<rant on> Wednesday I set out to fix the front end brakes on my '84 Z28. Bought new calipers, rotors, and I had pads that I didn't use last year when I bought them. The car had been pulling to the left a lot, so I figured I'd tackle that side first. I take the driver's side wheel off, and immediately notice the pads are nowhere to be found, and there's about a 1/4" groove worn in the rotor . Due to my negligence I let it get this bad. So I decided to still fix it and started taking the caliper bolts off. One of them came off with ease, and the other one wouldn't budge. So I worked on it for about 30 minutes, spraying WD-40 and letting it soak, then trying again to get it loose. Well, I ended up STRIPPING the damn bolt!! I threw my tools across the driveway and left it for tomorrow (Thursday), Thursday morning I try again with a different approack, with no luck. So I'm left with no other option but to turn it over to my local shop to get the bolt out. 5 hours and $100 later the damn bolt was removed and replaced. So 5 hours and $100 later, they gave me back my car with new caliper bolts. So I take it home and finally put the new rotor, caliper, and pads on. Tried bleeding the air from the brakes, but the pedal was still very spongy. Keep in mind I still have the passenger side to do, so I'm sure that's the reason for the spongyness. An hour project took TWO DAYS. This is a normal occurance for my car projects, though. Nothing goes smoothly, as I'm sure a lot of you guys can attest to that. rRRRGGGHHHH!!!!! <rant off>

 

Sometimes you just have to back off for a while, have a beer and think about it. There's always a better way.

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92BLKL98
'92 Black Z28 Hardtop Modded 700R4, MSD
Ignition, March Underdrives, TPIS Fastpak, Ram air w/gutted filter box, SLP Prom, Flowmaster, & free mods Random Technology cats, Amsoil synthetic lubes, CE SFC's, Edelbrock STB,Spohn TA,Roadtech LCA's and Panhard Rod, Energy Susp., PST polygraphite bushings, KYB Shocks.

[This message has been edited by 92BLKL98 (edited June 14, 2002).]

 

When you started spraying WD40 is when I would have gotten out the torch and heated the bolt up. Things tend to come out easier when heated.

As far as pulling to one side, be sure to replace both brake hoses to the calipers. They tend to wear out and expand when you press on the pedal.



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Mike L.

1987 IROC Z 5.7 TPI A4 3.27 Borg-Warner four wheel disc
Mods: 2300-2500 Stall Converter, Shift Kit(GM parts), TPI Specialties Stage 3 PROM, Modified airbox w/ K&N's, Relocated MAT sensor, Gutted MAF, 160* thermostat, MSD 6A, Accel 8mm Wires, bypassed TB coolant, 3" Flowmaster 3 chamber single outlet, custom adjustable cutout, 3" MAC mandrel intermediate, airfoil, ported plenum. !smog, Crane AFPR, Accel rail mounted FP gauge, Harlan shiftlite, 24lb. injectors, Hedman headers, a few others I forgot...??? FINALLY GOT PAINT!!

Check out my IROC webpage!

 

Yeah, I figure that as long as I'm replacing most of the front brake system anyways, I may as well replace the hoses. They look dry-rotted and are cheap anyways, so I'm gonna finish the project Saturday hopefully. The new drivers side brake works fine, although I have to press very hard to slow down; my guess is it may not be pressure bled all the way.

 

I concur with IROC5.7TPI. A little heat from a propane torch can do wonders on losening stubborn bolts.

 

does it still pull when you brake if so you may have a collapsed brake hose.

 

if you can spring it try the braided lines they made a world of difference for my car!

 

I started doing a tune up on my car and it turned into a quick rebuild and that turned into a detailed rebuild with a bigger cam ported heads and intake, looks like the tune up is going to take about 2 months and a lot of $$.

 

I know what you are saying! On my brothers '87 Z every time something goes wrong, it is a project. It is worse to work on then my '96 Z. I feel like running it off a cliff sometimes. Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong on that car. I guess when you drive a Camaro 60 miles daily and you have a 150,000 miles on it, expect a lot of problems. I told him to get a Honda for the long commute, LOL. Good luck in the future..

My brother had the same problem on his car, pulling to one side. We replaced the calipers, hoses and still no fix. Finally we replaced every part of the braking system. I believe the master cylinder was our problems..

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1996 Camaro Z28 M6 TV, DVD player, Flowmaster Exhaust, Elderbrock Headers, no cats, SS rims, spoiler, hood and airbox. Hopeful future mods : ) Cam, lifters, 373 gears, 52 mm throttle body, Supercharger or NOS, etc...

Previous owner: 1991 Camaro RS, LT1 355 bored, balanced and blue printed, trick flow heads, comp cams cam and lifters, elderbrock high rise intake, holley 750 double pumper, NOS 125 shot, 10.5' clutch, ripper shifter, richmond 373's, flowmaster exhaust without the cats, etc.. It was a deep rich red with a Z28 anniversary cowl hood with black racing stripes. It is truly missed!