluid to flow through / keep topping off the reservoir (you let it get too low and you will have to bleed the whole system over again because you let air in the system).

Give me a pm if you want more info and suggestions.

 

it’s not a tough job just put the time in to study the process. Cost wise rebuilding is the way to go. I rebuilt mine 6 years ago and haven’t had any issues. Bleeding is tricky but once you understand it it’s fairly easy. Having said that, if it’s beyond your comfort level, DON’T do it. It all depends on your mechanical ability. For example, for me it was easy. But if I asked my brother to do it who is NOT mechanically inclined, I would never ride in the car.

 

[Closing out thread].

Instead of replacing the caliper, a kit from Lone Star Caliper was ordered (new pads, hoses, master cylinder, booster, lines, 4 calipers, and rotors) and had it installed by someone more knowledgeable. System works great and have had no issues!