I have always thought the brakes were not up to par on my driver. Several weeks ago, I got the rotors turned to get rid of the pulsing stops. It lasted about 1000 miles. I also noticed a mushy pedal and it felt like it severely nose dived during stops.

So tonight, I decide to check the rears. The adjusters were gunked up solid, so I cleaned them, coated the threads with some WD40, wiped off the excess and reassembled.

Then I used a turkey baster to suck all the old fluid from the master cylinder, refilled with fresh fluid and bled all 4 corners. No, we wont be using that turkey baster in the kitchen anymore LOL.

I noticed some grayish black sludge crap in the bottom of the resevoir, I didnt wipe it out or disturb it. Do I need to worry? It does brake much better than it ever has, save for the "warped" rotors that still need to be dealt with.

ok...the sludge...well it probably wouldnt hurt...if you have the money to replace the MC with a reman one which would stiffen that pedal right up.

Brake systems are really basic if you don't include the ABS controls and such. They are really (* i know i will be corrected) A pedal, brake booster, master cylinder, brake lines, and caliper & wheel cylinders.

therefore...it is not REALLY that hard to solve brake problems, unless ofcourse you are dealing with the ABS.

So, if you really want to tune up that system, I don't think it would cost that much if you did the work yourself. I know i have been meaning to replace my brake system, but I never know what else is going to go wrong being that my car is so old

getting back to the point....

since our cars dont have ABS...unless yours has that option....i would just recommend doing a very thurough bleed. You should be good to go, but hey if you have the money...do whatever you can. Remember: it doesn't matter how fast your car is if you can't stop it.

Yeah, good stopping is important. I may replace components over the next several paydays, I am not an aggressive driver, nor have I cared so much about a car until I started driving these H bodies I just had never remembered seeing sludge in the bottom of a master cylinder before.

Brake fluid will break down over time. What happens is that it will not compress as well as it used to, resulting in a spongy feeling. You should probably replace the fluid every three years or so. I figured this out after about 6 years of the same fluid and replacing most of the components already.

I didnt know that. The brakes did feel much better today, fluid was probably original. Original owners were elderly, didnt drive much, when they passed, the car went to thier daughter, who is in her 60'* and drove it only to the grocery store and in town errands. They sold it to make room in the garage for a new car (new GTO) I truly believe that the fluid that was there was the same that was poured in at manufacturing LOL.

Truth be told, I probably should bleed the heck out of them until all the old fluid is outta the lines. Thoughts?

Yes I would bleed them through. It'll take about 2 hours on a Saturday, but make 'em brakes feel oh so groovy.

Definitely bleed those suckers!

Your brakes (and possibly your life) will thank you.

Many recommend that you bleed them once a year.

Yeah, Brakes that work are always good. Tomorrow being Saturday, I think I will replace the rotors, since I had them turned once and they promptly warped again. Pads have plenty of meat left, sure am tempted to reuse them though. I had to drive just a touch over 450 miles today, mostly 75mph and sure was irritating feeling that pulsing when I went to exit the interstate.

Edited to add, on the first leg of todays trip, I got 27.3 MPG. With AC. I will know monday when I refuel what the second leg was.