I took my 77 out for a run up to the local grocery store and about 3 miles out she began pulling HARD, and did I mention, HARD, to the right. I pulled off the road and she was hot on the right side. I limped home with her but noticed when I applied brake pressure she lurched to the left. Release the brake pedal pressure and bingo, pull to the right.
I bought the car one year ago and the listed repairs done to her the month before I bought her were

NEW EDELBROCK CARB,
NEW VALVE COVER GASKETS,
NEW INNER AND OUTER TIE ROD ENDS,
NEW SWAY BAR BUSHINGS,
NEW MASTER CYLINDER,
4 NEW ROTORS AND BRAKE PADS,
2 NEW CALIPERS,
4 WHEEL ALIGNMENT

So if you could help me by telling me what check list you would use from this point to see what the heck is happening I would be forever (I'm old, so thats not really that long) grateful.

Thanks.

David

 

Your front right caliper has seized up.



Same thing happened to me last year, when I took my then newly aquired baby out for her maiden voyage, after a lot of work getting her road ready. Front right caliper, too......is that a coincedence?




Anyway, you, your caliper is clamped down on your disk, causing the pull, and when you hit the brakes, it balances out because now there is equal pull to the other side.


You're gonna have to replace it, sad to say. Or, I suppose you could rebuild it, but if you are still stock, you can get the replacements at auto zone for the around the same cost as a rebuild, plus it comes with a warinty.


Honestly, though, from 20/20 hind sight, it's best to just replace all four at once. I tried to nickle and dime it, and ended up replacing all four calipers anyway, one at a time, lol. Very expensive, when compared to the fact that you can get kits with all four, aftermarket, from summit, or other places.



Good luck.

 

Thank you, I was afraid of that, but thank you for your insight. I am not worried about staying "Stock" on this car as it is not a numbers matching engine, paint, etc. I'll find a good shop that can take on this work and prepare my wallet for a hammering.

I don't mind spending the money and want it done correctly. I suspect Bubba got involved the last time this got touched!!!

Thanks again.

David

 

Screw that, man. Do it yourself. A shop is gonna charge you 300 bucks, PLUS cost of parts.

You said you already have 2 new calipers, they are rear, correct? As I said before, I tried to nickle and dime it, and it was a huge stinking pile of fail. Just replace them all, if one is rotted, or siezing, etc, they probably all will, at some point, soon.


And do the work yourself. Calipers at autozone are around 70 bucks, if you have the core. I am pretty much not a mechanic at all, in any way, shape or form, and i was able to take the old ones off, and put the new ones on. It takes about 30 minutes per caliper, as long as you spray the crap out of the bolts all week, here and there, with wd-40.


It'll save you some cash, and, I'm not sure about where you are, but here, where I live, it's peace of mind. I don't really trust anyone, because I know to many people in this area. Fact is, they are all lazy bums. You want to find the bubba responsible for a lot of the problems on these cars, you need look no further than your local auto shop.



Just my .02 cents.

 

[But, don't buy ANYTHING at AutoZone....that is, if you want it to 'live' very long.]

 

Eh.....I don't know.



It depends on the stuff you are getting.



The calipers I got were AC Delco, direct stock replacements, same as any other shop will sell you. Difference being is, autozone's come with a warrenty.


Sure, I won't buy tools there, or other things, but for some things....


I gotta say it...



Get in the zone.

 

Okay, time for me to do some homework then if I am going to do this work myself. Does it make sense to replace anything else at the same time? What about upgrading my brakes to something more modern and maybe newer technology, or am I sniffing WD40 again?

Thanks to all.

David

 

Bought mine from advance auto. I only needed two $69.95 with $20.00 core. Advance Auto and Auto sell their calipers for what they are, parts for an old Chevy vehicle. They are not of the "just because it is a corvette" mentality selling parts at outrageous prices.

 

Rubber hoses for the front should be changed, they cost about 10 bucks, order them at the same time you order the calipers, say they all show up at the same time. You said you have new rotors, so that is done. you MAY need to check out you front pads....how far did you drive while they were siezed? Mine didn't do so till I was about 3 miles away, and this, I had to replace the 2 front pads, due to uneven wear. This may be the case for you as well.

How do your break lines look? For mine, I had to replace the front lines, they were really bad, but the rear lines were ok, they looked newer.

Last, and the most hateful part...

How does your E break work? If it works, stupendois...but if not, prepare for hell, lol. Actually, if I had it all to do over again, I probably would NOT have installed the parking break kit, as it STILL doesn't really work that well. Poor design.

 

As for a brake upgrade........the C5 conversion kit some folks sell gives me wood......but it's also costly. Depends on your budget for the car, and your goals. I have put mine through the paces on these winding CT roads, and with the stock breaks, it holds up ok. I have only had fade once or twice, and it was under some pretty heavy breaking and gassing and breaking again.



You want to autocross it or something, then yes, go with some after market calipers. If not, those breaks are really all you need. Mine stops on a dime, every time.

 

You might want to look things over carefully before jumping in with new or rebuilt calipers. Look the calipers over carefully, you can see brake fluid on them around the pads if there is a leak. You can do this on the fronts by getting under the car. Also, inspect your brake hoses. If you're doing calipers, it would be good to replace the hoses, especially if they are original. I haven't experienced it myself, but many onn the forum have had a hose fail internally where the pressure does not release when the pedal is released. That could by your problem?

I guess what I'm trying to say is, analyze the problem so you know what you need before just buying a lot of parts you may not need. If you do decide to do the work yourself, speed bleeders will make the job of bleeding a lot easier.

C2/C3 brakes are really very good when set up correctly - they survived a lot of racing miles in their day. Their major drawback is weight. Nobody uses cast iron calipers nowadays.

Cheers,
Pete

 

As for research, go to mid america, and order the assembly instruction manual for your year.



30 bucks, but it's really the only "shop book" you'll need. I went with a haynes repair manual first, thinking it would pretty much do the job. And for a while, it kinda did. Then I stepped up to the chilton, but again, same problem. I bought the AIM, and have never looked back.

 

Got it, will check all of this on the car. I suspect I want to replace it all, start fresh, clean slate. Thanks for the advice. Any thoughts on upgrading or should I start anouther post for that?

Thanks again.

David

 

Plus, it makes AWESOME toilette bowl reading material. Lets everyone know that a MAN lives in that house.

 

And now you've got the desease, lol.



One thing leads to another, it all starts with the brakes. Then, you know, get those lines. But hey, while you are under there, why not take a look at those U joints......oh, and that spring looks saggy....oh, and look at those idler arms up there....they look old and used up....and oh man oh man, look at those poor, abused rubber bushing.....


and before you know it, you're broke, your wife is POed, your kids miss you, you have oil in places that really shouldn't have it, and all in all, you couldn't be happier.

 

To give you some tips for what to look for in the lines, look for dents. Any place where it looks like the line is pinched means it should be replaced. Wipe all the lines down, then pump the breaks while it's running a few times, then get back under it, and look for any break fluid pooling. Those old metal lines have a bad rep for rusting thinner in places, causing bursts.


With the calipers, take the wheels off, and kinda get your head inside the wheel well, and you can see behind the calipers a little, and you will see the bolts that hold them. Spray the heck out of those, for a few days, and you will have a MUCH easier time getting them off. Also, spray the heck out of where the brake lines feed into the calipers, as they will also likely be coroded, and if your lines are in good condition, it would suck to round off that little nut/bolt thingy on them, making you have to cut the line, and replace it, like I did, lol.

Last, if your lines have to be replaced, save all of the screws and mounting clips. You will lay the new lines down in the same spot the old ones went. It's not too bad, really. Carry a piece of the old line in, so you make sure you get the same size, at whatever store you buy the new, stainless steal lines at.


Some people will tell you to go with, I think it's a DOT4 setup, or silicone, or something....but it's up for debate, really.

 

Good call.


I guess a good question to ask would be, how many miles does the car have? I will assume the calipers are original....as, new these were pretty darn tough brakes. Like I said, though, if he is going to the trouble of replacing even the rubber hoses, from my limited exp, may as well replace the calipers, if they are old. It's only a matter of time and miles before he has to replace them anyway.

 

Brakes........ we don't need no stinking brakes......
Seriously, if you're not into the DYI, take it to a shop. Preferably one that deals with Vette's. It's good insurance against screwing it up yourself.

 

My opinion, just the right front brake hose. Clogged or collapsed. That's why it pulls to the right, the right side heats up and drags.
But when you APPLY the brakes it pulls to the left cause only that side is fully grabbing.
Had that problem on 2 of mine over the years. Replaced both front hoses for the cure.
Disconnect the hose from the caliper and see if you can bleed any fluid through it. Then remove the hose from the steel line and try bleeding it again.
First time it happened to me I simply worked a wire through the hose flushing it with brake cleaner til it cleared out. But just til I got new ones.

 

The car has 80,250 miles on it and I did take a look shortly ago and the calipers, behind all of the dirt, appear to be original on the right front. Interesting though that the front left appears to be brand new. Previous owner said he replaced two calipers on the car, now I realize that didn't mean the two front or the two back, it meant the left front and one of the back. I will dig in to this more tomorrow after some sleep to clear the head.

There is no fluid on the right front tire. The hose appears to be old but no dents or indented areas. I will remove the hose from the caliper and see if she bleeds. I will then remove it from the steel end and see again if it bleeds.

I need a check list of what to check first, then second, then third, etc. Anyone have such a list for this first timer?

1) Check calipers, brake pads, hoses, etc.
2) Check tie rods, bushings, etc.
3) Check springs, shocks, etc.
I can do most of this myself but I fear how much the etc. is going to cost me.

This is what the previous owner said he did to the car a month before I bought it:

NEW EDELBROCK CARB - I see it sitting on top of the Edelbrock Performer Intake Manifold
NEW VALVE COVER GASKETS - Valve covers are finned L-82 style.
NEW INNER AND OUTER TIE ROD ENDS - Yep, I see them there.
NEW SWAY BAR BUSHINGS - Yep, those are there too.
NEW MASTER CYLINDER - That explains why it is new looking.
4 NEW ROTORS AND BRAKE PADS - We will see shortly.
2 NEW CALIPERS - Yep, One Left Front, One Right rear.
4 WHEEL ALIGNMENT - Handles nicely except that nasty pull to the right when you drive her.

Thanks for your guidance.

David