Poor life choices - C4 content

Cool! Keep chipping away at it. That's is quite a comical factory plumbing job on the oil sender/switch combo.

In reply to ClemSparks:

Apparently it was needed for clearance on the stock TPI manifold.

Pete, I'm not sure where you are with regards to a Challenge budget, but this was my clumsy sender solution for one of my Miatas. I removed the sender for the idiot gauge, replaced it with a length of braided hose and then Tee'd it off to a pressure sender for the gauge and a pressure switch for a light. That way I only had to thread one fitting into the block under the too big / wicked sharp underside of the intake manifold. The rest was easy to access.

In reply to Woody:

That's a damn good idea! If I ever get the cluster functioning & decide to hook up the oil pressure gauge your solution is much more elegant than GM's.

I woke up from my nap this afternoon intending to go scrub the green death from the siding on our house/garage, but there was another storm front about to arrive, so I opened up all the doors on the garage & got another hour+ of work in before it got sunny & hot again. I'll post more pics later.

I could use some input...

This is the type of fitting on the ends of the transmission cooler lines. Any idea where I can find another one?

That looks like a run of the mill NPT threaded fitting. Depending on the size of the line you can probably pick up a compression fitting from the hardware store and avoid the flare. (I did some googling to come up with this answer)

In reply to mazdeuce:

Sorry, I guess I should have been more specific. The issue is the length of the fitting - the way the radiator shroud, well, shrouds the radiator, the actual fitting for the trans cooler line is recessed in about 1/2". So a flare wrench is almost useless, and of course most anything else tends to round off the flats.

This piece allows the flats to protrude past the shroud so you can actually reach it. Unfortunately, besides the flats being slightly buggered up, the tubing is firmly seized inside it - I've tried Evap-o-rust, a punch, heat, but nothing has freed it.

Ah, ok, I get it. Off to Google!

Edit: ok, is this some sort of GM single use part witchcraft? Even when I try and find a stock replacement line for your car I can't find one with an extended fitting like that.

In reply to mazdeuce:

Yeah, same here. I guess if it truly becomes necessary I could weld a nut onto a tube, and weld that to a regular flare nut to get the added length. I picked up a double-flare tool at Harbor Freight today though, so maybe with the correct flare on the end I won't need to torque it down so tight that I start to round the flats.

Special fittings like that i have put in my bench vise, heat and beat the ond line out, clean the inlet, and install new tube. Lotta work, but sometimes necessity is a mother.

In reply to Dusterbd13:

I tried that, but I had to clamp it so tight the fitting was becoming oval - and the tube still didn't move.

Hmm....

Repeat heat and penetrating oil some more. Never had one i couldn't get.

Thread the appropriate nut (5/8-18?) on it and clamp it by the nut. A flange nut would be ideal.

Pete,I think I still Have My cooler lines I will look when It Gets Light out

In reply to GTXVette:

Thanks John, I think I have it fixed, maybe. I just got back from a ~2 mile drive and there was no leakage. However, I discovered another problem - although it's one I'm actually somewhat happy about.

When I was limping the car home Friday evening, the closer to home I got, the further I needed to push the accelerator to keep moving. Knowing that I had a trans fluid leak, I was afraid that was the root of the problem, and that I may be damaging the trans. Fortunately I discovered the problem on today's drive - the brakes are dragging. All-4 corners.

I have a hunch I need to file down the pads/brackets, as they seemed a bit tight. That was before I read a recent discussion here discussing this exact problem, so I'll start with it. All the seals/pads/soft lines are new, so I'm not sure what else it would be.

The extra drag did cause the car to overheat as I was backing into the garage, but it stopped quickly, so I don't think it caused any damage.

Check the pushrod from booster to master. Ive had them be a smidge too long and cause the problem.

In reply to Dusterbd13:

Ok, I'd never thought of that. Although both booster and MC are original, I did remove the MC to rebuild it. It did have a pull to the right under braking(before they got hot) so there's definitely something there I need to investigate.

These calipers have a slide pin that needs to be coated with high-temp grease when the pads are changed. It's super easy: the pin slides out once you release a c-clip on the end. Keep a firm grip on the c-clip, though as it can get away from you. I used to keep a few spares on hand 'cause they're cheap. This the most common cause of brakes dragging and is often overlooked when pads are changed. Because your car has been sitting it's a good bet lubricating the pin will solve your problem. Maybe hit the pin with a wire brush if it's crusty.

In reply to conesare2seconds:

These pins have no clip, maybe that was an update on the later cars? They're bolted into the bracket on one side, then the rubber boot holds them into place. They were all in good condition, so I cleaned & greased them all, and made sure they were sliding freely. I'm pretty sure they're ok?

Conversely, the flats that the tabs on the pads slide on were not smooth, and I had to force the pads into them - which after reading that other thread I should not have had to do.

You may be right, I haven't wrenched on an 84 or 85 before. Sounds like you did what could be done.

If the caliper brackets are iron there is probably a layer of scale on them that needs removed. Most wire brushes will hardly touch the stuff, I prefer a flat blade screwdriver touched up on the bench grinder. You've gotta get them down to clean white metal on the contact surfaces and then apply some grease or antiseize to help keep it from coming back

In reply to BrokenYugo:

Thanks, that's pretty much what I'm thinking too. Although Aeromoto suggested it may be related to the MC, booster, or the adjustment of the rod. I didn't change any of that from stock, but it's also quite possible I didn't reassemble it correctly.

The wheels turn freely in the air, and the car is easy to push, so I don't have any significant drag while everything is cool, but something sure is applying brake pressure after ~5-minutes/1-mile. The pedal has a nice firm feel regardless though, although there isn't much travel.

If the push rod is too long, it could be that when things heat up underhood and expand, the fluid in the lines and calipers can no longer return at rest to the master cylinder, because the master cylinder pistons themselves are obstructing the fluid return ports in the master.

Back off the push rod a tick and see if it makes a difference.

I tore into the brakes this evening. Considering I had a slight pull to the right under braking(before they started locking up), I was surprised to find the right-front pads free in their guides.

No problem there, I turned to the rear wheels. It was mentioned to me that it could be a parking brake issue, and since I'd never touched them I figured it was worth a shot. Both rear wheels will rotate fairly easily by hand, but they stop instantly once I pulled my hand off. I attempted turning both adjusters all the way in/out, but it never made a noticeable difference. However, I did discover something - and I should have taken a pic. The outer rear brake pads have a pin that sticks out from the backing plate of the pad. For some reason, the one on the passenger's side is preventing the caliper from seating all the way in. Both pads on that side had uneven wear from the caliper being somewhat rotated inboard too.

I'm thinking my best option is to swap the rear pads from inside to out. I may get more noise, but I don't think it would hurt anything, correct?

In reply to Pete Gossett:

I know nothing about Corvette brakes, but typically when a rear pad has a pin it is to engage the piston to make the parking brake adjuster work properly. This is for rear brakes that actuate the caliper for the parking brake. If the parking brake is a small drum in the rotor, then I have no idea why there's a pin in the pad backing plates.

The pin will engage a slot in the piston. From your description, the rear pads are not installed correctly. This is what is commonly known as "bad". The pad will not fit correctly and the parking brake won't be right either.

If the pads don't move smoothly in their retainers on the caliper, either the surfaces are rusted as discussed in an earlier post or the pad backing plate is not made right. I often have to file or grind the backing plates to make them fit right. Look at how the plate is made, they are often sheared and the outer edges are not square to the face. That's the part I typically remove to get them to fit right. If you can't slide the pad by hand when installing it, it will bind in use and drag. Then things get hot, expand, and drag worse and so on.