92EuroScott Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 So ever since I bought my Lumina, the brakes have been really soft. Meaning if I slammed on them to try to avoid an accident, there is no way I could stop in time. We(my dad and I) checked them, the front pads are fine. The back right, the outer pad is worn really bad compared to the rest, and also my parking brake doesn't work, even though the cable tightens. My dad is thinking this is cause of the rear calipers being bad? Not saying I don't believe him, and I plan on doing new rear calipers and pads tomorrow, just want to hear what you all think as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado_735 Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 (edited) Sounds to me like a dead brake booster. Check this link: http://www.w-body.com/content.php/183-Hard-brake-pedal-no-stopping-power I forgot to add that the rear brakes on our (I say 'our' even though I no longer own one ) cars (especially early W's) don't really do much. Your rears were probably fuxored even before you had the problem with the crappy pedal feel. Have you tried bleeding them? Edited October 1, 2011 by tornado_735 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92EuroScott Posted October 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 No I haven't tried bleeding them, and I checked the booster and don't believe thats the problem either. I've heard many things about the calipers on the Luminas going bad, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado_735 Posted October 1, 2011 Report Share Posted October 1, 2011 No I haven't tried bleeding them, and I checked the booster and don't believe thats the problem either. I've heard many things about the calipers on the Luminas going bad, though. It's not just the Lumina, it's nearly all pre-1994 W's that usually suffer some sort of malady with the rear brakes. They are downright crappy. This, however, would not be a major cause for the problem you're describing. While it'll be good to change out your bad rear brakes, it's likely not going to improve the problems you're having now. Your problem could also be caused by the brake hoses; they get old and weak, and balloon under braking. That causes shitty pedal feel, and crappy stopping power. My advice: Change the rear brakes, bleed them good at all 4 corners, and check your brake hoses. If the brake hoses look old and crappy, change them out and bleed the system again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92EuroScott Posted October 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Ok, thanks, I'm doing all this tomorrow so I'll update this after I finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado_735 Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Ok, thanks, I'm doing all this tomorrow so I'll update this after I finish. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schurkey Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 C'mon, guys. The fact that he has uneven pad wear practically GUARANTEES that the calipers and/or caliper mounts are somehow defective. If the rear calipers are defective; AND since the emergency brake doesn't work, practically GUARANTEES that the calipers are not self-adjusting like they should. Now, I won't say that there aren't OTHER problems as well. There's any number of things that can go wrong with a brake system. It just seems logical to address the KNOWN problems FIRST, and if that doesn't restore proper braking, start looking for hidden problems AFTER the obvious stuff has been taken care of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jman093 Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 The rear caliper pistons are siezed like about every 88-93 does. Since they need changed, I would recommend the 94+ upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 94 upgrade or DIAF. the spindle is the same, and everything bolts up, excluding the parking brake cable requirements: rotors brackets calipers bolts between the bracket and spindle bolt between each caliper and bracket. pads ALSO the 15 inch spare tire will not fit, you must upgrade to the 16 inch spare tire Having done this several times... I have gotten nearly all my hardware used. Most j/y cars that have these parts will have good enough parts, and sometimes you get lucky and find recent brakejobs on a couple of cars. see your local pick a pull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado_735 Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Now, I won't say that there aren't OTHER problems as well. There's any number of things that can go wrong with a brake system. It just seems logical to address the KNOWN problems FIRST, and if that doesn't restore proper braking, start looking for hidden problems AFTER the obvious stuff has been taken care of. See: My advice: Change the rear brakes, bleed them good at all 4 corners, and check your brake hoses. If the brake hoses look old and crappy, change them out and bleed the system again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virtuetovice Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Yeah the rear calipers on 88-93's are downright turds. Follow the advice of others here and have them changed over to 94+. There will be a vast improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92EuroScott Posted October 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 I didn't have enough money to upgrade to the 94+ or I would have, but these new calipers and pads made a huge difference, and my parking brake works now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92EuroScott Posted October 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 Well, another update. This time unwanted. One of the new calipers locked up on my way home. Wooo! My dad works at pepboys where we bought them, and they haven't sent my old ones back yet. So for now we are gonna put the old on back on, until another new one gets in stock. They had a defect warranty with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silentkillzr Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 The caliper could indeed be stuck, I would take off the caliper and compress it to see if it goes in, maybe it just needed to get re-seated if its not stuck. But regardless, Calipers are super cheap if you take yours in as a core. My bird's cost $11 a caliper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92EuroScott Posted October 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 Well the second new one came in friday and I put it on yesterday. I'd rather just go ahead and replace them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schurkey Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 I acknowlege the huge number of folks complaining about first-gen rear calipers. I've been hearing about the problems with them...since they were new (or nearly new.) So I'm not denying that folks have problems with 'em... ...but I've got a pair of Luminas, '92 and '93. Had the '92 since November of '92 (about 120,000 miles now); but I've only put about 40,000 of the 150,000 total miles on the '93. Neither has EVER had a problem with the rear brakes except for the brake hoses getting old, and the pads wearing out after a reasonable service life. Pistons never seized, sliders never seized...I replaced the rear calipers on the '92 in desperation; didn't fix a thing. (Needed a new brake booster instead) MY experience with the first-gen rear calipers is that they work just fine, every time, and for years and years. YMMV. The boosters, on the other hand, failed on both my vehicles. As far as I'm concerned, the booster is a much bigger problem than the rear calipers, and is ENTIRELY to blame for the "poor brakes--no stopping power" complaints that the first-gens have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuminaPower92 Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 FTR i swapped 94+ brakes on the white Lumina and i had a caliper seize on the way back from dayton in september. I have seen the 94+ brakes seize just as much as the older style. When my euro rear calipers seized, i replaced them with ac delcos with a warranties, so whenever they decide to go, ill get them free replaced. I do however think my 92 euro is having this booster problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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