Under the dash... Anything else I should do while im here.

[Adam Connell]

Swapping out the PM for Vacuum brakes.

I have a new found hate for being under the dash... and I owe the person who put the little washer/fastener on the brake saddle stud holding the wiring harness that is damn near impossible to remove a swift kick in the nuts. I knew before that GM was run by idiots... but that little fastener completely destroyed the little respect I had for GM engineers and threw it out the window. I could have had the engine and transmission out faster than it took me to remove the engine brake pedal assembly. Bye far the most irritating thing I have ever done on a car... I did the PCV grommet this morning and I just thought that was irritating haha.

Ok Im done ranting! :biggrin:

So I am underneath the dash and I got the brake pedal out of the way, can you guys think of anything I should do while I have this all apart? I am going to clean up some of the wiring for my accessories, but other than that I cant think of anything. Maybe lube the speedo cable? Please let me know if there is anything I can do now so I dont ever have to get under there again... I would rather teach violin to deaf kids than do this all again. Im just praying I like the vacumm setup, swapping the pedal back out for a hydroboost setup might get reserved for a mechanic.

 

[Red Regal T]

Just pull the whole saddle down to replace the pedal. You have the booster out, there's just one bolt left holding it in place. Before you bolt the booster in, make sure you attach the plunger eye to the stud on the brake pedal. It's difficult to get on if everything is bolted in. Do it first. You can imagine how I feel about that locking fastener you're complaining about. I've pulled hundreds of those boosters. :biggrin:

 

[Adam Connell]

Thanks for the tip! Yeah I just went ahead and pulled the saddle out once everything else was out. Figured I'd clean it up and paint it for the hell of it. My neck, ribs, back and hands are all pissed at me today... Im only 23 and in pretty good shape, so I'd hate to be any bigger or older and do this! I'm still mad about that fastener... I went at it with needle nose pliers to get it started and then used wire cutters to mangle it enough to yank off there. I think I even made up a few new curse words pulling it

Im swapping to braided lines, pressure testing all my vacuum lines, and bolting everything back in today! Im so ready to have working reliable brakes... the power master going out on me scared the hell out of me. I've got tons of racing and wrecking experience so I knew what to do, but still that's a feeling I hope to never feel again.

I have discovered an ancient audiovox APS-2 alarm that is wired in, but apparently not functional under my dash. The wiring job doesn't appear to be too rigged up, but today Im going to trace everything. I'm going to see if I can't get an old manual for audiovox for this alarm and then swap in a new one with remote start. It would be a breeze if all I had to do was swap the wires over to the new one :biggrin: