Dylan Conaway

So my dad bought this 88 off an older woman a while back and finally got himself a new car, my Impala had a head gasket go out so I've been driving the Olds. I popped a brake line, the end of one at least where it's flexible and connects to the caliper stopping too hard, changed it and a brake pad fell off. Got new pads and turns out the calipers piston stopped working. So I got a new caliper and changed it, bled the brake system back to front. Took it out of the garage and they were perfect. I got curious and hit the e brake cause it disn't work before and since the fluid in the back brakes was black, I figured they may work since it's fresh. Well the parking brake worked, but I did that thing where I forget older cars have a pull release and not a push to release and it popped. I figure I broke the line or it just disconnected somewhere but the brakes went soft again like I'm only using one brake again. I checked as soon as it happened and had a friend press the brake, I see no flid leaking and the resovoir is full, so I'm stumped. Any help would be nice.

MDchanic

So you blew a brake hose?

That was not from stopping too hard. That was because the hose was bad and needed to be replaced.

If you were my kid, I would have crapped my pants because,
a) it could have been me, and
b) you could have been killed, and
c) I gave you the car.

You need to replace all of the other ones, NOW.



Brake pads don't "fall off."

What did you do wrong?

If you don't know, you need to figure it out, so that you don't do it again.
Brakes are important.



All good, not unusual.



So you're saying that you jammed on the emergency brake while you were driving?
Why, exactly?



What thing did you do?

What popped?



We will need more information than this.

Is the emergency brake pedal still "hard," or does it go to the floor with little effort?

Are any of the emergency brake cables broken?

If the cables are not broken, can you see any of the cables hanging loosely?

Are the emergency brake actuating levers properly connected to the cables inside the rear drums, and are the levers properly connected to the shoes?

What do the rest of the rear drum components look like?


Welcome to ClassicOlds.

- Eric

Olds64

All of Erics questions are valid. Please provide us with as much information as you can so we can help you.

rustyroger

It sounds like the car is suffering from lack of use. I think you would be wise to check and inspect all of the braking system, and change all the fluids and filters. The coolant hoses and tires should also be inspected closely too.
I run a couple of H body cars very similar to yours, nothing is beyond the scope of a competent home mechanic.

Roger.

Dylan Conaway

It wasn't the actual brake line, like the metal tubing. It was the flex hose that connects the line to the caliper, it was just old and brittle. The one on the other sides been replaced already. I just had to slam on the brakes and it finally gave out.

That's what I thought, when I changed the hose I made sure the pads were good. When I did change the caliper the rotor did eat away at the caliper where it holds the outside pad, so idk if it had been like that already or what. But I've done a thousand brake jobs and never seen anything like it.

No, when I got to the end of the driveway while testing the brakes I stopped and wanted to see if the e brake was working since I purged the rear lines of there fluid (which was black) I'd say that hadn't been done in years.

I was meaning I always forget that some cars, not just trucks and suv's have a pull to release for the parking brake. I'm used to my cars that don't have a hand brake being a push to release. Like when you engage the parking brake with your foot, you press it again to dis engage.

What popped? It sounded like the time one of my cars parking brake line just slipped off the hook, but it had disc brakes on the back. I'm not sure how a parking brake works with the drum in the brake, so idk what it could have been.

No, it was stuck all the way down until I pulled the release and physically pulled the pedal back up. It's just soft with no pressure pushing it back in and it locks down, just doesn't come back on its own.

I don't think the cable is broken. At least not that I can see, nor can I see any cables hanging loose. As for the last few questions, I don't really know how to describe the drum setup. And I haven't had a chance to get it off the ground and inspect it after that happened. So idk what's going on inside the shoe.

Dylan Conaway

Yeah I have been slowly but surely changing all the old parts, I've never taken a car to a shop and pay for labor. My uncle runs a garage and I just take it to him and if I can't do it than he shows me how to do it.

MDchanic

How about the one in the rear? If you had one brake hose go, and one has been replaced, then the remaining one has to be replaced, too, before bad things happen.



I'm not clear on what you mean by this, but you need to talk to your uncle about it, if you haven't already.



So, while you were stopped in the driveway, you pressed down hard on the emergency brake, and then you pressed down again, and then you heard a popping sound like when a cable is under tension and is suddenly released, and then the emergency brake didn't work, and had no resistance to pushing it down anymore.



You need to take the car to your uncle and get a good explanation of this, or read the Brakes section of the Service Manual.



So the next thing you have to do, as soon as reasonably possible, and before driving it anywhere else, is to get it to your Uncle's shop, put it up on the lift, and have him show you how drum brakes work, how to take them apart, and what is wrong with yours.

In theory, a failure of the emergency brake, such as a snapped cable, or a cable off of a hook, should not affect the service brakes in any way.
The fact that it appears to have done so means that you have to take both rear brakes apart and see what's going on in there. There could be a multitude of horrors within, and this has to be repaired to make the car safe and usable.

It won't be particularly hard, but we can't tell you what is wrong without seeing it, and if your uncle is a mechanic, then he should be able to do that far easier and more effectively than we can.

- Eric

rustyroger

Big thumbs up to your uncle. Sounds like you take an interest in how your car works, and want to learn how to look after it. Finding out how your car works goes a long way towards learning not to abuse it in the first place, #1 step towards avoiding big repair bills. Even if you don't pay labor, replacing stuff can be expensive, and maximising a components life is never a bad thing except for auto parts stores. Get your uncle to show you why sometimes spending money on maintenance is the most inexpensive way to run a car (or a home or a bicycle ).

Roger.