Put the car up on ramps to swap the rubber fuel S-hose to the pump and while I was under, noticed this mess on the driver side front.

Yes the power steering is a slow leak, I checked and the fluid on the tire is not PS fluid.

Had it up on ramps for a week before I noticed this. I used the parking brake which I also rarely do, but have engaged in the past couple months.

How urgent is this? Safe to drive or out of commission until addressed?

 

The master cylinder splits the system in half (front/rear). If the front fails, you'll still have the rear brakes. Braking will be very sketchy. Keep the master cylinder topped off so you don't get air in the lines. You can drive it but I'd fix it as soon possible.

 

I'd also note that the rubber brake hoses between the caliper and the frame line looks like it could be original with the single crimp fitting. Plan on changing all of the hoses as they can fail internally.

 

Millie74,

In regards to your question:

HELL NO it's not safe to drive. A leak is a first warning that there is potential for catastrophic failure.

A trans leak, coolant, oil or PS leak won't hurt anybody. But a brake leak could kill somebody, and you will be liable for any damages too.

Like others, I have limped home, nice & slow with a brake leak, but never purposely drove it.

Figure out what it needs and repair it. You will need gallons of Dot3 and a pressure bleeder tank will help immensely.

 

You know you have a leak. As said, we have all limped home and know how to keep the MC topped off. But you are HOME! No reason to take it out again and put everyone at risk. It will only get worse, most likely when you are far from home and you have to call a tow truck. You don't have to do all 4 at once, but replacing one should not be more than a few hours work.

 

I had to replace the left front caliper on my 79 last year. Found out about it when it wouldn't pass inspection. Took me about 2-3 hours. Replace brake pads while you got i apart. Don't forget to replace the copper crush washers too!

 

And in a panic stop situation, you don't think this car will pull to one side?
Hell No, it's definitely NOT safe to drive!

 

I would drive it. At a minimum i would repair/replace the leaking caliper, throughly inspect the remaining calipers and replace the rubber brake line hoses. Why take the risk?

 

LoL

Who needs brakes in good working order?

 

How bad is it?....when you push does it squirt out or dribble so slow you cant tell....slow it will get worse, squirts its very bad and you wont get far.... Who does the work on it, you or a mechanic. If it'd you fix it as soon as you can. If its a mechanic, top it off and drop it off.

 

And one qt. of fluid should be way more than enough to replace one caliper and brake hose.
Pat

 

Right just ask Derek @ VGG.
Pat

 

Thanks all. I’ve never done brake work so I guess she’s out of commission until I pick up some parts and make a trip to Harbor Freight for a jack and jack stands, etc.

Then I have a bunch of forum searches and videos to watch.

 

Meanwhile, using a spray can of PB Blaster (Walmart) start soaking all the rubber hose connections, both ends.
All six bleeder screws and all caliper mounting bolts.

Then do it all over again the next day.

Brake job is not fun, but not horrible. You make get lucky and only have to replace pads and hoses.
Then a complete flush.

The rotors on these Vettes last longer than the norm. They are extra thick and may just require a light scuffing with sandpaper both sides.
Master cyl are pretty tough as is the Proportioning Valve. The hoses are usually the weak point.

Figure out how you want to bleed the system.
Vacuum
Pressure tank
Gravity method.

I do not recommend getting the brake pedal involved until the job is done.

The second job you might want to do is remove the master's lid. Using a turkey baster remove ALMOST all of the brake-fluid leaving the ports covered in the bottom. Then top-off with fresh DOT3.

 

What's your mechanical ability? It's actually pretty easy to work on the calipers and get them good again.

1) Remove caliper and clamp wad something in the hose hole (like a cone-shaped piece of wood you whittle out in advance, or a piece of rubber, etc) so it's not leaking fluid while you work on the caliper.
2) Unbolt the caliper bolts and split it in half
3) Take a gasket scraper or somewhat sharp (small) screwdriver and carefully pry up on the caliper dust boots (they'll come out if you work them out. don't puncture)
4) Remove pistons
5) Inspect the parts. Clean the bores out. Inspect the lip seals and SS sleeves.
6) Inspect the O-ring where the halves meet.
7) Most likely the O-ring is where the leak is. Recondition that by gluing a small dot of wet/dry 180 grit sandpaper on the end of a 3/8" wood dowel. Trim adhesive works well. Put the dowel in a drill and some oil on the tip to lubricate it, and machine the mating surfaces using the drill and the dowel (with sandpaper dot on the tip). It might take a couple pieces of the sandpaper. This should make a nice surface. Apply grease to the mating surfaces and then the old O-ring. A new O-ring would be ideal, but you might not have a solvent-safe o-ring handy. Old one usually works fine.
8) Clean everything and reassemble with all the same parts. Use brake fluid on the seals. Bleed brakes and be on your way. Should take care of your leak. If the pistons are badly corroded (some is ok) and the Stainless bores fluted, you might want to just get a rebuilt caliper.

The above doesn't take too long.

Alternate fix: Call OReilly's and order a new caliper.

 

Get a low profile jack from HF. Grab 4 of their jack stands and go ahead and get the rubber pads for all 4 stands. I like to drive the front up a ramp and jack the rear end up in the middle using the leaf spring plate. Then jack up the front using the edge of the cross member with a block of wood. Don't jack up the cross member on the flat bottom.... look at it, you'll see all the dents from previous mechanics.

Soak those lines really good and shock em with a ball peen hammer/screwdriver. Purchase a set of flare wrenches from HF for the metal lines. If the metal line hardware is stripped/rounded off, you'll probably need new metal lines.

You can cut the old brake hoses in half to make removal easier. When you install the new hoses, a dab of antiseize to make future removal easier. Front two brake hoses get crush washer between hose and caliper.

I wouldn't recommend pumping the brake lines with your feet. I managed to install my proportioning valve without the valve key tool... and really messed my system up. Ended up snapping my stripped metal lines off. Had to uninstall my Borgeson power steering that took 4 days to install... just to get my new metal brake lines in. Yeah, my first attempt as well as your. It's really challenging but once you finish, you'll realise it's not difficult.

 

I don't have a heavy vice and table, so I find it easier to crack the caliper halves bolts while it's still on the car. A long breaker bar is mandatory over a standard 1/2" socket handle -- at least for my puny string bean arms.
Make sure not to go overboard on sanding the o-ring surfaces. If they get too deep, the o-ring won't contact both halves well enough to seal.

 

[QUOTE=pspicci;1608107758]Right just ask Derek @ VGG.

what a guy, I enjoy watching his show

 

All this talk about Harbor Freight, original hoses and YouTube videos makes me nervous. For me, find a business or someone who intimately knows the braking systems of a Corvette to evaluate and repair/replace from stem to stern. Do this right and thorough the first time and you will not regret the outcome, not to mention it will add value to your car. I've always said the most valuable tool in your arsenal is a credit card.

ps. To the OP, there was a lengthy thread on this Forum a few years ago about a Harbor Freight floor jack or jack stand that failed while in use on a Corvette. Fortunately the person was not under the car at the moment of failure. I would find that discussion before purchasing.

 

That was ME...on the broken H/F jackstand. Hey, it only happened one time! LOL.

Some people are out-sourcers (hire work done) ...some people in-sourcers (do work inhouse). Both can be ok. Depends on the desire/time/money/skillset. Sounds like the owner doesn't have a lot of experience ...by way of even asking the question in the first place.