Brakes? Um...what brakes?

IOwnCalculus · 07-18-2004

Been a long time since I've posted here

Anyway, FINALLY getting back to working on the Opel. While it's been parked, for some reason, it has completely lost all braking. Can't even hold itself on a driveway!

The pedal goes down with very little resistance, and what there is feels like a return spring (feels identical to the clutch, actually!), not hydraulic load.

Should we start at the master cylinder and work our way down from there?

Willy_g77 · 07-18-2004

you may have bad brake lines and they are leaking alot of fluid.... Check resonator and see if it has fluid. if you have fluid check for leaks. if you have no leaks then its gonna be the brake booster or the master cylinder. I found out the hard way.. but always buy new rubber brake hoses when you do a brake job. I've just got done with my brakes. for good parts go to Opel gt source, or napa, or heck i bought some of my brake parts off of people from this site..(good people)... well anyways it cost me $390 doing it myself... I had to buy...
special tool for rotors.-8.50
wheel bearings and seals.-60
original replacement rotors. 38 each- 76 total
rear wheel cylinders-56 each, shoes -15 set and hardware(springs )-8.50.
used Calipers and new pads, and the drums "turned"-for all- 58
And the caliper and backing plate grees and brake fluid.-12
front brake hose's- 15 each - 30 total

IOwnCalculus · 07-18-2004

From what little I could see in the resivoir, there was plenty of fluid. There's certainly no brake fluid leaks where the car's been parked for ages.

Everything appears to be working fine as far as the booster. Wouldn't that cause a nasty vacuum leak? Despite being probably about a year since it was last fired, she came right back to life once I got the battery topped off and fuel reached the carb again...

Willy_g77 · 07-18-2004

it looks like your gonna have to do a complete overhaul of the brakes. start with the master cylinder to be safe. i never heard of the booster to go out, but i guess it can happen. you can have napa order you a master cylinder brand new for only 35 bucks......

IOwnCalculus · 07-18-2004

That's what I was thinking...I might do the hoses too since they're probably old, and they're relatively cheap to replace.

I must say, I like Napa's pricing on this stuff

07-18-2004	#1 (permalink)
IOwnCalculus Opel Newbie, Truck Oldie Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 23 Classified Rating: 0% (0)	Unanswered: Brakes? Um...what brakes? Been a long time since I've posted here Anyway, FINALLY getting back to working on the Opel. While it's been parked, for some reason, it has completely lost all braking. Can't even hold itself on a driveway! The pedal goes down with very little resistance, and what there is feels like a return spring (feels identical to the clutch, actually!), not hydraulic load. Should we start at the master cylinder and work our way down from there?

07-18-2004	#2 (permalink)
Willy_g77 Senior Contributor Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Casey, IL USA Posts: 608 Classified Rating: 0% (0)	good idea... you may have bad brake lines and they are leaking alot of fluid.... Check resonator and see if it has fluid. if you have fluid check for leaks. if you have no leaks then its gonna be the brake booster or the master cylinder. I found out the hard way.. but always buy new rubber brake hoses when you do a brake job. I've just got done with my brakes. for good parts go to Opel gt source, or napa, or heck i bought some of my brake parts off of people from this site..(good people)... well anyways it cost me $390 doing it myself... I had to buy... special tool for rotors.-8.50 wheel bearings and seals.-60 original replacement rotors. 38 each- 76 total rear wheel cylinders-56 each, shoes -15 set and hardware(springs )-8.50. used Calipers and new pads, and the drums "turned"-for all- 58 And the caliper and backing plate grees and brake fluid.-12 front brake hose's- 15 each - 30 total

07-18-2004	#4 (permalink)
Willy_g77 Senior Contributor Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Casey, IL USA Posts: 608 Classified Rating: 0% (0)	to be safe... it looks like your gonna have to do a complete overhaul of the brakes. start with the master cylinder to be safe. i never heard of the booster to go out, but i guess it can happen. you can have napa order you a master cylinder brand new for only 35 bucks......

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07-18-2004	#3 (permalink)
IOwnCalculus Opel Newbie, Truck Oldie Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 23 Classified Rating: 0% (0)	From what little I could see in the resivoir, there was plenty of fluid. There's certainly no brake fluid leaks where the car's been parked for ages. Everything appears to be working fine as far as the booster. Wouldn't that cause a nasty vacuum leak? Despite being probably about a year since it was last fired, she came right back to life once I got the battery topped off and fuel reached the carb again...

07-18-2004	#5 (permalink)
IOwnCalculus Opel Newbie, Truck Oldie Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 23 Classified Rating: 0% (0)	That's what I was thinking...I might do the hoses too since they're probably old, and they're relatively cheap to replace. I must say, I like Napa's pricing on this stuff

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