Bled the brakes at 293,957 miles

[NotSoSlowSHO]

Those are some great photos Scott

Tracking my SHO has always sounded like a very fun way to spend weekends. It's too bad there is nothing in the way of SHO-clubs, open tracks, etc. in my area

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I just changed over to the Hawk performace pads on my '89. New rotors from and rear, flushed and bled the brake system, and cleaned and lubed the slider pins. What a change! Ive never been happier with the braking setup

 

[MilTownSHO]

I want the '96 upgrade, but I still can't financially justify the need to my (thankfully) very money-conscious (non-working) wife.

I love the way you worded that. I will have a 96 brake upgrade on all my Gen 1 or 2's I have from now on. Mostly for safety, the difference is just night and day.

 

[sdpatt]

A few more shots from the MotorSport Ranch on that day.

The pits. The silver Mustang came on a trailer. A large assortment of cars ran that day.

Porsche GT3 and Carerra that we shared track time with. On the right, one row of our group lined up to head to the track.

Porsche Turbo with RSR type body work. A couple of T-Bird SCs in the background. The Charger was just transportation.

 

[rangerj]

Those are cute little Volkswagons.

 

[sdpatt]

Well, I made the time tonight after the kids had been put to bed and recycled the two changes worth of motor oil at my local AutoZone and bled the brakes again. The difference between the new and old fluid was thankfully non-apparent since it had only been in there for a couple of weeks.

I did this service so soon due to the many ABS actuations during the track session. I don't think I even came close to fading the brakes due to heat buildup as the cold track and my nearly bald tires were not exactly the stickiest of combinations.

I now have no reason to put off periodic brake fluid changes with my check valve enhanced, one-man bleeder setup. It took me a total of 45 minutes to bleed another quart of DOT 4 through the system. The only change I made to ease access to the front bleed valves was to turn the wheels in the direction of the caliper being bled. The valves are an easy reach around for the wrench and hose connection.

Thanks for getting me straight on the need for more frequent brake fluid changes. I guess I'll do it more often than every 293,957 miles. Maybe every quarter of a million miles.

 

[Denny]

I want a brake upgrade too, but just can't justify the cost right now, after graduation however...then I can do it, that's if I even have the time to work on my SHO anymore.

I decided to chime in on the fluid color's condition. Mainly because on my roomie's 94 Buick LeSabre, there's a guide under the hood for fluids... It shows the brake fluid color as being BLACK..WTF?!

 

[F-22 Raptor SHO]

Gents seeking the brake upgrade:

I am not seeing where the expense is. The prepacked front calipers for the 95 linc with pads and brackets are 60 bucks each at napa. Add the rotor cost for the 95 linc at 40 bucks for the 2 and you have all you need for the 96 upgrade for 160 bucks. Oh...the new spindles from your local junk yard at 10 bucks each for a grand total of 180.

Make a deal with you: dont eat out at lunch every day for a month and you have the money.

 

[sdpatt]

I never eat lunch out and the $220 (check your math or wording) you quote will definitely cause the wife's eybrows to raise when the existing brakes work "just fine." It's not worth the friction in the household when I couldn't even cause the existing brakes to fade at the track.

 

[F-22 Raptor SHO]

I never eat lunch out and the $220 (check your math or wording) you quote will definitely cause the wife's eybrows to raise when the existing brakes work "just fine." It's not worth the friction in the household when I couldn't even cause the existing brakes to fade at the track.

??? 120 + 40 + 20 = 180

Glad you dont eat out all the time. It's the first place us financial guys check for leaky wallets.

I was also speaking in terms of the "next" time you need brakes. But you probably already have rotors in good shape, so you dont have to replace them. I'm also guessing your pads are lifetime pads. Normally i would have to buy a set of rotors already and a set of pads......thats 80 bucks right there. So tossing in the extra 100 is for the upgrade.

 

[stevetatro]

sdpatt, could you explain this homemade one-man bleeder? I understand the concept, but where did you find a suitable check valve that allows the fluid/air to go one-way only?

Thanks.

 

[sdpatt]

I misread the description of the rotor costs. I stand corrected.

Can I please have you convince my wife that I need the upgrade? I'll have to start convincing her that it is for the family's safety when they are riding in the car. Hey, that should work.

My one man bleeder was referenced in my first post in this topic. I found a plastic vacuum check valve designed for a positive crankcase ventilation system that would fit the tubing used for the bleed operation. I attached about 1.5" of hose to the upstream side of the in-line check valve to fit on the bleed screw. The remainder of the 3 feet of clear tubing was attached to the downstream end of the valve and is routed to a catch container.

The idea was to get the check valve as close to the bleed screw as possible, basically functioning as one of the commercial "speed bleeder" replacement bleed screws. When the pedal is depressed with the bleed valve opened 1/4 turn with a wrench, the check valve allows the fluid to flow out and through the tubing. When the pedal is lifted, the check valve prevents the fluid (the line is solid fluid) from being drawn into the bleed valve at the caliper, fuctioning just like the "speed bleeder" screws.

The output end of the tube can be dunked into a catch container of sufficient capacity to accept the entire volume of the four caliper bleed operation. It is not required to haev the end of the tube submerged since the check valve does not allow the fluid to be drawn back up the tube.

The only trick was finding a suitable check valve that had fittings accepting the 3/16" I.D. tubing I used and resisted any corrosive effects of brake fluid. I found a plastic valve in the HELP brand blister pack at my local O'Reilly auto parts. The $3 expense of the check valve was far less that a set of the "speed bleeder" screws and worked just as well.

 

[Electricat]

sdpatt, my wife was highly impressed with the '96 upgrade on our SHO. Especially how it made the braking feel a lot more confident even in normal deceleration, aside from the obvious increase in braking power "at the limit". She agreed with me that these brakes should have been OE.

I was able to get mine very cheap tho....while at the JY looking for a tranny for my truck, I found a '95 Continental, with NEARLY NEW pads and rotors! I took home the brackets, rotors, and pads for a grand total of $36!!

Although this was obviously an exceptional find, if you really want to do the upgrade and need to do it on the cheap, just keep checking the local boneyards for donor vehicles, eventually you will find at least the brackets.

 

[Rockledge]

That one-man bleeeder sounds like a great idea! I'm going to have to try it.

One thing I'm wondering, is there any chance of air getting in where the hose connects to the bleeder screw?

 

[sdpatt]

No. The 3/16" I.D. tubing I am using is a very snug fit over the stock bleeder screw. I also found that when the brake pedal is being slowly let up, the fluid does not get sucked back into the caliper anyway. With any bleed setup, as long as the discharge tubing stays fluid solid, there is little chance of getting any air in the caliper.

The setup worked like a charm. If anyone comes across a metal or plastic check (one-way) valve that fits 3/16" tubing, resists the effectrs of brake fluid and has a readily available part number, let us hear it.

 

[rangerj]

SDPatt,

Given the care and feeding you give your SHO, changing the brake fluid every !/4 million miles should be fine. But for the rest of us, it should be changed a little more often. :wave:

I love the one man bleeder and can't wait to try it. Thanks Scott.
rangerj

 

[Shoaz]

FWIW, Speedbleeders are really inexpensive. Finding just one to put in the bleed line will only save about $20.

http://speedbleeder.com/

 

[stevetatro]

Inexpensive, maybe. Dependable, maybe not! My set was $32 shipped. I installed them and used them a couple of times. Then after one good, salty, Ohio winter they were corroded. One even snapped in half as I tried to loosen it.

I see they have a wide range of sizes in stainless steel now. That should help, although that would cost $60 + shipping.

I don't see why they're necessary if Scott's contraption does the same thing! And his contraption doesn't use one speedbleeder. It's a one-way check valve.