I've been waiting for a while now for it to go and it's on it's way down the hill.. at least I think. My Anti-lock light keeps flashing now, sometimes comes on steady, still other times it doesn't even light up at all. I am hearing a strange clunking sound from either the engine compartment or underneath the car whenever I hit the brakes. When do you know if it's done? Will my brakes totally cease? Or could a caliper problem make the light come on? Anyone with some tips I would appreciate it..
Get the Powermaster III from Prior. It is a rip off at $775 (including core) but it is the one thing you do not want to put off because you need good brakes for this heavy car and it is cheaper than rear ending some one!
My dash no longer looks like a christmas tree(I put it off for the longest time too, so dont feel bad) my wallet was injured, but at least I wasnt. :lol:
Dont mess with accumulators and other parts. Just get the whole thing at once, It is not hard to replace it, I did it in my friends car port
The Prior rebuilt master is not a ripoff. Any one of us would be hard pressed to rebuild one of these monsters and test it to 500psi and warrantee it for 3 yrs and re-engineer the rear plate as well. The other alternative is buy one from GM for well over $2000.
The actual price id $659 plus $100 for the core which they prepay the shipping. The installation is straight foward and there is more time spent bleeding the system then the actual installation. MAke sure you refill only to the "step" marks on the inside of the reservoir.
If it weren't for Prior we would all be up the creek. My brakes are incredible now and the car stops on a dime! PS It would also make sense to swap out the rear calipers as well since they usually freeze up and rebuilding these is a real pain. Good luck!
HERE HERE ROB!
Yes its expensive, but its complicated. And it does beat the alternatives. SOME of these units can be fixed with the serviceable parts. When the Prior unit was $500 it almost didn't pay to fix them, but at almost $700 its woth it to try. The accumulators can be found for a reasonable amount,even though the list price on them is pretty high.
I tried seeing if there was a way to fix these units. I removed and reinstalled a unit over a dozen times experimenting with it.
Ryan, your brakes can totally cease, or go out on you in an emergency. I've had that happen, you press on the pedal and since the accumulator was long gone, the motor will crap out as its trying to build over 2000 psi of pressure during a stop. Then you are left standing with both feet on the pedal. If your a little person, good luck. IF the PMIII fails you willl only have manual braking to the front two wheels. It would help to get it scanned so you know what the problem may be.
The clunking is certainly something else, like loose pads or suspension. A regular brake check would show that up.
When I changed my struts I used the front assembly that Carl gave me, with the cartridge inside. Can I safely and effectively remove the cartridge and place them into mine that were on the car? Or would I be better off buying new cartridges? I was thinking it might have something to do with the ball joints what do you think? I plan on re-doing the brakes, and hopefully get one more year out of my tranny, then all the cosmetics and modifications are next. But still, almost $800 for a brake pump is gonna set me back a ways.. I shoulda tried to get that new one on Ebay a while back..
I may have a PM III for sale soon. I just put a new one in my TGP about a year and a half ago. Now the car is totaled.
i sent my pm111 in to prior i think it was 495 or 550 shiped and all but it was worth it as for the clunking where do you live if you live in a place that salts in the winnter for snow its most likely you frame carrage bolts there free to replace in most areas as there was a recall on them thats still open mine does it once in a while im waiting on the parts to come in the dealer does it anyway i need to post a new one i have a few problems later