firm brakes after sitting for 2+ years

trantor · #1 (**permalink**) 06-22-2008, 08:12 PM

My '84 spider has been sitting in storage for 2+ years. The lengthy storage was unexpected so proper care was not taken (empty fuel etc...) when locked away.

I was ecstatic that after changing the oil and fuel and turning the engine over it started up with very little hesitation!

Test drive though showed that the brake peddle is really stiff and the braking power is really poor. Really poor! As in unsafe for any normal driving.

Jacking up the car only one wheel shows displays any noise when being rotated and nothing seems to be binding.

Going through my service records I see that shortly (3 months) before being stored the master cylinder and other brake parts were serviced. So the brakes were fine going into storage.

What could be possible problems for me to address with this situation?

thx all for the help. This forum has been a life saver over the years.

On the flip side. I've been living in the UK for the past couple of years and was able to enjoy a RHD 166 as my daily driver. It's a shame that newer Alfas aren't really available in North America.

**Stachowiak** · #2 (**permalink**) 06-22-2008, 09:19 PM

Hi,

It sounds like you don't have any vacuum going to the booster, or the booster has failed. Before you replace the booster, confirm that you have vacuum getting to the booster. Their is a valve in the nipple that sends vacuum to the booster near number 4 intake that is probably stuck in the closed position. You can try to tap it and see if that helps. You might also remove it and clean it with brake cleaner. If you start the car while pressing on the brake, you should feel the pedal drop if the booster is working.

Hope this helps,

Dick Stachowiak
71 GTV
71 Spider

**Tifosi** · #3 (**permalink**) 06-22-2008, 09:23 PM

You'll be wanting to check for frozen/rusted caliper pistons too.

'New before storage' doesn't include 'and never could freeze up from lack of use'

trantor · #4 (**permalink**) 06-22-2008, 10:54 PM

Thx for the suggestions. I'll give both ideas a try.

Kilgore Trout · #5 (**permalink**) 06-22-2008, 10:55 PM

Last time I had that happen it was the rear brake compensator had "frozen", not allowing the rear caliper pistons to fully retract. Could also just be a single frozen caliper piston, or something of that nature. You can test the booster as follows. Run the engine for a few minutes to get vacuum in the booster, then turn it off. Successively press the brake pedal, and see if it gets stiffer each time. If so, the booster is likely OK, and the pedal is getting stiffer because the vacuum reserve is being bled out of the booster with each pedal press. You can usually here a hissing sound until the vacuum is exhausted, which takes several pedal pushes. Finally, by driving the car a bit, the caliper with the stuck piston, if that's what's happening, will be much hotter than the others, but watch for burned fingers when poking through the wheels.

trantor · #6 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008, 01:47 AM

thx all for your suggestions. The culprit ended up being a stuck caliper/piston. Although most were stuck initially, all but 1 freed up with a little driving. The heat test helped identify which caliper wass stuck.

**Tifosi** · #7 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008, 04:02 AM

Cool beans.

Now you gotta work the heck out of them by driving lots n lots to make sure they seat nicely