Due to the age of our cars, there are a lot of issues that you might not have considered that could be affecting your braking performance. I pasted this from a response I gave on another forum wher guys were going back and forth with a lot of good info on brakes and conversions. This is a just a little info, but it might help you if you have problems with braking consistency, excessive wear or poor performance.
If you are experiencing a lot of fade, but your friction components are new you might also consider:
> REPLACE YOUR HOSES (especially if you still have the 20-40 yr old OE hoses on)! Many times the hoses "bulge" and dissipate the effect of the line pressure which makes brake work. The issue gets worse as the fluid heats up. You don't have to get braided steel (although it might shock you the difference it makes!) but a set of good quality hoses really helps. Also, as the hoses deteriorate, the rubber contaminates the fluid pathways and causes premature failures, so get those out of there and NEVER allow your calipers to hang by the hose Fab a hook and hang it on something as that weight will cause a weakening of the hose and breaks a lot of contaminants loose inside.
> Change ALL your brake fluid with quality stuff. Due to the hydroscopic nature of brake fluid (draws moisture into itself) you should change it every couple of years, whether the vehicle is driven much or not. As the H2O contamination in the fluid increases, the boiling point decreases (it's easier to boil) and it can causes poorer stopping performance as it heats up. As you can imagine, your brake system will last years longer without water in the system to rust/gunk things up!
> Modern brake materials are AMAZING and spending extra for performance stuff if you do a lot towing will really help. EBC stuff is incredible, though it may be more pricy than it's worth if you're just driving around... but for towing... mmmhmm!
> If you are having problems with your front brakes glazing you likely have weak /misadjusted rear brakes. Your front brakes are being asked to do more than their share of stopping, which is already most of it. Once you have things done right out back, make sure to use your parking brake often. Also, every once in a while get a little speed going backwards and hit the brakes hard. That will keep your rear shoes adjusted tighter.
> We recently resurrected a great old tool for bench bleeding a Master Cyl (MC). It's super cheap (like $10) and will save a lot of effort. IT's the 10-5000MCB; a giant syringe that will keep you from accidentally cutting the rear MC seal from pushing the plunger in too far and it literrally will completely bleed one out in two pumps. Will last for many years Check it out at:
Flyer:
http://www.cardone.com/English/Club/Service_Plus/10908BBF%20bench%20bleeder%20flyer.pdf At the bottom of the ad you can watch a video of how it works as opposed to pushing the pushrod in 30 times! No, I don't sell these direct or make commissions off of them, but most Auto parts stores should be able to get them. Also good for Hydraulic Clutches.
Hope this helps!
Have a great week,
Jesse
Topic: Brake issues you may not have considered (Read 6614 times)