Let me give a quick synopsis of the car to give a better idea of the issue...My girlfriend and I just purchased a 1982 Collecter's Edition Vette off of my father that he has owned since '89. The car has had numerous issues over the past 10 years and the last time it was driven I drove it home from drivers ed...This was 10 years ago...

The reason it made it got pulled into the garage back then was it was the end of the season and I literally needed to put the brake pedal to the floor to have any hope in stopping the car on the way home that night. I don't remember it being as bad then as it is now but maybe I used the brake to help me slow down...

Anyways fast forward 10 years...It has a replaced fuel pump and it cracked a fiberglass mono spring while idling...I replaced the spring Monday and now I need to diagnose the brakes...

While I had the rear apart I took a quick look and the pads look brand new still, I assume the fronts will be in similar condition...The car only has 29k on it...

I am mechanically inclined I have owned Mustangs for years and do my own work but I have not had to diagnose brake issues in the past, any help would be appreciated...

 

The brake systems on these cars work like any other. I'd start by looking at the master cylinder to see if you have fluid. If it's low, it's leaking somewhere, and I'd then look at all four corners for evidence of the leak. If you have fluid and there's no leaks you can see, I'd bleed the system starting at the rear, doing each caliper starting with the inner bleeder first, then outer and then the front calipers. Two things typically cause the system to suck air. The first and most obvious is a leak somewhere. The other is rotors with to much runout causing the brake to pulse (sometimes imperceptably) and then to suck air. If the car has been sitting for 10yrs, who knows, the issue could have been there when it was parked.

Mono leafs don't crack or break often, and I'd be very surprised if yours just cracked when the car was idling. Something else caused that spring to break, I'd be curious about that...

 

Yea the lip seal is not forgiving if the car sits. I would check but I am guessing your leak/issue is in the calipers. If so rebuild them all with O-ring kits.

I agree with damoroso that mono springs don't fail to often. The only thing that jumps out is was the exhaust near it? They do not like heat like that and can cause issues. If you replaced it with another Mono spring make sure its insulated.

 

If you have 10 year sitting around brakes, that were iffy even then, you need to just bite the bullet and change everything now. Don't screw around with them, just fix them. Check rotors, run out, new calipers, lines and probably the M/C. Then you can drive it and be confident.

 

Thanks for all the quick responses...The brakes were bad when the car was initially parked and thats why it never left the garage the following spring...When we pulled this spring out the exhaust was damn close to it, I don't know how accurate the info is on it but my father was told the fiberglass springs will crack if the car is left idling in one place to long because it absorbs the heat...I believe this spring had a defect in it when we pulled it apart, it only had about 500 miles on it and cracked dead in the center...The original one cracked on the outer edge years ago and he said that one had been idling for about an hour in one place...

I don't know how accurate that info is I wasn't there when it happened...I plan to purchase another fiberglass spring to have but right now it was replaced with a steel spring...

 

The cars originally had head shields on the exhaust in the area of the spring for a reason, they don't like heat to much, but unless the pipe is touching or very close, it would take a long time idling to damage the spring. The fiberglass spring is more desirable for several reasons. Weight, rates available, and they don't get squeaky...

Check out the brakes. There are two options (if you don't count the modifications like Willwood parts and such) for rebuilding calipers, the orginal lip seals and the O-rings. Some will tell you the O-rings are a marketing ploy, while others swear by it. I chose to go with the O-rings, and if you're used to doing your own work, you can easily rebuild your calipers yourself with either lip seals or O-rings, the O-rings being more expensive. I'd pull the calipers apart first though, to see if you have stainless steele sleeved calipers and the condition of them. If you don't have the sleeved option, you'll want to trade yours in for them. If you do, the smoother the finish the better. With your car sitting so long, who knows what you might find. I'd highly recommend doing the master cylinder at the same time too, and make sure you bench bleed it before you install it...

 

Awesome guys I will take a look at the calipers etc this week...The only heat shield I could see under the car was between the exhaust and the center of the spring it was small maybe 12x4 maybe...The pipe is also REAL close...Maybe I should get back under there and see if I can move it a bit, I know the fiberglass is more desirable the reason for the steel was my father had already bought it before he was planning to sell the car so we had it and I put it in...There is a local car show next week that I will be taking my Mustang to and the girlfriend was hoping to take the Vette...Otherwise I would have went straight to the fiberglass spring...

 

The assembly instruction manual (AIM) and GM Chassis Service Manual will help with your 82.

 

MY 75 was in storage for 2 years when I bought it. It was started once a month and ran for 1/2 hour each time. It had no brakes when I pulled it out of storage, I drove it home for 2 miles using the emergency brake. Pulled all 4 wheels, rotors were good pads were good, calipers were original, one was leaking. To make a long story short cut to the chase and replace all 4 calipers and your master cylinder. The calipers have 2 pistons in them so if it seems a caliper is working only one piston might be working and the other might be frozen. Brake problems and vette's go hand in hand because they sit alot. Surprisingly brake parts for vette's are cheap.

 

My calipers have 4 pistons, 2 in each half. What model year did GM change to 2 pistons in disc brake Vettes?

 

My mistake I should have clarified 2 pistons per side, any of those pistons can cease up giving you a false sense that you have a full brake when you don't. This I realized when I started pulling my calipers.

 

Alright, I got everything pulled apart tonight and the brake fluid was real low so I started bleeding brakes...Got everything bled and realized the front drivers side is pissing fluid all over the place from the pistons...Is this rebuildable or does the caliper need to be replaced? Is this where a few of you have recommended the oring vs sleeve option?

Someone also made note about stainless steel pistons...I have been told this car has all options available from 1982 except the rack on the back of it and one other option that is slipping my mind...Did the Collector's Edition have the steel pistons

 

Also is there anywhere in Massachusetts that I could buy these parts I would need tomorrow? I would like to spend Saturday morning getting the brakes together so my girlfriend can take it to a show on Sunday...

 

Yes, they are rebuildable, and it's not hard. Most of the work is in cleaning and prep. There are a few threads on this, you might try a search. You can also buy them rebuilt and sleeved from most all the vendors, I'd suggest shopping around for rebuild kits or the calipers depending on what you want to do. As for your car already being sleeved, it's a definet maybe but fairly likely. The only way to tell for sure is to pull at least one of the dust boots from each caliper, you'll be able to see the sleeve.

 

You should be able to get rebuilt lip seal calipers from any local parts store. You won't be able to get the O-ring style, but the lip seals should last for at least several years.