Long brake pedal after winter storage

[iwhelan]

Hello,

I just took my '87 911 out of the garage after keeping it in the garage since November of last year. Everything was working well before putting it away, but as soon as I tried pressing the pedal after starting it, the travel seemed longer than normal. I tested it in the driveway and it stops fine, but it doesn't start biting until it's about level with the gas pedal, and it should be higher than that. Pumping it does seem to build it up a little.

I haven't worked on the brakes on this car since owning it for a year and a half. The previous owner had the brakes refurbished at some point with the calipers all looking fresh with the cadmium plating still visible. Everything seemed fine before.

Brake fluid level is where it should be. Does this sound like a brake booster issue? Anything obvious that I can check?

It looks like all 4 brakes are working since the surface rust on the discs has been wiped away on all 4.

Thanks for your thoughts!

[DRACO A5OG]

Do the Test as stated in the Bentley:

Put your foot on the brake pedal with lite pressure and start the car. The pedal should go down. If not booster is shot.

[iwhelan]

Thanks, will do. For what its worth, the effort needed to stop didn't seem to have been increased.

I'm also wondering if perhaps the vacuum line feeding the booster could have gone bad, but the car didn't seem to run like it has a vacuum leak. It was late so I didn't get a chance to do much diagnosing.

[CCM911]

If you have had the car for a year and a half, it is almost time for a fluid change anyway. Why not change out the brake fluid and bleed and call it a day?

[iwhelan]

Good point. It's worth a shot. Is it okay to pedal bleed with a helper or should I use a pressure bleeder on these cars?

Actually, I remembered that I have a MityVac, but haven't used to bleed brakes yet...

[blucille]

let me know, happy to help, I have a motive brake bleeder (it pushes instead of pulls, like your mityvac....never had great luck with the mityvac) and/or I can step on your brake pedal for you.

[iwhelan]

Thank you! I'll it a shot first with the mityvac, and I'll see what I can do. I probably won't have time to work on the car until Saturday though.

I guess the best-case-scenario is that the fluid was a bit old already and absorbed even more water over the winter.

Time to find a turkey baster to get the old fluid out of the reservoir.

[CCM911]

Mine were awful, so I just rebuilt all four calipers this past Saturday.

Best of luck. It is cheap to do, so why not try it first?

[iwhelan]

Yeah, new brake fluid is definitely called for. I have never had such a dramatic change happen though. What are the chances that this is just a fluid issue and not the master cylinder going bad somehow?

[RSTarga]

Use a power bleeder, the mityvac doesn't work well. Do you have any puddles anywhere? Look under your floorboard.

[iwhelan]

I just wanted to mention that the brakes only needed a bleed. The power bleeder saved the day. Thanks everyone.

[DRACO A5OG]

Congrats, another happy camper, now go enjoy her :-D

[iwhelan]

Thanks. Now that I've got that sorted, I am guessing that I should probably bleed/flush the clutch as well, but need to get a new set of jack stands before I can climb under the car. The ones I had before are too large.

The clutch works and feels great right now, so how often should it be flushed/bled? I don't know when it was done last.

[DRACO A5OG]

G50 guys will chime in. I assume the same time since they share the same fluid.

As I recall that bleeder valve is smaller and is a PITA to loosen. As a precaution order a replacement just in case it rounds out while loosing.

[JohnJL]

Originally Posted by iwhelan

Actually, I remembered that I have a MityVac, but haven't used to bleed brakes yet...

What have you been using the MityVac to do?


Sorry Ronnie, beat you to it.

[iwhelan]

haha, well I've used it to test for vacuum leaks on other cars and to suction fluids occasionally. I bought it to use for brake bleeding too, but then everyone's telling me to not bother.