1989 Silverado Brake System

[ellis479]

Hello,

I have a very nice 1989 Chevy Silverado. It has the 350 engine Automatic Trans. I have not liked the brakes from the day I bought it, they feel soft, not a firm pedal. I have had new brake pads and shoes, purge valve, master cylinder, and the brake fluid drained and replaced. This truck has the rear anti-lock brakes. Since I pull a 20 ft. bassboat with this vehicle, it concerns me that someday I may not get it stopped in an emergency situtation. My mechanic says there is nothing left to fix to improve the brakes, that's the way the brake system is on this year model. In other words, live with it! Any thoughts on this?? Thanks ellis479

[steveb2001ZR2]

I have an 1989 also, brakes fill the same way, I have replaced everything, still brakes just are not like my brothers on his 1994 C-10
He said his old 1989 wasnt like that.
I always thought it was because I was got used to driving trucks with 4 wheel disc.
But the 89 just dont have good brakes, I not putting any more money in it.

[2000CAYukon]

I have a 90 GMC Sierra K1500 that I have owned since new. I always adjust the rear brakes by hand when I rotate the tires. This helps with giving a firmer pedal. The self adjusters do not work well enough in my opinion.

Also, the rubber hoses (2 in the front and 1 in the rear) could be worn out, giving you a soft pedal.

//2000CAYukon

[ellis479]

Dear 2000CAYukon & steveb2001ZR2:

Thanks for the information, I had ran out of ideals on this problem. When I bought the truck, about eight years ago, I knew the brakes were not up to par. I suspected it was just a bad master cylinder. After replacing the master cylinder, I replaced the very expensive purge valve, with very little improvement. I will take a look at the rubber hoses you mentioned and the manual brake adjustment, could be the rubber has collapsed inside the hoses restricting fluid flow to the system. Do you know if these hoses are replacable with nut type fittings or are they compression fittings to the line?? Thanks ellis479

[2000CAYukon]

On the front, the flexible line attaches to the caliper and to the hardline. At the caliper, it is a banjo style bolt. At the hardline, it is more like a compression fitting.

If one of the front lines was collapsed, it would pull to one side when braking.

//2000CAYukon

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by ellis479

Hello,

I have a very nice 1989 Chevy Silverado. It has the 350 engine Automatic Trans. I have not liked the brakes from the day I bought it, they feel soft, not a firm pedal. I have had new brake pads and shoes, purge valve, master cylinder, and the brake fluid drained and replaced. This truck has the rear anti-lock brakes. Since I pull a 20 ft. bassboat with this vehicle, it concerns me that someday I may not get it stopped in an emergency situtation. My mechanic says there is nothing left to fix to improve the brakes, that's the way the brake system is on this year model. In other words, live with it! Any thoughts on this?? Thanks ellis479

this is a common problem when the rear drum is worn,,,or cut...when the drum is cut/worn the shoes are only contacting on the upper portion of the drum....look at your shoes ,,,are they worn only over the top....if so get new drums,,,

the shoes should be worn evenly over the entire surface if the drums are good...

be very careful when first driving after doing this,, as you may strike your head on the windshield when you brake..

[ellis479]

Dear j cAT:

This is something my brake mechanic shoud have caught!! He's been doing brake jobs for me about thirty years on several different vehicles. This suprises me that he didn't catch the problem. I will pull the rear hub myself as soon as I get time and check for even wear on the shoes. This makes sense to me, since the lines look OK and I have replaced everything else I could think of. This truck is almost 21 years old and looks almost new, great truck with exception of the brake problem. Thanks for the information.....ellis479

[ellis479]

Dear j cAT,

Congratulations!!!! You were right. I pulled one hub and took it in to have it checked for wear, it was barely within tolerance. Also, I noticed a small leak in one of the brake cylinders. I replaced both rear hubs, brake cylinders, and brake shoes, I also replaced the spring set on both sides. I used only wagner parts on all and finally I have good brakes and a good pedal. The cost was unders $240.00 which is cheap compared to wrecking this nice truck with a 20 ft. basscat behind it. I appreciate this valuable information and sharing of your knowledge on this subject...Thanks ellis479

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by ellis479

Dear j cAT,

Congratulations!!!! You were right. I pulled one hub and took it in to have it checked for wear, it was barely within tolerance. Also, I noticed a small leak in one of the brake cylinders. I replaced both rear hubs, brake cylinders, and brake shoes, I also replaced the spring set on both sides. I used only wagner parts on all and finally I have good brakes and a good pedal. The cost was unders $240.00 which is cheap compared to wrecking this nice truck with a 20 ft. basscat behind it. I appreciate this valuable information and sharing of your knowledge on this subject...Thanks ellis479

I'm happy that you now will be able to stop safely, as this is/was not that complicated...the pro's for some reason just don't understand that when the radius of the drum is larger than the shoes...this will result in poor braking,,and front rotor damage from overheating...

good luck fishing....fishing here has been good,,,my freezer is full...

[ellis479]

j caT,

Sounds like you've been doing pretty good on the fishing!! Now that I have good brakes, maybe you can suggest how to fix the brake warning light , since it will not reset by disconnecting the battery, like it used to. It isn't caused by the emergency brake, already checked that. It is probably a malfunction in the anti-lock brake mechanism, which I know nothing about! this does not affect my brakes, more of a nuisance than anything.. Any suggestions?? Thanks ellis479

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by ellis479

j caT,

Sounds like you've been doing pretty good on the fishing!! Now that I have good brakes, maybe you can suggest how to fix the brake warning light , since it will not reset by disconnecting the battery, like it used to. It isn't caused by the emergency brake, already checked that. It is probably a malfunction in the anti-lock brake mechanism, which I know nothing about! this does not affect my brakes, more of a nuisance than anything.. Any suggestions?? Thanks ellis479

these older ABS systems were always giving owners problems...the park bk switch /or abs malfuction...

just for the hell of it check the grounds in around the ABS..and see if the diff pressure switch popped and reset it on the abs..

not sure on your vehicle exactly..if this applies..

[intimadatorsquizz]

just unplug the black box under you master cylinder.mine has been unplugged for 4 years now and no problem and the lights been off since then.the rear ABS never worked right anyway.i've unplugged it on a few different trucks over the years.

[ellis479]

intimadatorsquizz,

Hello, my system has a black box below the master cylinder, next to the purge valve. It has two rectangular plugs on the one end with lots to wires running to them, and one round plug-in with one wire running to it. Which connection or plug-in should I disconnect??? Thanks ellis479

[intimadatorsquizz]

Originally Posted by ellis479

intimadatorsquizz,

Hello, my system has a black box below the master cylinder, next to the purge valve. It has two rectangular plugs on the one end with lots to wires running to them, and one round plug-in with one wire running to it. Which connection or plug-in should I disconnect??? Thanks ellis479

unplug the big connector

[ellis479]

Intimadorsquizz,

Hello, I did disconnect the large plug on the black box below the master cylinder as instructed. This action did stop the anti-lock warning light from illuminating. Thanks for the excellent advice!! ellis479