The spare tire (a space saver)...
The spare tire (a space saver) is even smaller than the 14-inch wheels. If the 14-inch wheels won't work with the new brakes, what does that say about the spare?
Looking surprised and hurt say, "Gosh golly, gee whiz, Honey, the car has (fill in the blank with mileage and age of the vehicle) and needed new (fill in the blank with the part or parts that were replaced). Do you know how long it has been since I replaced the (fill in the blank with the appropriate part or parts)? I used high-quality parts because, after all, when you (and the children) are in the car, I just want you (and the children) to be safe." (If you have children, or even if you are just planning to have children, even if it is years from now, be sure and throw in that you were thinking about their safety. How is she going to argue with this?) Needless to say, it isn't enough to just say it; you actually have to sound like you mean it (without it sounding rehearsed).
We have two more warnings. This next warning, warning number four, is the most important:
4.As soon as the work is completed, confirm that the brakes operate properly. DO NOT go blasting out of the parking lot in a frenzy of excitement. Try out the brakes before you even put the vehicle into gear. Then, in an area with plenty of open space, and at a slow speed, try out the brakes.
Here they are! The PBR calipers....
Here they are! The PBR calipers. Although both are supposedly remanufactured, look at the one on the left. It seems awfully shiny for a rebuilt unit-more about this in the final installment of "Dinner & a 1LE."
You may be in for a surprise, and it may not be a good surprise. The brakes may not work properly for a variety of reasons. However, we recommend that if everything else checks out okay, you, or your technician, need to do some research. In addition to all of the other items that you have already bought (or will buy) you may have to purchase a master cylinder and proportioning valve. You may want to start your research with GM master cylinder PN 18060095 and proportioning valve PN 14089496. Those are the parts that worked for us.
Also, keep in mind that if you do replace the master cylinder and proportioning valve, you must again confirm that the brakes are operating properly.
The last warning:
5.After you have completed all of the work, get the frontend aligned.
Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way, there is one more item. Why don't you take the opportunity to check for wear on the various parts underneath the car? A quick check showed that our ball joints needed replacement. That did not come as too much of a surprise considering the mileage. For those of you that want factory replacement ball joints, they're PN 9767281. Moog has a beefy ball joint, with a wear indicator (PN 2601130). The Moog ball joint may be referred to as having an "enhanced" design.
Somewhat surprisingly (given the age of our donor vehicle), the A-arm and idler arm bushings are okay. However, we are also going to replace the power steering hose (the pressure side) because it is leaking rather badly. All right then, let's get down to it.