A Corvette buddy of mine needs help. Does anyone have any remedies for a very low brake pedal on a 79 vette. He has replaced the calipers and master cylinder. also new pads. it has plenty of fluid when he bled the system, but still not enough to stop good. :confused:


[Modified by Banta, 7:34 PM 7/3/2002]

 

It sounds like you still have alot of air in the system.

 

Remeber, the calipers have two bleed valves. You have to get them all.

 

Let's assume for a minute that you bled the system and all the air is out of it like the other posters suggested. The rear calipers have TWO bleeders. It's probably also pretty safe to assume a '79 has power brakes, too.

Anyway, did your friend also replace the booster? If the problem is simply a "low pedal" and not sponginess, it's possible that all he needs to do is adjust the clevis--the "U"-shaped piece of metal that screws onto the plunger from the booster and is pinned to the pedal.

If he screwed the clevis all the way onto the plunger it's possible that the pedal is being held too low. Another symptom of this would be brake lights that don't want to go out because the pedal pushes the switch IN to turn the lights off and, as the pedal is depressed, the switch makes its contact as it moves OUT of its housing.

If it is the clevis, just crawl under there and unpin it. Hold the pedal as high as you can so it disengages the clevis and then unscrew it a few turns. (You might have to remove the booster again to do this. Sorry.) Then put the pedal back, re-pin it and re-adjust your brake light switch, if necessary. Don't worry about adding a spacer or anything, since the pedal will keep the clevis from coming unscrewed when it's reinstalled.

I'm just riffing here, man. This isn't the problem if he didn't change the booster when he did the MC. It's something to think about, anyhow. Maybe it'll resonate with him. Or somebody else. Good luck.



[Modified by The Dude, 3:06 PM 7/3/2002]