Son. Of. A. #*(!^#.. 4 new calipers = NO brakes **UPDATED** **fixed**

[EviLette]

I took my car in to have an outer tie rod put on, then was going to take it to have front tires and alignment done, but that ended up going out the window. Why?

 

While the car was on the lift, I was examining the undercarriage (have many icky pictures of this) and noted that my right rear caliper was wet. Moisture all over the damn assembly, inside everything. So I knew that one was bad. I also had noticed that since I'd had the brake pads replaced last time (a week ago today!) I had a squeaking coming from the front RIGHT (instead of front LEFT like last brake job.) So I'm getting irritated. While the car is on the lift, we try to spin the front wheel. It. Doesn't. Move. Caliper is locked up. So both calipers on the right side are bad... what do I do?

 

I replace all FOUR of them.

 

That being said. After the new calipers are on. We bleed the brakes. Bleed out the ABS. Bleed the brakes again.

 

Guess what? No pedal pressure. My mechanic suspects that the ABS is not functioning. So we take the car for a test drive. Going about 15 miles an hour, he puts the brake pedal to the floor at a HARD stop... and we leave chunks of rubber on the road from brakes locking. Nice, huh?

 

It occurs to me as this is happening, that ALL of the lights in these cars come on at startup to assure the functioning of the system. I have NO ABS light coming on when we start the car... nor is there an ABS light on at any time.

 

We hook the scanner up to the car for further inspection... And since I don't know scanners I didn't really understand all that it was saying... but what it seemed like to me was that it was getting feed from about half the car.

 

So Mike (my mechanic) gets out a volt tester or something of the sort and has me hit the key a couple times while checking the relays. The ABS relay is functioning, and he says that one side of the pump is doing something, but the other side isn't.

 

Considering the car has 190k on it, I guess I'm okay with having serious brake system issues... but why do these problems always have to rear their ugly heads when I'm trying to get something ELSE fixed?

 

Anyhow... My car will stop... but there is no brake pressure, and the pedal goes to the floor... once again, after being bled twice. I saw it with my own eyes, helped do it. There is NO air in the lines.

 

What do you guys think. ABS/master cylinder? Any other thoughts?

 

I've had five people tell me today that I need to get rid of this car. I'm stubborn and won't do it, and even though I'm pissed, I guess I should be amazed and happy and satisfied that it went over 190k with factory calipers. (Also, while it was up I noted that my mufflers are stamped GM... either factory or original equipment lol..)

 

Also, yes, this is my only car. In addition to that, scrapping this thing after all the money sunk into it would be a waste. You can only fix so much before everything has been fixed. I've done everything in the front end except wheel bearings.

 

Brake lines are still needed.. the rest is just oil leaks to contend with. I know that can be a pain, but I'm not leaving puddles, just drips. The famous "o" ring (former distributor) gasket is leaking like an S.O.B., and from the looks of it, even though it was SUPPOSED to be replaced when we swapped the motor.. judging by the amount of grease and dirt around it.. this was not done. Good thing I don't use that mechanic anymore.. I am starting to wonder what else he half-assed on my car.

 

**EDIT**

 

Brakes... are fixed as much as they can be with a non-functioning ABS unit.

 

The left rear caliper was defective, we swapped it out today.

 

the left side for my parking brake still isn't moving at all though, but the right side is functional.

[Stevo]

I say fix it. Fuck what else people say. It's probably something simple.

[hotrodolds]

Replace the master cylinder with a non-ABS unit, and make sure that the ABS stuff gets bypassed, and that will be the inexpensive way out. It depends on how much you like ABS...personally, I hate it.

[5speedz34]

Make sure the calipers weren't put on upside down. The bleeders should be facing up

[EviLette]

Replace the master cylinder with a non-ABS unit, and make sure that the ABS stuff gets bypassed, and that will be the inexpensive way out. It depends on how much you like ABS...personally, I hate it.

 

...from the sound of it, I've been driving the car without abs for as long as I've had it. How difficult would it be to bypass the ABS?

 

And I still don't know for sure if its the ABS pump unit or if its the master cylinder. I took half of tomorrow off to go see what else we can figure out.

 

I say fix it. Fuck what else people say. It's probably something simple.

 

Been saying that since I bought the car. Hence the reason I still have it. And the reason I've put money into fixing the body and putting a stereo into it, because I plan to keep it for a long, long time.

 

Make sure the calipers weren't put on upside down. The bleeders should be facing up

 

Hadn't thought of that... wouldn't think it could be something that stupid, but I'll double check. Pretty sure they are facing up.

[BXX]

Since the ABS is inoperative before, that needs to be adressed before bleeding. Once that is worked out, the ABS motor needs to be 'homed', the best way is to use a Tech-II scantool. A dealer can do it...

 

I have to go work on my car, when I come back I will post the proper step-by-step proceduce... It's like a 15 step process that MUST be done correctly

[Turbo231]

I've had five people tell me today that I need to get rid of this car. I'm stubborn and won't do it, and even though I'm pissed, I guess I should be amazed and happy and satisfied that it went over 190k with factory calipers. (Also, while it was up I noted that my mufflers are stamped GM... either factory or original equipment lol..)

 

That depends on what you use the car for. If this is your "what I use to get to work and the only car I have" then yes...I can see where holding on to this car can be a problem. As you've noticed, one little thing goes wrong, and digging a little deeper, you find massive things wrong. Being stubborn + money pit = no money.

 

Now, if this is a second car, or you don't need the car to get from point A to point B, then absolutely keep the car. This can be a wonderful project as you nurse this thing back to health. Drive it when it works, fix it when it doesn't. It won't interrupt your life if it goes down and the car will run better because Murphy and his law won't be riding in your back seat all the time.

 

I mean...I'm a car fan, I love cars, but it IS just a car. If you need to dump it for a few years so you can get traction, then great! Buy another beater in a few years as a 2nd car and work on that.

 

[Q-Ball]

I've had five people tell me today that I need to get rid of this car. I'm stubborn and won't do it, and even though I'm pissed, I guess I should be amazed and happy and satisfied that it went over 190k with factory calipers. (Also, while it was up I noted that my mufflers are stamped GM... either factory or original equipment lol..)

 

That depends on what you use the car for. If this is your "what I use to get to work and the only car I have" then yes...I can see where holding on to this car can be a problem. As you've noticed, one little thing goes wrong, and digging a little deeper, you find massive things wrong. Being stubborn + money pit = no money.

 

Now, if this is a second car, or you don't need the car to get from point A to point B, then absolutely keep the car. This can be a wonderful project as you nurse this thing back to health. Drive it when it works, fix it when it doesn't. It won't interrupt your life if it goes down and the car will run better because Murphy and his law won't be riding in your back seat all the time.

 

I mean...I'm a car fan, I love cars, but it IS just a car. If you need to dump it for a few years so you can get traction, then great! Buy another beater in a few years as a 2nd car and work on that.

 

 

I believe thats her DD. And she needs it! No spare car.

 

[SigEpCutlass]

Make sure the calipers weren't put on upside down. The bleeders should be facing up

 

That's an excellent suggestion Tony. That'd be where I'd start. If they are mounted correctly, I'd take a look at the brake master cylinder next. Good luck.

[EviLette]

Make sure the calipers weren't put on upside down. The bleeders should be facing up

 

That's an excellent suggestion Tony. That'd be where I'd start. If they are mounted correctly, I'd take a look at the brake master cylinder next. Good luck.

 

How would you know if the master cylinder was functioning properly or not?

 

Mind you, I had pedal pressure and brakes until we swapped the calipers, so it is a possibilty that something was not installed correctly.

 

One of the calipers, the rear on the drivers side, the pistons WILL compress. It takes about two pumps on the park brake to get them out to lock up, but once you disengage, they return all the way to home, leaving a lot of space (I mean a LOT) of space between the caliper and the rotor.

 

From my understanding, that is the only wheel that's doing it, the front brakes are fitting well, and the other side. I am wondering if it isn't just a bad caliper that would cause that. Who knows.

 

I could swear I used to see the ABS light on the car when I started it up. My brake light has been on intermittently for a while, now its a steady "on", and I'm wondering if something got screwed up during the motor swap. IE the mechanic that did it goofed something, or IDFK at this point.

 

Taking the car for an alignment today because my good tires (from the back) are now on the front. >.>

 

**EDITED**

 

So I take my car to get it the alignment that it needs...

 

The guy pulls it in, has it in the shop for about three minutes, then comes into the office and just looks at me. "What is it now?" I ask.

 

Both ball joints are bad. I put them in less than a year ago, can't find the damn receipt though. They were SUPPOSED to be moog, I can't tell while they are in or not if they are, but the guy told me there was no grease anywhere around them... they didn't get greased when they went in. The same shop also put on an outer tie rod (now bad) that hadn't been greased either.

 

So my car has no alignment. Add to that, I had a couple recommendations to "gravity" bleed or get a power bleeder after the system.. abs and all. And driving it today (my daily driver, have no other choice) I'm on the brakes and I felt them hit an air pocket. The pedal jumped down, lost pressure for a moment (what little pressure it has..) so there's that problem there.

 

Since the brake lines (the rubber hose ends) are looking crappy, while we are screwing with the brakes this much, I'm having those replaced as well. Just to save more hassle down the road.

 

I have an appointment saturday with my Mech. He told me bring it by and we'll get it done, and he doesn't normally work saturdays. Ball joints, tie rod, brake lines.. Ooh, and that annoying little "o" ring distributor gasket.

 

I'm also thinking it's going to need a new master cylinder. I hadn't been having any problems with my brakes, then one day, I had no brakes. Checked the fluid and it was dry. I filled it up but it took me about two days to find someone to help me bleed the damn things, so the Master could have lost prime and been unable to get it back.. OR there is still air in the lines. Brake lines, re-bleed and see what happens with that.