Brake rebuilding time. Lots o' questions!

[240dkw]

Fastwoman: I got them at Princess Auto, Canada's version of Harbor Freight. It looks like they sold out though.

http://www.princessauto.com/workshop/hand-tools/clamping-gripping-tools/locking-pliers/8304776-8-parrot-jaw-locking-pliers

[FastWoman]

Ah, you Canucks are technologically superior to us. Neither Harbor Freight nor Northern Tool have any such thing.

Edited October 5, 2011 by FastWoman

[ncolz]

Awww... you give up too easily

http://www.ppe.com/11cat/0222.pdf

[Jetaway]

Thanks for the advice, guys!

Jetaway, I guess you missed that Robftw offered up a new pair of cylinders and set of shoes for my Z. So that takes care of most of the rear end. I'm hoping/assuming the drums aren't too worn to be turned. I'm afraid I'm no longer young/cute enough to pull off the eye batting thing, but Southern gentility is often afforded to sturdy, older gals such as myself, too.

FastWoman,

Even better. As a lady of a certain age, you simply have to find a true son of the south and ask him: "These fell off my car. Are they still good?" (Do not worry about a son of the south asking the question that an uncouth northerner might, to wit: "Fell off the car?") You don't even have to know the kind of car, the max. diameter is molded in, but if asked what kind of car, "My dearly departed's fun car, it a ... oh my, a Dangle, no, thats not it, its one of those funny little Japanese models, a, oh my, my memory isn't what it used to be." Then ask him if he is one of the <prominent old money family> boys" and yes or no, run with it;)

After finishing Florence King's Southern Ladies and Gentlemen or Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady you may never have to pay for professional car repair again.

Then again, you must already have some wiles as you've already scored new cylinders and shoes.

Chris

[Jetaway]

Then ask him if he is one of the <prominent old money family> boys" and yes or no, run with it;)

Chris

Note to self, do not use angle brackets.

The above should read: Then ask him if he is one of the (prominent old money family) boys" and yes or no, run with it;)

Chris

[Captain Obvious]

I know that PA's regs have no bearing on your situation in VA, but you got me curious about those braided lines...

In expected fashion, PA's regs are governmentally vague and do not specifically exclude the braided lines. There are essentially two parts to the regs that pertain to the brake hoses:

1) Brake lines shall be approved for use as brake lines.

2) Reject if - The hydraulic hoses or tubing leak; is flattened, restricted, insecurely fastened, improperly retained; or have exposed cords.

If they are DOT, they should be OK for the first part, but the sticky part is the visual inspection part. The story I've heard is that some mechanics say "Because of the braided jacket, I can't see the hoses. Can't see 'em, can't inspect 'em. And because I can't inspect 'em, I have to fail 'em."

From what I gather, PA's inspections are tighter than a lot of other states. And they've gotten way looser today than they were years ago.

Anyway, thanks for the spur to look into it, and good luck with the upcoming brake work!

[FastWoman]

Thanks, ncolz! I've got a pair on order now. I have high expectations out of this tool.

Chris, ah do declare...

I've had very good luck lately. I went to the auto parts store to buy an OBD-I reader for my '92 Saturn and was told I didn't need one of those expensive things. They gave me a "key" to plug into the the data connector and told me how to read the codes off of the dash. No charge.

Almost the same period of time, I pulled the Miata into a garage with what appeared to be a nail in the tire. They pulled it out and found it was only 1/2" long. It hadn't quite punctured the tire. No charge.

So you've got me curious about this book...

Obvious, that makes sense. Fortunately I have a very friendly inspection station nearby. Last time I took my Z there, only a few days ago, the kid who does the inspections said, "Oh yeah, I remember THIS car!" I showed him the prior year's improvements, he was impressed, he checked the turn signals, and that was it.

Hey, can y'all tell me about old brake tubes? Do they get rusty, or are they probably fine? Should I consider installing new hard lines?

Also the last master cylinder was 2007 (probably new, not rebuilt). The fluid is slightly murky. Should I rebuild it?

[LeonV]

Hey, can y'all tell me about old brake tubes? Do they get rusty, or are they probably fine? Should I consider installing new hard lines?

Anyone thinking "yes" is either insane or a masochist. All new hardlines would be a huge undertaking relative to a typical brake job, and would only make sense if you've got the bottom of the car taken apart and in the air.

Also the last master cylinder was 2007 (probably new, not rebuilt). The fluid is slightly murky. Should I rebuild it?

If it's never been dry, you're fine. Flush the brake fluid to make sure it's nice and clean and you'll be good to go.

[Captain Obvious]

Obvious, that makes sense. Fortunately I have a very friendly inspection station nearby. Last time I took my Z there, only a few days ago, the kid who does the inspections said, "Oh yeah, I remember THIS car!" I showed him the prior year's improvements, he was impressed, he checked the turn signals, and that was it.

Hey, can y'all tell me about old brake tubes? Do they get rusty, or are they probably fine? Should I consider installing new hard lines?

Haha! I did something similar a few years back with my piece-o-crap daily driver. I wanted to get just one more year out of it before I retired it, and I knew it "shouldn't" pass inspection. I cleaned it up all sparkly like before I took it in. The plan was to distract the mechanic with brilliance so that maybe they wouldn't see as many imperfections?

It passed, but I'm not sure if it would have failed if it were uglier. You don't ask questions... :laugh:

About your hard lines - I've had to replace the rears that wrap around behind the backing plate. They didn't rust through, but they twisted off when I took off the wheel cylinders. I tried my best to salvage them, but could not. They weren't all the way through, but were compromised by rust and that's why they were so weak. I made replacements from parts store tubing.

If you're asking "Should I go looking for trouble?", my answer would be to play it by ear and give everything a good look over while your back there, but I wouldn't replace them simply because they're old.

[FastWoman]

Thanks, guys!

[240dkw]

Thanks, ncolz! I've got a pair on order now. I have high expectations out of this tool. ;)QUOTE]

Just remember, it it does not work well for you it is more than likely due to the fact you well be using a US version of it and not the Canadian version;)

[Free280Z]

NCOLZ :The use of vise grips on a tubing wrench to prevent flexing is absolute genius, I will use that tip.