Brake Problem "New" 77

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Mar 5, 2009 | 06:14 AM

irvan

Thread Starter

Racer

Joined: Jul 2005

Posts: 478

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From: Lawrence Kansas

Brake Problem "New" 77

I bought an old 77 Corvette a couple of days ago, abused and neglected but not horrible. It has a scrape on the right side of the front bumper so has a bra but otherwise looks ok and can't find any rust under it or around the windshield so might be turn out to be decent car. Strange color combo, white with a blue interior. None of the calipers seem to be leaking but the brakes go WAY down (floor) and feel crappy and there was no fluid in the back half of the master cylinder. Maybe just bleed or does anybody have a different/better idea on where to start? Thanks.

Mar 5, 2009 | 09:30 AM

spedaleden

Safety Car

Joined: Nov 2004

Posts: 4,359

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From: Mundelein Illinois

I would start with a bleed. I have seen when the master get old, it can't push fluid anymore, then you know what you have to do. But start with a bleed and go from there.

Mar 5, 2009 | 09:39 AM

Cleon

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Joined: Mar 2006

Posts: 52

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I agree with Spedaleden, start with bleed. I found my 79 was bleeding air back into the
system through the calipers. I ended up replacing the entire system with stainless and
O rings. No problems since.

Mar 7, 2009 | 11:02 AM

wweast

Intermediate

Joined: Mar 2009

Posts: 37

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brake woes

Quote:

Originally Posted by irvan

If there's no fluid in the back hafl, the pedal is going to go down, and chances are, there's an issue somewhere in the rear brake. It's somewhat wishful thinking to think that a simple bleed will fix it, but it will help to identify the trouble. Fill the system with clean fluid, bleed it until clear fluid runs out all bleeders, and then carefully inspect the system for leaks. If the system is properly bled, and there are no leaks, it shoul dmaintain a firm pedal regardless of how long the car has been sitting. If you come back later, and the master cylinder is still full, but the pedal is soft again, there is still air in the system and the bleeding process was not complete.
An easy test for master cylinder condition is to first re-establish a firm pedal by bleeding the brakes and installing clean fluid. When you push on and hold pressure on the pedal, it should hold at a firm postion. If the pedal slowly creeps to the floor while holding steady pressure, the master cylinder is defective.
If you need to repalce or rebuild the calipers, I'd strongly suggest looking at Wilwood's new direct repalcement calipers that binnie has been talking about.

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