Cardone rebuilt Power Master issues

[SuperSix]

I'm sure they are aware of it by now.

 

[SCOOBY DOO]

Convert to vacuum and be done with it.

Exactly

 

[TurboBuRick]

Hydro-boost is the real way to go IMO.

 

[bison]

Vacuum brakes are nothing to brag about and Hydro boost is a plumbing nightmare. A properly working PM is hard to beat on these cars since thats what they came with. Diagnosing and rebuilding one isnt very difficult either. Ive fixed about 10 that had stuck check valves in the last 15 years. The seals on the pistons dont seem to fail. The o-rings usually crap out. The motors fail from overheating because the pressure switches fail or the accumulators are shot and the thing runs continuously. As gnxtc2 said you should be servicing this thing yourselves and you will know what is going on with what. You can theorize all you want about solvents hurting seals but till someone actually proves this its likely bs. Imo instead of so many guys being rec'd to convert to vacuum consider this: those that have 10 sec parts should be converted to 10 sec cars instead of 11-12 sec slugs. Have a nice day.

 

[87GNSteve]

"Since thats what they came with" I love it........
Still running the:
factory fuel pump?
The breather tube from the VC to the turbo?
stock injectors?
the list could go on.....the PM was a nightmare from the day the cars were on the dealer lot. And now 26 years later they are down right dangerous.

 

[turb]

Powermasters at this age should be called "Crashmasters".
Scared the $hit out of me when mine unexpectedly failed. Two replacements failed too before I woke up and converted to Vacuum.
Get rid of it before you hurt your car, yourself, and/or others!

 

[Ttype6]

The Powermaster is one of the things that makes our cars unique. They are extremely easy to work on. Send me all of your Powercrashers and I'll do the same thing I did with all the Quadrajunks that so many people threw away back in the day. People label things good or bad based on their knowledge of the things. Quadrajet carburetors where always good carburetors. People just didn't understand how they worked so they called them junk. Same thing with the Powermaster. I've always wondered just how frustrating and expensive it must be to be a(so called) car guy when you don't know how to repair and modify your car. People say My motor guy,My tranny guy,My rear end guy,and My paint guy when they talk about their car and then say thanks when you compliment them on their car. I've never understood that. I see my motor,tranny,rear end,and paint guy with perfect clarity every time I look at any of the body panels of my car.

 

[TurboDave]

"the PM was a nightmare from the day the cars were on the dealer lot. And now 26 years later they are down right dangerous.

That's completely FALSE. The only reason they became troublesome is due completely to a lack of proper maintenance. Neglect and ignore something long enough and it's going to fail. And that's just what happened to them. I can't tell you the number of threads over the years of people wondering what that brake light (that they've seen glowing for weeks) is all about? I'm still running the original PM's in both my GN's and will continue to do so. They've had regular maintenance over the decades (just like the rest of the car), and an occasional Accumulator, and 1 pressure switch on each, and they're still going strong and stopping fantastic I might add.

 

[87GNSteve]

You might be able to fool some of the younger/newer guys but I remember the recall on the grey and black switch. AND I had one that made me crap my pants on a 13K mile GN in 1991, hit the brakes and nothing....... junk from the get go.

Oh the vendors love you guys...... I did too I scored two brand new Powerdisasters new in the box for a $100 a piece, sold them for $700 each, to the purists. For me and the public I serve I demand safety. I switched to manual.

 

[Ttype6]

You might be able to fool some of the younger/newer guys but I remember the recall on the grey and black switch. AND I had one that made me crap my pants on a 13K mile GN in 1991, hit the brakes and nothing....... junk from the get go.

Please send any and all your Powercrashers to me. I'll dispose of them properly .

 

[Dennis Kirban]

Interesting thread....first, as long as its a cardone unit, we can get it repaired under warranty. We sell alot of rebuilt units. both direct and to other Buick vendors as well. Cardone is a huge player in the rebuilding business so I am sure they know what they are doing.

At best the powermaster system has been problematic almost since new. I will make mention of this to Cardone. They don;t make money on doing warranty ones. Their brake bowl has been virtually perfect since they reproduced it several years back. Keep in mind they are working with 25 year old parts. We were very instrumental in getting them to make the reproduction brake bowl as they almost were not going to go thru with the project.

Our business on rebuilt units has increased recently because Cardone no longer has cores and some aurto stores have stopped carrying them since cores are a problem which only leaves the option of you sending in your unit and hoping it gets back to you in a reasonable amount of time.

While vacuum is an option for some others want to retain the original set up.

We been dealing direct with Cardone probably for 6-7 years now one of the few mail order companies that does. B surprised the number of products they do and companies they rebuilt parts for.


denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

[we4Mateo]

Interesting thread....first, as long as its a cardone unit, we can get it repaired under warranty...

Do they warranty the TR or the car/object you hit? Powermasters are fine at the track and in a garage on a survivor but have no place on a street car actually getting used like a 'car.' Some of us do use our TR's as cars still.

Vacuum brakes are nothing to brag about and Hydro boost is a plumbing nightmare. A properly working PM is hard to beat on these cars since thats what they came with...

The TTA's didn't have powermasters and they stop just fine with a factory vacuum setup and an LC2. I agree that a PM is hard to beat, when working, and perfect for a track car. I know I leave 60' on the table launching with my vacuum brakes but I know I can stop on the commute home from the track. Powermasters are perfect for cars already planning on being on trailers too.

 

[turbo nasty]

Dave you are very very lucky. When my 87 was new, not including the recall I had 2 switches and 1 acuum replaced under warranty by 42 k miles!!!
Countless ones since as well. Converted to vac years back, no regrets...sick of spending money on the PM.

OK Back on track

 

[we4Mateo]

...I switched to manual...

This setup wins the reliability argument.

 

[gnmaster2004]

I have installed many over the years. Id say more than half had a issue.

 

[Bweavy]

Nobody as made Dennis or Brian aware of this?

Steve I just stumbled upon this.

Ttype6 do not hog all of these up. I like your quadrajet comparisson. I had a 780 on my 67 GTO & loved it once it was set.

There is one thing after reading this I didn't see brought up at all. All these failures......... are your proprtioning valves the new re-call with brass or do you have the old Iron units on there? You know the ones that deteriorate on the inside? Turning your oil that nice shade of dark brown or black? The same oil that attacks the glue on the inside of the ACC ball & allows the diaphragm to fail? The same debris going thru the power master unit itself?
I get a call at least twice a month. This is the 3rd acc ball in 6 years, get me a vacuum brake system.
Did you check your proportiong valve to see if it was replaced?
No it is original.
Your oil almost black?
Yes.
Would you consider changing that & getting a new ACC ball?
No the Power master is Junk I read it all over the internet.

Every one of my personal Buick's & I have 1 or 2 is running a power master.

I really can not belive that a business that sold this as a full warranty unit wouldn't take it back.

I really think some one needs to get Richard Clark to chime in here as he likes playing with these alot.

 

[Mr.Spool]

i really enjoy the powermaster and it has been just about problem free,had an acc go out last year and it was the easiest/quickest thing to replace.these things arent hard to work on at all.

 

[Phoff]

Cardone has been using the same solvent since we have been selling the Powermasters in 2005. Warranty issues on the rebuilt Powermasters is less than 3%. Normally the warranty issue is a stuck check valve from contamination in the brake fluid from the car it is being installed on. It is NOT bad seals.

Buick never told anyone to change the brake fluid on our cars. Most brake fluid is black and full of contaminants. Change your brake fluid twice a year and the PM will last for years.

 

[87Turbolimited]

okay guy's looking at this thread, an what i notice last week after getteing home from work my car was leaking the break fluid, I look under the car to see where the leaking was coming from looks like is dripping down the PM motor? could i replace this my self if its a seal... or what can it be?
pls pm me for help?

thxs,

 

[Phoff]

Check your Reservoir grommets.