1993 Brakes and power steering

[norwegianvette]

Hi to you all. I'm Norwegian so pardon me if i misspell words on this thread. I've just brought a 1993 Corvette convertible and there is loads of new experiences to me with this car as it is my first vette. The milage is 50k.

Is it normal that they are quite hard on the brakes, with hard i mean i use a lot more force on the pedal than on my 2002 Tahoe.

Also i find the power steering guite heavy when i compare with the same Tahoe, is this also normal and i am a bit paranoid.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Toms007]

First off, Welcome to CAC. You will find some very nice and knowledgeable folks around here.

Now to try and answer your questions. When I bought my 94 I thought the same thing about the steering, it felt "heavy" compared to my wife's car and my 99 Silverado. But it is normal and the "heaviness" isn't an issue with me any more.

As I was doing my research (prior to buying my car), I found what you are describing to be a major complaint with those cars that did not have the "Heavy Duty Brakes" (RPO J55). J55 became the standard on all 1995's and after. So what you are experiencing is not uncommon. Many people will upgrade to the J55 brakes or will upgrade to C5 brakes. Now how easy is that to do? I can't tell you as my 94 came with the J55 brakes (13" diameter x 1 1/8" wide front rotors). But I believe that it is a matter of finding the parts (rotors, calipers and mounting brackets) and replacing the old parts with the new. This change out seems very straight forward, however with you in Norway it might be a bit more of an issue, parts may not be as accessible, as a matter of fact the J55's are not that available around here. Maybe a salvage yard that specializes in C4 Corvettes would be a source. There are some companies that offer the C5 brake upgrade kits, they are about the same price, maybe a tad bit cheaper, but they will not fit with the "sawblade" wheels that were on the 93's (clearance issues as the C5 Calipers are larger than the J55's). So if you were to go this route a new set of wheels would be required as well (assuming you have the standard 93 wheels).

I hope that this helps to answer your questions. If you have others don't hesitate to speak up.

 

[norwegianvette]

Thank you. I feel better with it all after your answer. I was a bit worried regarding those two things and now when i know they are normal i'm fine. By the way, the full beam light in the dach is on all the time. Is this a common weakness, and to you think it might be that it's just to replace the lever with a new one or does it have to do with relays etc.

 

[gmjunkie]

By the way, the full beam light in the dach is on all the time. Is this a common weakness, and to you think it might be that it's just to replace the lever with a new one or does it have to do with relays etc.

This is probly a bad dimmer switch or the actuator rod has came off of it!!! The switch isn't hard to change,but it's probly not where you'd think it would be!!! It's above your toes attached on the Lt side of the steering column with 3 wires and it is possible that it just needs adjustment,it's held with 2 screws and will slide to adjust!!!! There is also the Ignition switch on the Rt side of the column that has a Wad of wires!!

 

[c4cruiser]

As far as the steering effort, the Tahoe and GMC Yukon have a different steering system (recirculating ball) and they even take less steering effort than my 1999 Chevy Silverado pickup. The "boost" or hydraulic assist from the pump on those trucks is higher giving the steering a very light feel.

The Corvette uses a rack and pinion steering system and the PS boost levels are less and the steering is a bit more precise. In addition, the number of turns from lock to lock is much less than GM trucks or passenger cars.

If the brake pedal "feel" is very stiff or even hard, it may be due to a bad brake booster. When the booster begins to fail the pedal will feel hard to depress.

I have not felt any real difference between the standard brakes and the J55 heavy duty brake package. The basic difference between the two is a 1" wider front rotor with J55; the calipers and the pads are the same as the standard brakes. The wider diameter rotor does improve braking performance some but there should be no appreciable difference in how the pedal feels aqs you apply the brakes.

While upgrading to larger brakes will help with braking performance, it can be a costly process. To upgrade to the J55 brakes, you would need the rotors and different caliper mounting brackets. That can be expensive especiially when you have to have them shipped to Norway!

A popular upgrade for later C4's are the front brakes from a C5. The cost of the rotors are less but you need special custom-made brackets and C5-specific calipers. Again, it could be expensive because of shipping and customs/duty costs.

Sometimes a simple change in brake pads can make a difference. There are a wide variety of brake pads available for C4's that run from ceramic materials to types of semi-metallic pads that are nearly race-worthy. Depending on the type of driving you will be doing, you may find that a semi-metallic pad designed for street use will offer improved braking performance at little cost. Finding them in Europe may be an issue, but many US companies will ship overseas.

If you are going to consider new pads to improve braking over the stock GM pads, try EBC "Greenstuff", Hawk "HPS", Raybestos "Brute Stop", or Performance Friction "PFZ" pads. These are all semi-metallic pads with very good cold bite and work even better once they get some heat in them. They will generate some dust so expect to do more frequent wheel cleaning.

 

[norwegianvette]

Thank you "gmjunkie". The dimmer switch by the headlight on/off switch is not 100 % (Dimming of instrument lights). Is it possible that the malfunction in this can cause the full beam light to be on (blue light on instrument clutter) even if the lights is on low?
Forgot to mention that the lights works fine both on full and low. The only problem is the blue light which is constantly on.

I might missunderstood you here: Do you meen that the actuator rod is just secured by steering wheel and that its connected with the switch wich is then located further down on the column.

Sorry if i'm a bit messy but tecnical english is not my best side.

 

[gmjunkie]

Thank you "gmjunkie". The dimmer switch by the headlight on/off switch is not 100 % (Dimming of instrument lights). Is it possible that the malfunction in this can cause the full beam light to be on (blue light on instrument clutter) even if the lights is on low?
Forgot to mention that the lights works fine both on full and low. The only problem is the blue light which is constantly on.

I might missunderstood you here: Do you meen that the actuator rod is just secured by steering wheel and that its connected with the switch wich is then located further down on the column.

Sorry if i'm a bit messy but tecnical english is not my best side.

Yes that is the way it is set up,but the rod actually is moved by the signal lever!!! But in your case Now in light of what you just told us I think you have a bad ground connection somewhere either on the chassis or in the dash it's self!!!

 

[norwegianvette]

So this means a messy job trying to locate a bad ground connection? Since the lights work as they suppose and the only problem is the indicator light in the dach. Well, i just have to investigate, part of the fun i guess. Thanks anyway for good information.

To c4cruiser:
A brake booster should last a lot longer than 50 000 miles? Maybe a monday job so i have to keep a eye (FOOT) on it. Will change fluid on monday and take it from there. I have a appointment tomorrow for reading of the codes from the computer to see if something comes up. Shoot in the air but who knows.

 

[Zo6 LVR]

I'm going to throw in my two cents worth here on the brake issue. Last October I bought a 95 Coupe with 46k on the clock in very good condition in and out. A three owner car. The brake pedal had always been firm with not much travel however the brakes worked ok on hard stops but I noticed at slow speeds (20-30)in traffic they did not stop very well. I then began trying some high speed stops and found the brakes worked pretty well when heated up and better than before at low speeds. This led me to believe the pad compound was not suitable for daily traffic driving and assuming the brake fluid had never been changed, I spoke to the guys at Muskegon Brake. They suggested a ceramic pad and I picked up a pressure bleeder. I had the rotors trued up, changed the pads and fluid and what a difference! I have great brake sensitivity at high and low speeds just like the 2001 ZO6 I had before and the pedal has a little travel and no more hard pedal. MAybe not what you are experiencing, but in case you try some remedies that don't pan out this might be another avenue to try.