My car hasn't left it's parking space for a couple of weeks now, I have been troubleshooting some vacuum and fuel leaks. I finally resolved them and decided to take the car for a short drive around the neighborhood to make sure everything was ok before bumping it back up to my daily driver.

Anyway, everything seemed normal, but the brakes feel different. It feels almost like there is no power brakes. I know there is quite a bit of troubleshooting I can do, but since it is 10pm and I'm absolutely beat, I thought I would get a little input tonight so that I can start in the right place tomorrow. What do you guys think? what would be the best thing to check first?

 

Your rotors are probably a little rusty from sitting. After a few stops the brakes should get better again.

 

Check the vacuum line from the LIM to the brake booster. Mine was left unconnected after engine swap & the brakes felt like stiff nothingness. Its the really big metal pipe(3/8ths?) from the LIM. Maybe you forgot it when doing your vacuum lines?!?

Ramses666

 

ok, I think you were both right. I went back outside and the vacuum line on the LIM that goes to the brake booster was at an odd angle and the hose was kinda crimped. So I bent it over a little bit to straighten the hose out and took it for another drive, it felt better, but still a little grindy. After about a mile or two of city driving the brakes started to feel a lot better.

I think another large factor is that I spend the past 2 weeks driving a cavalier, so I got used to the feel of those breaks.

Thanks for your help guys.


THE 7 IS BACK ON THE ROAD!!!!!

 

I had to bend my hard line from the LIM to make some room and ended up cracking it where it goes into the square block. I put some JB stick weld on it and all was well. Check for structural integrity. a little grinding would be normal for a car that has been sitting for a while but the pedal feel should be relatively the same. The difference between vehicles could contribute to the strange feeling. Look for cracks on the hose as well as leaks in the braking system. Don't skimp on safety issues. Your life could depend on it.

Ramses666