my dads 81 vette has been sitting for years. everything works, just needs a battery, and something with the brakes isnt working. the pedal goes all the way to the floor and the car will barely stop. the pads etc were all changed brand new right before he parked it. he said something about a pump or something??

what can this be, or what can i do to figure out what it is this way i dont buy parts that i dont need?

i wanna fix it, clean it up, and get it insured again and park it in the driveway on xmas morning (currently been parked at my grandmothers house for the last 3-4 years)

or would it be easier to just tow it to a shop? im sure whatever the part is i can replace, its just a matter of finding out what it is, and a brief explanation on how to change the part, and i can get it done.

thanks for any help!

 

At a minimum your brakes need to be bled. If it's been sitting for a while, it wouldn't be a bad idea to run fresh fluid into the system too. After you get everything bled and tightened up you can inspect for any leaks. Several power bleeders out there can make this a simple job (Motive gets good reviews).

You can never be too careful with brakes.

 

Also, you may need to replace
master brake cylinder
brake calipers, if leaking
brake hoses (4), may be collapsed, hard to tell just by looking at them, brakes could start locking up.
Search archives, theres alot of info on brakes there.

 

it might be easier to just take it to a shop at this point, just to ensure its done right and everything is fixed (dont want to skimp on brakes, as mentioned)

 

anyone know of any good shops in Tampa FL?

 

can you give me more info on what "motive" is? is its a product or a company, etc?

i got a new battery today, started it up, and drove it around the block for about 15 minutes to get the tires moving and just let it run etc..

i called a shop today for a price on a brake booster, and they told me 131 bux. they then asked what exactly its doing, and said its not the booster, if it was, the pedal would be really hard to press and stiff, which its the opposite, it goes to the floor, has a little bit of brakes, but not much to drive safe. its fine to take back streets to get it to a shop if i have to, but what should i check at this point?

how do i go about bleeding the lines, and checking the calipers, which i think it may be at this point. how much are they if they need to be replaced, is there a certain place online i should order them, or just buy locally? any specific brands?

sorry for all the questions, im tyring to get this cleaned up and running good before xmas for my dads present

needs alot of little things, but once i get the brakes working right, ill move on to the other things (pass window motor, locks, etc)

but if it sits any longer, its just gonna rot. the 2 weather strips are completely rotted on both doors so mositure etc gets inside (its got a cover on it) but still i need to replace those as well.

any more detailed info on the brakes will be greatly appreciated. id rather do it myself then take it to a shop, and if i have a decent explanation on how to bleed the brakes and check if the calipers are bad, etc, i will be able to do it.

im gonna get it washed up and cleaned this week sometime, and ill snap a few pics of it when i do

 

Well, check your brake fluid first. Find out if anyone you know, knows how to bleed brakes. If done manually it takes two people. It is a pretty generic process that can be looked up online. Low pedal is lack of fluid or air in the lines. If the fluid is real low and you add fluid, you probably will also have air in the lines. But you could drive it to a shop. Good luck!

 

ill check fluids tomorow and fill them if needed, then later this week i will bleed the brakes

 

ok so i took it to Midas and they did a free brake inspection

drivers side calipers are leaking, those need replaced

3 rotors will need replacing eventually but for now they are good enough to leave on so im not chaning those yet

all brake pads, and the master cylinder.

so the 2 calipers, pads all around, and M/C with labor and bleeding brakes is 927............what do you guys think??

 

I went through this with my '77, which had sat unused for 6-7 years. New calipers are around $65 each. I think the pads were around $50 a pair. Not sure what a master cylinder cost, as mine was OK. You said in your original post that the pads were installed brand new just before it was parked. Can't imagine how they wore out just sitting for eight years. Also have my doubts about the master cylinder being bad from just sitting. If it's been sitting for 8 years, the two calipers that aren't leaking now will be shortly. I say that from personal experience. If it was me, I would do this:
Replace all four calipers with new ones.
Replace the four rubber brake lines with all new steel braided ones.
Get someone to help you, and bleed the system real good, keeping the master cylinder topped off with fluid, and the brakes will probably work just fine. You can get the steel braided brake lines from Ecklers or other vendors, possibly from local parts houses. As those old rubber brake lines age, they can partially collapse from the inside, causing mushy brake pedal and pulling to the left or right when you apply the brakes. The steel braided lines will eliminate this. Four calipers and four brake lines should cost you around $300-350. If you do the labor yourself, you'll save a few hundred dollars and learn about the car. Good luck and enjoy it.
Kenny

 

Oh yea, I would also question how they determined the three rotors are OK to run now, but will need replacing eventually?? Is the metal scored on them, or are they nice and smooth?? If the thickness of them is OK, and the car wasn't driven with completely worn out brake pads before, there's not really much to go wrong with a rotor, unless they're warped really bad from heat, but probably not. Nothing against Midas, but I would really question the part about the pads and rotors needing replacing. Besides, those are two things you can visually look at yourself and tell if they need replacing.

 

I admire your diplomatic wording. Personnel in auto repair shops vary widely in their readiness to sell someone more than they really need at the time. If you don't know them from past, positive experience, it's good to be cautious with expensive repair recommendations.

The other forum members are giving good advice to try to do as much of the work yourself as possible.

 

perhaps after being turned, they are close to the thickness limitations that make them a replacement on the next major brake rebuild?

 

I personally have had a master cylinder go bad with the car just sitting idle for a few years. If the calipers and hoses are not leaking, and the pedal goes to the floor, I would put my money on it being a bad M/C.

Working on Corvette brakes is not rocket science, so if you can do the work yourself, you can save a lot of money. The recommendations above about replacing the calipers and hoses are all good, but do not also rule out the M/C. Corvette rotors are pretty beefy given the car's weight, so unless they are badly scored or have been repeatedly machined, they should be fine.

 

They will do all of that for $927.00? And with out a GUN?..highway robbery!...
.

There possible net cost for the above parts is about $170.00, and only $70.00 if they rebuild yours.

This is what will probably happen. If 2 calipers are leaking the other 2 are ready to go and they will exploit that fact AFTER your car is in the shop. Why, they also know the other 2 will leak almost immediately. They will then claim a bleeding problem and have to do the rest. There has been water in the system and formed rust that in turn damaged the rubber inner lip seals on the piston. And they may even rebuild your own calipers at a parts cost of about 10 bucks a kit. If they even use stainless sleeved rebuilds, the same thing will happen, rust will form from water getting inside the system. Oh boy, they will love you. And not even a kiss...

.. .

 

i know the price was high, but i didnt have the time to do it myself before XMAS, would have taken me forever, and i wanted to get it running for xmas for my dad, which i gave it to him last night. oh well, whats done is done. we will fix the rest of the stuff little by little ourselves. but i did look at it before he did the work and he showed me it on the lift, all the crap that was leaking etc....oh well

 

Don't worry about it - live and learn. I'm sure most of us have all been screwed by a brake shope at some point. I know I have. My impression is that they won't do a better job than an amateur who can follow a manual well. They also exagerate the necessity of what constitutes "needing replaced." I often wonder if anyone has actulally left one of these shops and actually only paid the $89/axle advertised price. Anyone?

 

Brake booster? I think you meant to ask for a Brake Master Cylinder. You drove it with no brakes?
Get it flat bedded to a shop.

 

it had brakes they were just really really soft/spongy. i drove back roads very slow. brakes are fine now.

 

It's fixed and your dad can drive it. That's what counts. We were just telling you some of our experiences with the brakes on these old cars. It'll probably be fine for a long time. I would watch those other two calipers for leaks though. After sitting for such a long time, they probably will start leaking, sooner or later. We've all been in that position of needing something fixed yesterday and not having the time or equipment to do the job yourself. It happens. Now enjoy that sucker!
KC