Brakes that actually work right!

[ezzzzzzz]

This is too funny. I purchased my 240Z about three years ago and drove it 500 miles to get it home. The brakes were stiff and I accounted that to the old system. Having driven older trucks and cars I am accustom to hard brakes. Well, I almost immediately put the car on jack stands to replace the struts and springs and do some modifications including upgraded brakes. I installed the 15/16 280Zx MC, vented discs/280Z calipers up front and solid discs/240SX calipers out back. Braking improved but pedal pressure was still hard and stiff. I decided to upgrade to the 280Z booster. I 'thought' I percieved better braking but it was still very stiff and hard. Mind you, I only drive this car about 30 miles a month depending on the weather (NO rain). The other day I had the chance to drive a friend's 280Z. This was the only other Z I've ever driven. The difference in compliance and, especially braking, was hugh. The series I and II 240Z's are definately true sports cars. I drove home convinced that something had to be wrong. My friend, Wayne, suggested I look at the vacuum check valve to be sure it wasn't installed wrong. Two days past and I finally got around to it. Sure enough, the valve was backwards from the P.O. and I never checked it out. A quick down the road at speed and I applied the brakes. Holy crap! I almost threw myself into the dash! The damn car nearly stopped in it's own length. It cracks me up that something so simple had eluded me for months on end. Now I wonder how well the original brakes would have performed if that check valve had been installed correctly the first time.

[gnosez]

The old brakes would have worked just great and you won't have added more unsprung weight to the front suspension. However those vented rotors are nice as is the conversion from drum to disk in the rear. At the very least you got a completely redone brake system.

[Carl Beck]

Hi Mark:

Funny story - I'm sure we've all done things like that...

I had a large drill - and large concrete bit - trying to drill a 1/2 hole through a 40 year old concrete block wall - that stuff is like iron! I pushed and drilled and drilled and pushed until my arms got tired...

A friend was standing there at the time and he said - "take a break and let me do that for a minute". So I stood up and handed him the drill... he sat down held the drill up in the air and pulled the trigger... As soon as he did that I knew what had happened.... he reversed the direction of rotation and in about ten seconds drilled throught the wall...... da.... I had the drill running in reverse !!!.

I still laught about that when I see him... and that was twenty years ago!!

FWIW,

Carl B.

[geezer]

Those are great stories! Your not kidding about it happening to everyone. One time we went to check over a small 4hp trolling motor to put on a square back canoe. It was advertized as good running with reverse. The seller ran it in a barrel for us. All was well. After getting it home we ran it again but realized there was only neutral and a forward selection. My neighbor heard the motor running and came over to see what we were up to. After telling him the story and lack of reverse, he reached over and spun it 360 degrees and silently walked away. :stupid:

[EScanlon]

Apropos the brakes, I recently had to have the rear cylinders replaced for one of the silliest reasons....I'd been "babying" my car too much.

Brake Fluid (DOT 3) can and does absorb moisture. Maybe only a small percentage, but ENOUGH to cause major problems in the rear brake cylinders because...you guessed it, corrosion.

It turns out that in trying to be "good" to the car and NOT drive it excessively in the rain, (I'm in the Pac-NW remember? 4-5 mo's of rain!) and generally not abuse it....I'd inadvertently been causing problems.

My mechanic suggested that I DRIVE the car on a regular basis AND drive it in traffic that requires STOP and GO as well as the spirited run. (Sounds like keeping a thoroughbred horse!) He mentioned that it was far more problematic to NOT run the car than to let it sit. (Especially if it is not in an enclosed and DRY environment.)

His point being that the brake fluid needs to be used, warmed up and allowed to vent / boil out any moisture. Since then, other friends (Beandip, and others) have recommended that the brake fluid be changed periodically just as some of the other fluids in the car, oil, anti-freeze, transmission, differential.

So, there you have it....

Enrique

P.S.: Ron...shouldn't that have been 180° degrees? .... Still an excellent example of how we get channeled into specific thinking paths and fail to see the exits....

[geezer]

E - To elaborate, he paused momentarily at 180 while looking strangely at me over the top of his glasses and then put it back into forward by continuing another 180.

[=Enigma=]

I'm not sure this is quite the same because it just seems plan dumb to me, but I'll tell the story anyway.

So.....It's late February 2007, and I'm all excited because I can finally start putting back together the car after tearing it apart back in November 2005. I have completed cleaning, stripping an re-painting all of the suspension parts, and finished plating enough of the fasteners to get started with assembling the major components. So I start assembly of the front strut. First thing I do is grease up the hub and inner bearing, install the inner bearing seal and place the hub on the spindle. Next I grease up the outer bearing and dust cap and install the bearing, washer, and castle nut. I then proceed to properly seat the bearings and torque the nut to the appropriate specs, and install the cotter pin and dust cap. This is where devil stepped in and crap started going wrong.

Almost immediately after installing the dust cap, I realized that I had failed to install the brake baffle(shield). !@#$%^! :mad: So off comes he freshly painted dust cap, the new cotter pin, and entire hub assy, and on goes the dust shield. At this point I start the whole hub and bearing install process over again, and re-seat and torque the bearings to the proper spec. I get done and take a look at the completted assembly and.......Holy !@#$%%&!! I forgot to mount the disc to the hub!!!!!!! :dead:

So I disassemble the hub assy again, install the brake disc, and put everything back together. So do I feel stupid...yes. :stupid: Did I learn any valuable lessons, yes.

!!!!PLACE ALL PARTS FOR AN ASSEMBLY OUT ON A TABLE IN PLAIN VIEW AND VISUALIZE HOW THEY ALL PLAY TOGETHER BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH CAUTION!!!!!

And lastly, don't be in hurry and let your excitement get the better of you. Since this happened, I have put the brakes on (no not the actual brakes) and went over all the pieces that have to be re-assembled, and documented everything to make sure 1) I have all that I need, and 2) that i understand the order in which they need to be re-assembled.

I'm out...

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.

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[EScanlon]

E - To elaborate, he paused momentarily at 180 while looking strangely at me over the top of his glasses and then put it back into forward by continuing another 180.

OUCH! And that is just too funny now. Thanks for the laugh!

E