Hey, while we're on the subject, should the brakes be bled with the motor off, or with the vacuum assist operating?

You should have no problems bleeding the brakes with the motor off.

Hey, while we're on the subject, should the brakes be bled with the motor off, or with the vacuum assist operating?

you should not run the motor to bleed power brakes, it makes it harder to get the air out of the system as the boost actuatuon makes the fluid flow faster and squirt farther.

Precisely! Keeping the air out of your braking system is very important. This is a good lesson in keeping the brakes bled and when acquiring a used car, especially one that's approaching 40 years old, make sure to bleed the system. Previous owners tend to be terrible at basic maintenance, especially when you're like me and like to buy cheap Zs!

And this is especially true if I was the previous owner!

Do the brakes have to be perfectly bled to be safe, rather than just feel like they work fine?

" Does my parachute have to be packed perfectly? Or just look like it's packed correctly to work fine?"

I use a power bleeder. No pumping, just hit each wheel, and I'm done.

Just finished rebuilding both rear wheel cylinders, took less than three hours to do both sides and BLEED ALL 4 CORNERS. Parts were less than 15 bucks. The brakes feel just like they did before the wheel cylinder failed. I checked out the pushrod assembly when I did the MS test, paying attention to when the gauges started to deflect in relation to peddal position. I feel good about the boost opperation.

My FSM calls for the boost unit to be "overhauled every two years", Does anyone do this? I bet mine is original and never been touched.