NOISY Powermaster Brake System- 87 Buick GRAND NATIONAL
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- The stock GN Powermaster Electric Brake System gets a BAD rap in the GN community. Whether you are having an issue with it or not, most people recommend ditching it in favor of a vacuum brake system. There are drawbacks to that, and I would prefer to keep the Powermaster system as long as it's working right. Lately, the motor has been noisy- more than usual- so I investigate what the cause may be. It turns out to be easy to fix. That's nice for a change!!
Very interesting, seems like an easier way to change brake fluid on any brake system. (Avoids the bleeding) I know brake fluid absorbs water so all brake systems should be flushed periodically.
Good job 👍🏽
Thanks 😁
I would swap out the entire system, when those fail watch out
Exactly, l swap mine out because my original Power master failed without warning ⚠️
In and around 2001 I had my power master replaced. Some guys ditched it and installed a normal master cyl and brake booster. Yes there is enough vacuum for the brakes. Summit sells kits.
You should bleed brakes every 3 yrs. Don’t waste your time doing a suck and filling and pumping the pedal. By the time you do that twice and I could have all 4 wheels bled. Get 2-3 bottles of GM Dot 3 brake fluid. If you don’t have a helper to pump the brake pedal then pick up the 1 man bleed hand pump. If your doing a 2 man bleed, gravity bleed all the wheels at the same time into catch pans. Do not press the pedal to the floor or it may tear seals, put a small 2x4 under the dedal as a stopper.
Get the correct inside diameter clear hose from Harbour Freight or if in Canada Princess Auto along with an empty water bottle with a drilled hole in the top a bit smaller than the OD of the clear tube. Make sure the hose inside the bottle is emersed in brake fluid so your not sucking up air.
Order of wheels to bleed. RR-RL-FR-FL. (F=front). You can attach a coat hanger around the neck of the water bottle.
This is not a difficult job. And don’t open the bleeder valve too much or you will see hundreds of bubbles. If you see bubbles still when it’s cracked open a bit then smear synthetic based lube around the bleeder threads. Do not use plummers tape on the threads.
What your doing by sucking and filling the master cyl will not get you new clean brake fluid at the brake calipers.
Old brake fluid will have moisture in it cause it’s hydroscpic which attracts moisture plus the boiling point will be low and may not work well in a panic stop.
Don’t be lazy, bleed the brakes the proper way.
Thanks for the tips. I wasn’t trying to be lazy. I followed the advice of someone who knows a thing or two about Buick Grand Nationals. Have you heard of Richard Clark? I should have mentioned this in the video. I wasn’t making this procedure up. I know I’m no expert, I’m barely getting by lol. Here it is in his words:
keep life simple-----heres how to do it the easy way--------turn ignition off------pump pedal fully 10 times-------remove cover and take a turkey baster and remove the fluid from all three chambers----------replace it with dot 3 or 4-------do not use dot 5 synthetic because it will ruin the EPDM seals in the powermaster--------fill all three chambers to the marks that bring them to nearly full-------look close and you should see them--------replace the cap-----note: put the rubber gasket on the lid before putting it back on-------don't try to put it on the reservoir first--------turn the ingition on and watch the fluid level on the passenger side (inner most long chamber)-------it should drop to within about 1/4 of the bottom and stay there, you don't want it to empty completely-------add fluid if it goes too close to empty but not enough for the level to exceed 1/4 to 3/8 inch when it is pumped down-------the fluid from this chamber is stored in the accumulator and it needs to be able to go back to the reservoir if need be--------this simple two minute procedure doesn't remove all the fluid but it does change 80% of it and if you do this twice a year ( or each time you change your oil like i do) you will be covered-------it also eliminates all possibility of allowing air to enter the system that can happen if you to to the needless trouble to try to drain the lines as well--------normal operation will cause an exchange between the reservoir and the lines and regular changing will do all that is needed...............RC
No I haven’t heard of him.
You can reach out to Pete at Richard Clark’s garage they can rebuild yours, I had a few done, one for my gnx years back
I was going to, but seems to be working correctly now.