Anyone happen to know..
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5th Gear
Joined: Mar 2018
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Anyone happen to know..
so I just bought a 79 stingray that’s in great shape. Previous owner claimed to have serviced the brakes, well it so happens that I have to forcefully apply the brakes all the way to the floor to get the car to stop. Could it be air pockets? Low brake fluid? Or bad brake master cylinder?
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Joined: May 2016
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From: Minnesota
I would start with bleeding brakes to see if you can get a pedal. Pads aren't a lot of $$ and I would pull wheels, take a look at those, and potentially spray brakes & rotors down with cleaner and slip in a fresh set of pads. Look for any evidence of caliper leaks (wet inside of your rims or runs on the insides of the tires). If you have a firm pedal but it simply goes to the bottom, and still stops the car, it is very possible that bleeding them will square you away.
Last edited by JoeMinnesota; Mar 27, 2018 at 08:59 AM.
Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: Mar 2018
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Okay I appreciate it! Yeah I seen no residue of leaks. It’s still a firm pedal. Just goes all the way to the floor to stop the car. From what I can tell the rotors and pads are still pretty new according to odometer and the paper work they have 500 miles on them.
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 83
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From: Maine
Could be any of the items you mentioned.
Did you drive the car before buying it and were they ok? If you didn't I'd call him and ask what he did for "servicing the brakes" if he is vague be suspect of the other work he had done and I recommend you formulate a plan to go thru the car to make it safe.
Brakes and suspension would be my first items to evaluate and repair. If you are handy, enjoy buying tools and have the service and assembly manuals most repairs can be accomplished with one person with some patience and ingenuity. Just a word of advice if you do the brakes understand it will most likely expand to suspension when you get in to it so pick a job your budget will support and you can complete so the car is back together and understand you may be off the road for a while. For example do one side of the front end, if needed do ball joints, wheel bearings, brake line, caliper, rotor, pads, and the spring and shock. When you can afford it do the other side. Then the tie rod, relay rod and pitman arm. If things are just worn out when it is back together your alignment should be close to where it needs to be. You will also feel a sense of accomplishment and progress.
The rear will be the most expensive because you will be into the trailing arms, rear axle stubs and brakes. There are options there as well I ended up buying new control arm assemblies from Ikerd's they were complete from control arm to emergency brake (with rotor and caliper if you choose) and were less than the labor alone would take to restore the originals excluding any new parts. These are the same arms many of the venders carry but they are a lot cheaper bought directly and very nice people to deal with and shipping was reasonable. Finally drive shaft and half shaft u-joints
I had my Vette doctor put the control arms in because the rear caliper went when he had the cat. When he started poking around it was definitely time to rebuild them The rest of the work I've done my self. Keep asking questions. Good luck with your project. Tim
Did you drive the car before buying it and were they ok? If you didn't I'd call him and ask what he did for "servicing the brakes" if he is vague be suspect of the other work he had done and I recommend you formulate a plan to go thru the car to make it safe.
Brakes and suspension would be my first items to evaluate and repair. If you are handy, enjoy buying tools and have the service and assembly manuals most repairs can be accomplished with one person with some patience and ingenuity. Just a word of advice if you do the brakes understand it will most likely expand to suspension when you get in to it so pick a job your budget will support and you can complete so the car is back together and understand you may be off the road for a while. For example do one side of the front end, if needed do ball joints, wheel bearings, brake line, caliper, rotor, pads, and the spring and shock. When you can afford it do the other side. Then the tie rod, relay rod and pitman arm. If things are just worn out when it is back together your alignment should be close to where it needs to be. You will also feel a sense of accomplishment and progress.
The rear will be the most expensive because you will be into the trailing arms, rear axle stubs and brakes. There are options there as well I ended up buying new control arm assemblies from Ikerd's they were complete from control arm to emergency brake (with rotor and caliper if you choose) and were less than the labor alone would take to restore the originals excluding any new parts. These are the same arms many of the venders carry but they are a lot cheaper bought directly and very nice people to deal with and shipping was reasonable. Finally drive shaft and half shaft u-joints
I had my Vette doctor put the control arms in because the rear caliper went when he had the cat. When he started poking around it was definitely time to rebuild them The rest of the work I've done my self. Keep asking questions. Good luck with your project. Tim
Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Could be any of the items you mentioned.
Did you drive the car before buying it and were they ok? If you didn't I'd call him and ask what he did for "servicing the brakes" if he is vague be suspect of the other work he had done and I recommend you formulate a plan to go thru the car to make it safe.
Brakes and suspension would be my first items to evaluate and repair. If you are handy, enjoy buying tools and have the service and assembly manuals most repairs can be accomplished with one person with some patience and ingenuity. Just a word of advice if you do the brakes understand it will most likely expand to suspension when you get in to it so pick a job your budget will support and you can complete so the car is back together and understand you may be off the road for a while. For example do one side of the front end, if needed do ball joints, wheel bearings, brake line, caliper, rotor, pads, and the spring and shock. When you can afford it do the other side. Then the tie rod, relay rod and pitman arm. If things are just worn out when it is back together your alignment should be close to where it needs to be. You will also feel a sense of accomplishment and progress.
The rear will be the most expensive because you will be into the trailing arms, rear axle stubs and brakes. There are options there as well I ended up buying new control arm assemblies from Ikerd's they were complete from control arm to emergency brake (with rotor and caliper if you choose) and were less than the labor alone would take to restore the originals excluding any new parts. These are the same arms many of the venders carry but they are a lot cheaper bought directly and very nice people to deal with and shipping was reasonable. Finally drive shaft and half shaft u-joints
I had my Vette doctor put the control arms in because the rear caliper went when he had the cat. When he started poking around it was definitely time to rebuild them The rest of the work I've done my self. Keep asking questions. Good luck with your project. Tim
Did you drive the car before buying it and were they ok? If you didn't I'd call him and ask what he did for "servicing the brakes" if he is vague be suspect of the other work he had done and I recommend you formulate a plan to go thru the car to make it safe.
Brakes and suspension would be my first items to evaluate and repair. If you are handy, enjoy buying tools and have the service and assembly manuals most repairs can be accomplished with one person with some patience and ingenuity. Just a word of advice if you do the brakes understand it will most likely expand to suspension when you get in to it so pick a job your budget will support and you can complete so the car is back together and understand you may be off the road for a while. For example do one side of the front end, if needed do ball joints, wheel bearings, brake line, caliper, rotor, pads, and the spring and shock. When you can afford it do the other side. Then the tie rod, relay rod and pitman arm. If things are just worn out when it is back together your alignment should be close to where it needs to be. You will also feel a sense of accomplishment and progress.
The rear will be the most expensive because you will be into the trailing arms, rear axle stubs and brakes. There are options there as well I ended up buying new control arm assemblies from Ikerd's they were complete from control arm to emergency brake (with rotor and caliper if you choose) and were less than the labor alone would take to restore the originals excluding any new parts. These are the same arms many of the venders carry but they are a lot cheaper bought directly and very nice people to deal with and shipping was reasonable. Finally drive shaft and half shaft u-joints
I had my Vette doctor put the control arms in because the rear caliper went when he had the cat. When he started poking around it was definitely time to rebuild them The rest of the work I've done my self. Keep asking questions. Good luck with your project. Tim
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 83
Likes: 14
From: Maine
Glad to help.
As others suggested brake bleeding may solve your problem
If you need to bleed the brakes and work alone. I'd suggest you may want to take a look at EZ Bleeder. I found it to work great. Its a pressurized bleeder that uses your tire pressure. Took me about 15 minutes to figure it out and install, fill the bottle set the regulator at 4 to 5 PSI and start bleeding. It took about 10 minutes to bleed both sides of the front twice. Its Canadian made single person operated and a little more than the cost of an hour of labor at a shop and nice people to deal with.
A couple of suggestions of things to look at:
There are 2 bleeders on the rear calipers and they may have only bled one and you have some air trapped.
If you you have power brakes and pedal has resistance and the pedal stops just before you hit the floor it may be you have a vacuum issue. Possibly the check valve or gasket where the vacuum line connects to the booster. Pedal will usually be hard with engine off, normally drops a bit when you start the car with your foot on the pedal. If it drops to the floor I'd start looking at vacuum and master cylinder. Tim
As others suggested brake bleeding may solve your problem
If you need to bleed the brakes and work alone. I'd suggest you may want to take a look at EZ Bleeder. I found it to work great. Its a pressurized bleeder that uses your tire pressure. Took me about 15 minutes to figure it out and install, fill the bottle set the regulator at 4 to 5 PSI and start bleeding. It took about 10 minutes to bleed both sides of the front twice. Its Canadian made single person operated and a little more than the cost of an hour of labor at a shop and nice people to deal with.
A couple of suggestions of things to look at:
There are 2 bleeders on the rear calipers and they may have only bled one and you have some air trapped.
If you you have power brakes and pedal has resistance and the pedal stops just before you hit the floor it may be you have a vacuum issue. Possibly the check valve or gasket where the vacuum line connects to the booster. Pedal will usually be hard with engine off, normally drops a bit when you start the car with your foot on the pedal. If it drops to the floor I'd start looking at vacuum and master cylinder. Tim
