Brake bleeding

[Russell Fulks]

Re: Brake bleeding

Thanks Wayne,

Unfortunately, I have already removed the front calipers so I will check when I get home to see if the MC is still full. If it is, I will do as you have suggested.

Thanks again

[Russell Fulks]

Re: Brake bleeding

Thanks Wayne,

Unfortunately, I have already removed the front calipers so I will check when I get home to see if the MC is still full. If it is, I will do as you have suggested.

Thanks again

[Michael W.]

Russell, I'm curious as to what the

garage did to your old calipers that could cause your brakes to smoke. Do you mean all four wheels? Or just the rears? Is it possible that they simply adjusted your parking brake too tight? If so, replacing the calipers will do nothing for the basic problem.

There's very little anyone can do to cause a caliper to jam, basically maintenance free units except when it comes to the leaks.

[Michael W.]

Russell, I'm curious as to what the

garage did to your old calipers that could cause your brakes to smoke. Do you mean all four wheels? Or just the rears? Is it possible that they simply adjusted your parking brake too tight? If so, replacing the calipers will do nothing for the basic problem.

There's very little anyone can do to cause a caliper to jam, basically maintenance free units except when it comes to the leaks.

[Russell Fulks]

Re: Russell, I'm curious as to what the

Mike,

The garage didn't actually adjust my parking brake. The smoking was from the brake fluid seeping out of the calipers onto the rotor and appeared on the front two tires. I don't know what they did but when I got my car back, the brakes would stay engaged for a considerable amount of time after applying the brakes and even after driving 10+ miles, when I coasted to a stop sign, the brakes stopped the car without me applying the brake pedal. I cannot tell you how very upset I am with the blatant disrespect Just Brakes showed me and my vehicle. As I said, the car was braking fine before I brought it to them. Of course I should have known better than to leave my vehicle with them. The first thing they did when I walked in the door was try to convince me that I "needed" a 4-wheel friction re-align, even though I only brought the vehicle in to adjust the parking brake. I mean, without even looking at the brake system, the guy was trying to sell me new pads and a friction job for the rotors!

I don't know what they did to make the brakes so tight, but they also made all of the calipers leak beyond control. If I find any kind of forced damage I am taking them in and dealing with the manager.

I just hope no one else ever has to go through the kind of treatment I have had to go through. NEVER TAKE YOUR VEHICLES TO JUST BRAKES!!!!

Sincerely,
Russ Fulks

[Russell Fulks]

Re: Russell, I'm curious as to what the

Mike,

The garage didn't actually adjust my parking brake. The smoking was from the brake fluid seeping out of the calipers onto the rotor and appeared on the front two tires. I don't know what they did but when I got my car back, the brakes would stay engaged for a considerable amount of time after applying the brakes and even after driving 10+ miles, when I coasted to a stop sign, the brakes stopped the car without me applying the brake pedal. I cannot tell you how very upset I am with the blatant disrespect Just Brakes showed me and my vehicle. As I said, the car was braking fine before I brought it to them. Of course I should have known better than to leave my vehicle with them. The first thing they did when I walked in the door was try to convince me that I "needed" a 4-wheel friction re-align, even though I only brought the vehicle in to adjust the parking brake. I mean, without even looking at the brake system, the guy was trying to sell me new pads and a friction job for the rotors!

I don't know what they did to make the brakes so tight, but they also made all of the calipers leak beyond control. If I find any kind of forced damage I am taking them in and dealing with the manager.

I just hope no one else ever has to go through the kind of treatment I have had to go through. NEVER TAKE YOUR VEHICLES TO JUST BRAKES!!!!

Sincerely,
Russ Fulks

[Wayne W.]

Re: Check the Rubber Lines

About the only thing that would cause the brakes to hang on would be collapsed lines. If they removed the calipers and twisted the lines it could have caused a collapse. A caution, most brakes shops do not know about old Corvette braking systems. Their name should be Just Some Brakes. From what I hear from you, the best thing to do is to make sure that the Hand brakes are working correctly before you do anything else. Then change all the rubber lines, they are not expensive and then replace the calipers with new pads.

[Wayne W.]

Re: Check the Rubber Lines

About the only thing that would cause the brakes to hang on would be collapsed lines. If they removed the calipers and twisted the lines it could have caused a collapse. A caution, most brakes shops do not know about old Corvette braking systems. Their name should be Just Some Brakes. From what I hear from you, the best thing to do is to make sure that the Hand brakes are working correctly before you do anything else. Then change all the rubber lines, they are not expensive and then replace the calipers with new pads.

[Russell Fulks]

Re: Check the Rubber Lines

Wayne,

I have already bought 4 new calipers, new rear trailing arm lines, and new rubber hoses. I thought about getting the SS braided hoses but decided that the $80 for a set is outside of the application I would be using them for. I still need to get the parking brake adjusted, it just holds the car in place from going backward, but will not keep it from going forward. I just can't seem to find the adjustment screw through the rotor. I guess that the parking brake just isn't easy to adjust on a 77!

Thanks,

Russ Fulks

[Russell Fulks]

Re: Check the Rubber Lines

Wayne,

I have already bought 4 new calipers, new rear trailing arm lines, and new rubber hoses. I thought about getting the SS braided hoses but decided that the $80 for a set is outside of the application I would be using them for. I still need to get the parking brake adjusted, it just holds the car in place from going backward, but will not keep it from going forward. I just can't seem to find the adjustment screw through the rotor. I guess that the parking brake just isn't easy to adjust on a 77!

Thanks,

Russ Fulks

[Michael W.]

I smell a rat-

You asked the garage to adjust your parking brake, but they removed your front calipers? Oh dear. And now they seize and leak. Oh my. And they didn't adjust your parking brake? Oh crap.

You may want to visit the manager right now stating these points.

Wayne is right that very few shops know how to deal with older Corvette systems, but removing calipers and avoiding twists in the flex lines is standard on ANY car. You may want to contact your local BBB.

[Michael W.]

I smell a rat-

You asked the garage to adjust your parking brake, but they removed your front calipers? Oh dear. And now they seize and leak. Oh my. And they didn't adjust your parking brake? Oh crap.

You may want to visit the manager right now stating these points.

Wayne is right that very few shops know how to deal with older Corvette systems, but removing calipers and avoiding twists in the flex lines is standard on ANY car. You may want to contact your local BBB.

[Russell Fulks]

And some stinky cheese

I actually looked at the BBB after all of this had gone down and found out that I never should have set foot in the door. Just Brakes has had numerous complaints about damage to vehicles and selling unneeded parts to people. In fact, I found out that 20/20 or some big news show did an hour long special on the just brakes chain here in Houston, and found out that they are indeed a bunch of rats. So let all be forewarned, go to your favorite mechanic, even if it is just to adjust the brakes!

-Russ

[Russell Fulks]

And some stinky cheese

I actually looked at the BBB after all of this had gone down and found out that I never should have set foot in the door. Just Brakes has had numerous complaints about damage to vehicles and selling unneeded parts to people. In fact, I found out that 20/20 or some big news show did an hour long special on the just brakes chain here in Houston, and found out that they are indeed a bunch of rats. So let all be forewarned, go to your favorite mechanic, even if it is just to adjust the brakes!

-Russ

[Wayne W.]

Re: And some stinky cheese

The adjustment hole is covered up because someone has had it off before and put them back on in one of the other four possible positions. The only way to get to the adjusters is through those holes, so the rotor would have to be returned to its original location. The problem is that if someone like "Just Some Brakes" has already turned the rotors, the runnout is going to be all screwed up. It is actually common for the emergency brake to hold better in reverse than forward.