jboulukos

At this point, I am trying to visualize the order of events to change the components of the brakes, add the new master cylinder and bleed/re-fill the entire system. I'm going to obtain some jack stands first. Then make the RockAuto parts order. Once everything is in place, I'll do the job. I like to make a list/order of events to follow so I can be successful. 1. Car on 4 jack stands with wheels removed 2. Rear Drums and Shoes replaced and adjusted* 3. Front Rotors, Calipers and Pads replaced 4. Remove old master cylinder and replace with new 5. Completely bleed all 4 lines 6. Add new Dot 3 brake fluid and bleed each brake in sequence 7. Wheels on, car lowered and test drive Questions * Do the rear drums get adjusted when hot? If so, how/when? Do I want to use brake grease anywhere? back side of pads? Do I need 4 jack stands to do this properly? Is my order correct? Anything else to take into consideration? I'm a layman with this so I want to get my planning and understanding right.

Seems like both rotors and drums for the B210 are cheap enough to buy new instead of paying for turning/resurfacing which may amount to higher labor cost with more wear on the part.

Point taken. Great to get this info because I know jack about this. Watched a 2 minute youtube video with a guy briefly explaining the differences in a very vague way. I will get ceramics!

Thanks for adding to my knowledge. I looked on RockAuto... for 1978 B210, they have a loaded Beck/Arnley for $30.79. Also, there are "semi-loaded" rebuilt ones which use original caliper cores. When it comes to brake calipers, would getting an original core be of any significance/benefit?

What material would you recommend for front pads? (ceramic, organic, semi-metallic) I have the honeycomb wheel covers so access the rinsing/cleaning is less. I figured a ceramic or organic in order to have less dust...

Are aftermarket calipers fine or should I try to find NOS or remanufactured ones? Besides new pads/shoes, rotors and drums replaced/turned, and calipers replaced....are there any other components to purchase? Brake fluid and grease.

I last had my brakes checked in 2009 when I purchased my B210. They rebuilt the front calipers and installed new pads and caliper seals. The receipt says "inside of caliper was plated and plating was peeling off, bore was honed best as possible, suggest finding a core set of calipers and having them rebuilt with sleeves if necessary." Since then, I have probably put 20K miles on the car. I am definitely in need of some overhauling of the brake system. The brakes seem to be getting very very poor. I understand the fluid should be bled every few years and not 6-7 years like mine. I'm reading the Chilton, Clymer and service manual books to learn. I also have a NOS Nabco master cylinder. My main question is where to start? I certainly will examine the pads and I know that it will be smart to bleed the entire system. Should I start with new front pads and calipers, and rear shoes? Would you recommend that I just install the new master cylinder as well? Would you recommend trying to obtain original calipers? Do you recommend any particular brand of pads and shoes? Basically need to make a RockAuto order. As always, any information is much appreciated.

So I first tested the starter wire bypass with the fusible link wire out the hood and to the ignition via the driver's window. Thing fired right up so I put it up on the ramps to inspect the route of the harness from the starter. Couldn't really figure out where to go with it down there so instead went from starter solenoid to upper firewall along the route of the windshield fluid tubing, through the plastic loops, past the brake master cylinder and into the drivers side cabin via the hole for the hood release cable. I used a 16 gauge black wire, soldered on the same size spade connector as the fusible link and it fits nicely on the male end of the starter solenoid. For the ignition connection, I used a connector that crimps closed. I may revisit it and solder instead however it's pretty tight in there and other wires are close by. Went for a spin to fill up on gas and all is well now. Here's some pics. Thanks for walking me through all this. starter solenoid to starter wire connection test run using the long fusible link wire I had up on ramps starter wire coming up just to the left of the fuel filter and heading along the firewall to the driver's side starter wire going through hood release hole to gain access to cabin under the dash parting shot. taillight surrounds painted

Ok 16 gauge wire, cut off the starter solenoid connector and put on to end of new wire, tape off old wire end. On the ignition side, cut black/yellow wire just after it leaves the first connector plastic piece (so the ignition switch side will be intact), attach new wire to old black/yellow wire and try to start. If it works, then route the wire from under the dash/firewall (how do I know where it goes????) and solder both wire connections. Is this correct? Do I need to take dash face off? dash pad off? carpet off? Where to obtain 16 gauge wire? Napa? Is the wire specific to automobiles? Will this method require me to carry a small fire extinguisher in my trunk? I'm partly joking by not really. It's very unsettling when stuff inside the car and under the hood starts smoking.

BY wire from the starter solenoid looks like it goes into something and then disappears. Looks like, from the ignition, the wire goes to "Starter Motor." Is this the one I want? Not certain because I understand the wire to be headed to the starter solenoid.

Thanks for the advice. 1. I understand that I should use the same gauge wire however how do I find out what gauge wire the existing/original wire is? 2. Which wire is the start wire in the ignition switch?

A few questions: Tracing the wire to find the short: Do i just just cut the harness tape and expose the wire as it leads to ignition? Does this one small gauge wire travel all the way to ignition without any other connection points along the way? Bypassing option: Which gauge and type of wire can I use? Can I solder on the existing female connector to the new wire? How does the wire connect into the plastic ignition wire connector? Or can I just solder in the wire at the ignition, connecting the new wire to the old wire at the ignition? Can I do this as a test with the wire going out through the drivers window and into the open hood to the starter (in order to make certain it works before trying to feed the wire through past the dash/firewall or where ever it disappear to) ? New Harness: Are new harnesses available for sale? I am thinking of trying the bypass method to start.

Yes, the car immediately started, the belt was turning. Thanks! Now what?

Questions 1. When you say "start wire," are you taking about the small gauge wire? 2. can I use a few feet of the 20 gauge fusible link as the wire for this test?

Ok today I did the following: - installed another fusible link that I have soldered - slightly tightened/squeezed the small gauge wire female metal connector for tight connection starter solenoid male end - examined the negative and positive wiring and wiring from the starter to as far as I can see as the wiring disappears under the firewall - examined the interior wiring from the ignition to as far as I could see, under the dash, driver and passenger side I did not find any pinching, fraying or anything that my layman's eye could identify as a visually observable compromise in the wires. I looked for the ground strap on the block but still cannot find one. I believe I have found another ground just under the battery on the metal shelf that the battery sits on. Not certain what else I can do to find the actual short. Maybe its buried under the dash somewhere? The original smoking came directly out of the hazard switch opening though. Another piece of info to add is the fact that 3 months prior to this issue, I noticed the windshield washer pump just below the washer fluid reservoir not working. I rebuilt the pump according to the "How to" section post and still not working. It looked as though the tiny rubber hose connection from pump to reservoir was leaking washer fluid slowly and maybe that compromised the wiring for the washer pump. Is there a way to test this with the multimeter? Just another piece of information to add. The car had started fine for months after noticing the washer fluid pump not working.

I was reviewing the service manual and found another page on the ignition. So I have tested the ignition switch however there are two different connectors (one large with 5 wires, and one small with 2 wires). I figured it would be appropriate to check the smaller connection as well. I've included the page from the service manual. It shows how to test the continuity however don't know exactly how. Maybe you can explain this one in lay terms. Also, what do 1 and 2 do?

Excellent. I will examine the start wire. This makes sense since the smoking of the original fusible link occurred when trying to start the vehicle multiple times. Does the start wire go from starter solenoid to positive battery terminal? Leading away from the solenoid, that wire joins the harness/collection of wires. If the start wire is shorted, can you describe the repair for this? Also, I have noticed that the start wire connects to the solenoid pretty loosely. Can I tighten it by bending with plyers? Thanks for all the help.

Thanks for the help on all this. Here are the Voltage Measurements for each stage of ignition. lock: B 12.65 off: B 12.65 acc: B 12.65, A 12.65 on: B 12.43, IG 12.36, A 12.36 start: B 12.35, IG 12.18, S 12.32, R 12.32 I then went to the small gauge starter solenoid wire. I used a clean part of the cylinder head as the ground and with ignition turned and held at START, the multimeter jumped around to a bunch of random numbers. On my drive home I was thinking that maybe I should have tried the engine block as the ground. Would that have mattered?

Where is the ground strap usually located, or what does it look like?

I also painted the tail light surrounds today.

I checked the black/yellow starter wire while on the ON position. It was 1.2 V on some ground screws and on some screws on the firewall, the multimeter displayed random changing numbers. I'm not certain what this all means. The battery was holding 12.57 V. I had noticed one of the ignition switch's inner ring moveable lock does not spring out like the original. In an effort to troubleshoot, I have tried both ignitions while attached to the steering column as well as alternated the ignition wiring with both ignitions. Still nothing occurs. Could my issue be the wiring from the starter to the ignition? Can you describe exactly which ground to use for the black terminal while checking the starter wire (maybe the test wasn't performed correctly). Meanwhile, my fusible link wire became loose at the wire-to-connector connection. I used an extra one that I have made. But I will solder the wire to the connector soon. Any more thoughts?

I went through the motions of getting out the old ignition so I used a Dremel tool to carve out a slot groove for screwdriver access. I followed the negative cable back toward the engine and found it goes into the engine oil filter area. Not sure how to track down the ground strap.

Ok, I did the testing as stated. Voltage reading on B was 12.38, S during turning of key 12.38. Everything looks fine as far as the ignition switch power goes.

No I have not. Elaborate and I can check that. Where to put the red and black leads? 2 ignition connection plugs to car wiring... step by step process needed.

I just realized that I want to try one more thing. Looking at the inside of the ignition picture shows a metal connection on the inside ring. I will Dremel the original ignition screws to make a slot, take off the old ignition, then put the extra one completely on and in place. Maybe that contact point will make all the difference. Although maybe its just the wheel locking mechanism that allows locking of the wheel once in park and wheel is turned slightly to lock.