latinowarrior Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 I had my brakes done on my 84 Eldo Convt. When I got the car back I noticed that the brake padel was hard and I had to push down hard in order to stop the vehicle. I informed the shop and they told me I needed a new vac pump or check the belt to make sure it was on tight. Well the belt was replaced and I still have the problem. Is it the pump or something else. Help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hall Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 They probably used harder brake pads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted December 1, 2004 Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 Bleeding and lubricatio/replacement of caliper pins and related bushing may help as well The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latinowarrior Posted December 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2004 I had the problem before the work was done. HELP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
an01sts Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 After ruling other issues out, here's something to consider, and most professional mechanics cannot solve this problem. If it isn't other issues, this problem causes the same as you describe. Check the adjustment of the brake pedal rod to master cylinder. I don't know what the specks are, but if the rod is too tight, it won't allow fluid to return. The lash should be about zero, or zero + slop. Try adjusting the rod so that it barely has tension on it, meaning that if you grab it and shake it, there is an ever so slight amount of play in it. Make a note on how much you back the rod out because if it doesn't correct the problem, you would probally want to re-set the rod at its former position. You took it to a shop, and this isn't a back yard diy type job--correct? Let me give you coal that you can throw on the fire. You paid however much money to get the brakes fixed. The shop is responsible for making the repair right. It's not correct and gray area comes into play. A high caliber mechanic--something that far and few beteen--would eat the cost of whatever it takes to correct the problem because you should have been contacted. They know darn good and well that the brakes don't work, so they should have found out why and called you to tell you. You see, they don't know why they don't work; otherwise, they would have told you what else you needed. (The red flag that screams that they don't have a clue is the comment to check the belt and see if it's tight----DUH!!!!!!! Why didn't they check it and tighten it if it were loose?) This is how you handle the problem from here: Go in the shop and ask them what it takes to fix the problem. When they tell you it will take this or that, ask them that if you pay for this and that, and the problem still exists, will they charge you for this and that? If they say that they will charge you wether or not it fixes the problem, a common practice, find another shop. No matter whether that shop or another shop does the repair, always pay the bill with a credit card--Not a debit, but a credit card, even if you have to borrow someone's and trade them cash for the use. When you pay cash, you and the merchant enter a contract, and it's just you and the shop who are players. Mechanic's lein laws are strong tools, so it can be hard setteling disputes with repairs. When you pay with a credit card, however, you are no longer in the picture. You're just the owner of the vehicle, and the contract is between the creditor and the merchant. Unlike we little piss ants, creditors are huge powerhouses with a team of the best of the best lawyers on reatiners squatting when the creditor says crap. The creditor merchant agreement states that in order for the merchant to be paid, the consumer, you the third party, must receive goods free from defects. So if you use a credit card, and they sell you things that don't fix the car, all you do is tell the credit card company that the repair was defective and withold payment. Still, I check the rod to master cylinder adjustment because it's something anyone can do and because so many mechanics cannot discover this problem., Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hall Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 I informed the shop and they told me I needed a new vac pump or check the belt to make sure it was on tight. Well the belt was replaced and I still have the problem. Is it the pump or something else. Help A vacuum pump???????????? Is your eldorado diesel?? Only the diesels used a vacuum pump. A gas engine doesn't need a vacuum pump since the engine produces plenty of vacuum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 He is probably referring to the vacuum booster. The brakes were hard on my 91 also, but I just assumed that it was normal, my wife however did not like driving the car as she felt the brakes were bad. She was used to driving a Ford Explorer whose brakes would put you through the windshield... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hall Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 The brakes were hard on my 91 also, but I just assumed that it was normal, Same with my 88. I always thought it was due to premium hard brake pads. So far I've driven the car 30K miles and at the rate they're wearing, they'll last another 100K miles. I also get a faint high pitch squeeling similar to a bus that can be heard if I open the windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 I informed the shop and they told me I needed a new vac pump or check the belt to make sure it was on tight. Well the belt was replaced and I still have the problem. Is it the pump or something else. Help A vacuum pump???????????? Is your eldorado diesel?? Only the diesels used a vacuum pump. A gas engine doesn't need a vacuum pump since the engine produces plenty of vacuum. The HT-4100 engine used a belt driven vacuum pump to provide additional vacuum for the brake booster. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latinowarrior Posted December 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 I see we have several answers to my question. I will try out the advices given and hope the problem will be fixed. Hopefully someone will agree with some of the advices given. I'll tell you who was right and who was really "nuts" wrong. Keep it coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hall Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 The HT-4100 engine used a belt driven vacuum pump to provide additional vacuum for the brake booster. This is a new one for me. I know that my diesel suburban had a vacuum pump while my parents Deville with the HT-4100 didn't. These vacuum pumps on the diesel were always a pain in the neck and expensive to replace. They would go out and you would loose the ability to use the heater controls, cruise control, etc. But the brakes did not use the vacuum pump probably due to the unreliability of the pump. If the pump stoped working, guess what, the brakes would then not work. Instead, they used a hydroboost unit that was run by the power steering pump. These units worked really good and didn't have the mushy brake feel typical of the units that used vacuum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted December 2, 2004 Report Share Posted December 2, 2004 The vacuum pump on the HT-4100 also provided vacuum for vacuum operated accessories. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latinowarrior Posted December 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2004 started the work on the Eldo wish me luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
an01sts Posted December 7, 2004 Report Share Posted December 7, 2004 It isn't a case of people disagreeing. The thing is that it can be any one of the issues that have been presented. My point was that when they shift into hit-or-miss as a way to fix it, don't let them play hook you with the bill for playing hit-or-miss. Not alway, but sometimes you have to play hit-or-miss because sometimes it aint that easy to figure out what wrong. Part of figureing out what's wrong, is knowing what's right, and not guessing what's right. That why I suggested checking the brake rod adjustment: It doesn't cost anything, and you know it isn't causing the problem. If your average mechanic would think that way, you wouldn't spend as much money at the shop. Let us know how it goes, and pay with a credit card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.