Hey all! I just got my car back onto the road after a swap, and it seems that my brake MC failed as when applying brake pressure it pushes fluid into the reservoir. As well as having next to no brakes (pulling the E-Brake does just as much if not more). I can't seem to track down anything apart from a couple websites claiming to have new ones without any (real) reviews. I found a couple old posts discussing rebuilds/alternatives but they never really went anywhere. What options are out there to fix/replace the MC? -TIA
------------------ Black 88 GT, a 19 year old here about 20 years to late -LQ1 Swap in progress-
Originally posted by pmbrunelle: The bores aren't very different; I would try an 84-87 master cylinder.
This should work but I heard that you may have to push a little harder on the brake pedal. I've never tried it so I can't directly comment on the pedal pressure.
This should work but I heard that you may have to push a little harder on the brake pedal. I've never tried it so I can't directly comment on the pedal pressure.
Going from a 24 mm bore to a 25.4 mm bore increases surface area by 12%, so a driver would have to push 12% harder on the pedal for the same braking effect.
Please do a search on the forum where I started a topic on this. I was not able to find a rebuilt 88 brake master. Summit and others "claim" to have them, but they do not and you spend months waiting, eventually getting a refund. There have been rebuild kits available on ebay here and there, which I bought and had a spare 88 brake master rebuilt with it.
Cannot commment on whether the 84-87 brake master would fit or how well it would work
I ordered and received the 88 Fiero Summit Master Cylinder in May 2023, so it would be worth a try.
Also, check how close your rear brake pads are from the rotor. If they are too far, then all brake pedal travel will be used up moving the pads with minimal clamp pressure applied. The fronts do not see any significant braking until the rear pads make contact with the rotor. The rears are also what firms up the pedal as the brakes are applied.
The gap is supposed to be the thickness of a playing card or two.
'88 Moraine/Delco Brake Master Cylinder Body has 18010023 under the body
IF the bore is clear - get the Repair / Rebuild Kit – GM 18010083 (ACDelco 175-399) The Reservoir and Grommets Kit Show is Cardone 1R-2755 which is GM 18014328
My GM 18010083 Brake Master Cylinder Kit show was $68 in March
Thanks for all of the responses guys! I'll place an order for the summit one, but in the meantime I'll do some digging and see if the 84-87 MC will bolt up. I would actually kind of like a stiffer peddle, which is the biggest reason I haven't gone to the S10 booster
It's difficult to make out in that low-res image what's going on... but is the brake hose banjo bolt loose? If so, why isn't there brake fluid all over the place?
It's difficult to make out in that low-res image what's going on... but is the brake hose banjo bolt loose? If so, why isn't there brake fluid all over the place?
The bleeder is on the bottom of the caliper, essentially draining whatever fluid is ending up in the caliper. So i could try and bleed the rear of the car but it would always just be full of air. That being said I just re-rebuilt the calipers the right way and am waiting on a buddy to get here for bleeding.
I built the Passenger side housing with the driver side internals and parking brakes pieces and vise versa, so the only thing that didn't work was bleeding the brakes as the bleed port was on the bottem of the caliper
I built the Passenger side housing with the driver side internals and parking brakes pieces and vise versa, so the only thing that didn't work was bleeding the brakes as the bleed port was on the bottem of the caliper
Thanks for letting us know that this is possible.
In some brake swaps using 88 calipers on 84-87 cars, the calipers are swapped left-right to get the parking brake to pull in the correct direction.
By assembling the calipers as you did, those 84-87 cars can have their brake bleeders on top.
