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| brakes 1987 se (Page 1/2) |
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richard in nc
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JUL 02, 11:46 AM
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on my new to me 1987 se the brakes are very hard to push.i wasn't expecting this on a car with power brakes.the steering is hard too but ok.i realize no power steering.do i need to do the s10 booster swap or does my car have a bad booster?
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82-T/A [At Work]
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JUL 02, 04:05 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by richard in nc:
on my new to me 1987 se the brakes are very hard to push.i wasn't expecting this on a car with power brakes.the steering is hard too but ok.i realize no power steering.do i need to do the s10 booster swap or does my car have a bad booster? |
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Hi Richard, when you say "hard to push," do you mean it requires a lot of effort to get the vehicle to stop? Does the pedal feel squishy? Can you elaborate a bit more?
If there is air in the brake lines, what happens is that the air will compress FIRST before it puts any kind of perceivable pressure on the brake calipers. So, what happens is, at maximum pedal distance, you don't get the stopping pressure you should normally have.
A "bad" brake booster is one in which there is usually a vacuum leak, which in turn prevents the "boost" to the brakes that you would normally expect... in which case, the pedal can be REALLY hard (because it's entirely you making the effort). Is this what you're feeling?
When the brake booster fails, the diaphram ruptures and then you should get an increase in RPMs due to the added air into the engine from the leak in the brake booster (this is not always the case, but common). In which case, it can also make it even harder to stop because the engine is now working harder against the the brakes.
A Chevy S-10 brake booster will absolutely help this, but make sure everything else is solid on the brakes too.
Hope that helps a little!
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richard in nc
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JUL 02, 06:24 PM
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i think the power booster is bad.im not feeling a boost.my vans have a power boost.on my vans i have to be careful not to lock the brakes.on the fiero i have to be careful not to hit the van in front of me.the brakes aren't spongy [i can't remember the word you used].it just feels like not power brakes.the car weighs nothing.i shouldn't have to press on the brakes so hard.the po seemed like someone that would do stupid things.the parking brake is unhooked.i will need to see if he did some mods that aren't great.to be clear i had a 1989 camaro and a 1989 buick that ive modified the brakes on so i understand the basis idea. [This message has been edited by richard in nc (edited 07-02-2023).]
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fieroguru
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JUL 02, 07:18 PM
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To verify if the booster is doing anything, before starting the car, press and release the brake pedal a few times (to empty any residual vacuum in the booster). Then press and hold the brake as you start the car. If the pedal goes down as the engine starts up, you are getting some amount of assist from the booster, which likely means the booster is fine.
Even when the brakes are working perfectly, the Fiero pedal effort is higher than most other cars.
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Patrick
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JUL 02, 07:31 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by richard in nc:
the car weighs nothing.
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I wouldn't call 2500-2800 lbs "nothing". Try pushing a Fiero. 
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cvxjet
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JUL 02, 10:20 PM
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I just want to clarify something about Fiero brakes; Although they are boosted, the boost is very low so there is a bit more effort than most other PB cars. Check your brakes system, and bleed the brakes a bit to ensure there is no air in the system...If you still have problems, possibly have another Fiero owner test drive and see what they say.
I would be driving my Fiero, and then get in my other vehicles (1973 Mach 1, 1999 F-bird, 2004 Escape or 2008 Chevy minivan) and then almost lock the brakes up- I had to remember to ADAPT back and forth....
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theogre
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JUL 02, 11:21 PM
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Booster Fail often Do Not = to Vac Leak that cause high idle.
Because Diaphragms don't get vac until pedal valve switches to operate.
plus only 1 or 2 diaphragm fail most times.
Hard pedal maybe the booster or other things.
Like MC w/ bad quick take-up section can cause this too.
see https://web.archive.org/web...cast.net/~fierocave/ brake section------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)
The Ogre's Fiero Cave
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jelly2m8
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JUL 03, 02:41 AM
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could be a weak booster as Guru and Ogre suggests. someone mentioned air in the system.... Uhh NO! that certainly does not make a hard break pedal, the complete opposite.
After not driving my Fiero for near 10 years, after going through the calipers and new pads etc I though.. these brakes suck!, this isn't right. before the new MC was delivered I changed the booster to the S10 one and the braking system was transformed to something that feels like a modern car.
I'm not saying do the S10 booster, but very likely your booster is just old and failing so when in Rome.....................[This message has been edited by jelly2m8 (edited 07-03-2023).]
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82-T/A [At Work]
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JUL 03, 07:34 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by jelly2m8:
someone mentioned air in the system.... Uhh NO! that certainly does not make a hard break pedal, the complete opposite.
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I was stating that could make it hard to brake (spongy pedal, inability to brake), and was asking for him to clarify what he meant by "hard to brake"
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richard in nc
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JUL 04, 04:21 PM
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the brakes look pretty glazed plus the rear brakes have what im assuming are front calipers.at the minimum im going to have the rotors turned and quality brake pads.btw how do you know when there are replys to a post?
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