I posted my purchase of a ‘96 Chevy ext cab P/U I guess 3 years ago. At 242k miles it took an ignition module and cam position sensor to make it run correctly. I recently put a new battery, cap, rotor, plugs and wires on it and at 260k miles it runs fantastic. Unbelievable for the miles / age actually.
I’ve renewed fluids on it and all’s fine except for the brake fluid - can’t even see in the reservoir; it brakes like a 90’s GM product so what’s the problem? Well, being a bitoger, after nearly 4 years owning it, I had to look.
What stared back at me was a reservoir filled with thin turkey gravy! Wow, how was this thing even stopping? Time for a pull through brake flush…
Emptied out the reservoir, cleaned it, and while pouring in the fresh fluid some very small black flakes got dislodged and floated up in the new brake fluid. Sucked all that out, refilled and used my suction brake bleeder to flush everything out. One rear bleeder screw was completely clogged so it got gravity bled. The other rear was very slow to pull fluid. The fronts were ok, drivers side bleeder screw was plugged as well.
So after all this it brakes ok but the pedal goes down a little more that usual. Seems a little spongy too, so I guess a new master cylinder and new bleed screws are in order. Surprisingly all 4 linings are still over half! Rotor and drum wear is acceptable.
The after repairs bleed may include using the old pedal method plus a pull through, we share see.
In closing I must say I don’t think this thing ever got a brake flush in its life, just top ups after new pads / shoes were installed.
If I have to go full nuclear I’ll replace the hydraulic stuff at each wheel - trying not to do that, you have to balance repair costs with vehicle worth.
I’ll get back on how all this plays out….
I’ve renewed fluids on it and all’s fine except for the brake fluid - can’t even see in the reservoir; it brakes like a 90’s GM product so what’s the problem? Well, being a bitoger, after nearly 4 years owning it, I had to look.
What stared back at me was a reservoir filled with thin turkey gravy! Wow, how was this thing even stopping? Time for a pull through brake flush…
Emptied out the reservoir, cleaned it, and while pouring in the fresh fluid some very small black flakes got dislodged and floated up in the new brake fluid. Sucked all that out, refilled and used my suction brake bleeder to flush everything out. One rear bleeder screw was completely clogged so it got gravity bled. The other rear was very slow to pull fluid. The fronts were ok, drivers side bleeder screw was plugged as well.
So after all this it brakes ok but the pedal goes down a little more that usual. Seems a little spongy too, so I guess a new master cylinder and new bleed screws are in order. Surprisingly all 4 linings are still over half! Rotor and drum wear is acceptable.
The after repairs bleed may include using the old pedal method plus a pull through, we share see.
In closing I must say I don’t think this thing ever got a brake flush in its life, just top ups after new pads / shoes were installed.
If I have to go full nuclear I’ll replace the hydraulic stuff at each wheel - trying not to do that, you have to balance repair costs with vehicle worth.
I’ll get back on how all this plays out….
