Simple maintanance issues and problem that needs to be pinpointed

Alright, well the simple one that i think i already solved is a loose belt on the water pump and alternator. The belt randomly squeeks and it needs to be tightened, i know where the tension point is but needs tips on how to get leverage to tighten it.

Other problem, i think my brake booster is bad, i have breaks when im at a higher speed but not when im at lower speeds. I cannot pump the breaks to get break pressure and i have a full reservour and no air in the break lines. Honestly the data i have collected by driving it is so sparatic i think it is irrelevant when i have breaks, i honestly just think i have a blown out break booster? Any ideas? Admitedly i havnt done much research on the topic via other pages i just wanted to see if someone had simply already had a similar problem and could hands down say "this is what it is." I am pretty confident it is not the master cylender because it is either breaks or no breaks there is no pressure at the beginning and then it seems to bleed away and i cannot pump it to get breaks....i think i already said that lol well thanks for any help.

fairladyaffair wrote:

Alright, well the simple one that i think i already solved is a loose belt on the water pump and alternator. The belt randomly squeeks and it needs to be tightened, i know where the tension point is but needs tips on how to get leverage to tighten it.

Other problem, i think my brake booster is bad, i have breaks when im at a higher speed but not when im at lower speeds. I cannot pump the breaks to get break pressure and i have a full reservour and no air in the break lines. Honestly the data i have collected by driving it is so sparatic i think it is irrelevant when i have breaks, i honestly just think i have a blown out break booster? Any ideas? Admitedly i havnt done much research on the topic via other pages i just wanted to see if someone had simply already had a similar problem and could hands down say "this is what it is." I am pretty confident it is not the master cylender because it is either breaks or no breaks there is no pressure at the beginning and then it seems to bleed away and i cannot pump it to get breaks....i think i already said that lol well thanks for any help.

1) It's easier to take the rad. out to get the the belts and deal with them. If you don't feel like doing this going in from under the car is a bit easier as well (if you have a lift handy).

2) As for the brake issue, sounds like the booster has gone out . At higher RPM you get more vactume, lower RPM less vacume. Soooo, yeah more then likely the booster.

Ok let’s see here

Ok the belt on the alternator and water pump probably stretched. They normally do that in there first 500 miles or so. If you have not fixed it yet I personally recommend going in from the bottom. Brake the torque of the top alt bolt plus a turn or 2 can’t remember if it’s a 14 or 17mm its bee a while. Then do the same thing for the 10 mm on the bottom of the alt. Now simply tighten the tension bolt on the side of the alt till the belt is tight. Do not make the belt too tight or you will put too much stress on the bearing in both the alt and water pump and that will shorten the life span of those parts. Now torque down everything and check to see if you have any more belt noise.

Now I am going to have to disagree with everyone on the brake problem or at the minimum the booster is not going to be the first thing I would check. First off the brake booster is not in use when the engine is under boost. The booster operates under vacuum only there is a check valve that is located between the plenum hose and the booster that prevents air from flowing into the brake booster. I recommend you check the fallowing First check your brake fluid lever do you have to keep adding to it every few days? Weeks? If that’s good remove the rear passenger wheel. Have someone pump the brake pedal several times then crack the bleeder on the brake caliper. I recommend you place a small pice of fish tank hose over the nipple to see if there is any air bubbles in the fluid if any comes out. If you are getting fluid and there are no air bubbles fallow the same processes and check to see if there are any air bubbles at the ABS unit. Its located behind the passenger seat under a little black cover next to the speaker/ shock mount cover. There are 2 nipples on there that you may need to bleed. If you get any air there re bleed the entire system. Now after all of that if you still have problems stopping I recommend getting a rebuild kit for your master cylinder. If you continue to have problems after that give me a call or drop me a PM.

fixed the belts and ill try the brake bleed suggestion. I had to leave the car in alabama because the drive back without brkes is to far to be that cautious and in veterans day traffic i had no other choice, but atleast the car is safe. Im going to get back on her when i get back home in Dec. Im sure ill be on the phone with Tony alot lol

fairladyaffair wrote:

fixed the belts and ill try the brake bleed suggestion. I had to leave the car in alabama because the drive back without brkes is to far to be that cautious and in veterans day traffic i had no other choice, but atleast the car is safe. Im going to get back on her when i get back home in Dec. Im sure ill be on the phone with Tony alot lol

let me know if you're coming thru montg again when you pick your Z up.

well i thought it would be good to give an update on this old post just for anyone who has a similar problem. Turns out the bolt on the tensioner for the water pump vibrated it self loose so we replaced it and snugged the belts back tight but not to tight. The brake issue turned out to be the master cylender after all even though it wasnt acting like a typical bad master cylender. The weird variable with no rear brakes at all, ie when i bleed the rear brakes even after we pumped it there was no air or fluid was because the rear brake portion of the master cylender was clogged some how. I rebuilt it and managed to get front breaks back completely but still no rear breakes. Later i will rebuild it again once i have some compressed air to blow out the clog. I hope this helps someone from my odd experience and thanks to all for the help and advice.

Yuck, clogged brake lines? How does that happen?

pieces of seals deteriorating?

or could have been damaged during install..

like aircraft i work on have hydraulic pumps. a common maintenance mistake is to get the o ring pinched on the servicing hose. the o ring travels along and sometimes clogs check valves and then if it doesnt get caught up there, it ends up in the filter bowl.

It’s a simple testament to the fact that nothing last forever. In a nut shell like what Nate was saying over time seals and o-rings will brake down this can be from friction, instillation damage or the chemical compound of the fluid. This will eventually relocate the pieces somewhere, its like what cholesterol can do to a human artier. After there is so much build up the line will become blocked and fluid can not flow unless pressure is increased to clear the blockage. Also the return spring inside the master cylinder will start to fail making the pedal return slower and more spongy.

well i pinpointed the clog and it is located in the rear brake portion of the master cylender, once i have access and the time to do it with an air compressor, ill probably tear down the master cylender again and blow out the clog, atleast i hope its that simple. but Tony's comparioson of brake lines to human artier further makes me believe that my car has a personality and gets jealous....ill continue this one in a nws thread lol