Brake Bleeding

[69hurstolds]

That video is definately good for thought.

I just bought a brand new ACDELCO master cylinder for the malibu, install it, then flush/bleed the entire brake system with new dot3 fluid.

I'll see how the brakes feel afterwards on the road, the power brake booster, shoes, drums, pads and rotors are all in good shape, then after all is said and done, i'll replace the rear brake hose along with both front brake hoses for the front, thankfully they are all still availabe brand new from acdelco.

The good thing about using ACDelco parts is, that unless otherwise specified, they come with a 12 month, unlimited mileage warranty. The bad thing is, stuff like the brake hoses and that shiny new master cylinder? I'll bet dime to donuts they came over on a boat from China. Which isn't always a bad thing, but it always makes me feel a bit queasy. Delco parts have been made in various parts of the world since for like, forever. China was considered one of the lowest level trusted car parts manufacturers for the longest time for a reason. Sad part is, they're very capable of making good quality parts. But their QC departments tend to suck. "Close enough" isn't a quality check in my eyes.

This is why I always state to find "old school" ACDelco stuff for your car whenever possible. Usually found on the secondary market like flea markets and ebay, etc. To me, quality was so much better, then.

That said, it's a quandry for rubber bits like brake hoses because age can be a factor on those brake lines, even sitting in a box, no matter the brand or place of manufacture. When it comes to safety items like brakes, use the highest quality you can afford. What parts will you trust with your life?

 

[Ernest]

I assume nothing.... but i understand the conundrum when it comes to parts comming in from china.

Finding quality parts is a no brainer, but as time goes on, it will be harder to find, and when you do find them, the person selling them, no matter from where, usually wants more then the buyer is willing to pay most times, especialy post covid, greed everywhere is most certainly out of control.

 

[69hurstolds]

Things are in a huge flux right now anyway. As the EV mandates pushed forward, more and more aftermarket companies simply gave up on aftermarket support on ICE cars and focused more on EV stuff because the car manufacturers, for the most part, was turning toward all EV stuff as well. Writing was on the wall. But now, it's not clear where this all will end up since the new administration is discontnuing the mandates for EV transition. Either way, it's not good for us at the moment.