Andy, welcome back! I too question the benefits of ABS. I did a fair bit of autocrossing with the '72 Corvette and my '74 Fiat X1/9 and learned to modulate the brakes. Once a set of street tires heats up they get pretty slippery and its easy to lose control. When we lived up north I took friends out for skid control practice in big empty parking lots covered in ice and snow. When you learn what the car is going to do and how to react, a screaming moment before death can be avoided (I think). The few times my ABS has activated, I was not happy with the result I'm pretty sure I can brake by feel better than the ABS.
Andy, I may have been hitting the wrench with bad language but there was no room for a hammer in there.
(or my wife) who can't quite wrap their heads around proper brake use. I had a 97 Grand prix GTP that had no ABS due to a failing unit, brakes were fantastic, I could keep the tires just at the point of starting to make noise with no issue. Trailblazer I have now near caused me to wreck more than once failing to let the wheels lock up on slight declines in icy conditions. 
(how about several "jump stop" cycles at a four way stop?)... I am confident the self driving cars will be super safe and I look forward to bluffing them on the highway.
FA, I can bypass the ABS with a Tee and a coupler but one of the discounts on the car is the ABS brake system. I plan to leave the unit plumbed correctly but I can easily disable the system just by unplugging it (the ABS light is in the information center so it's out of my line of sight and not too annoying).http://carsafetyphysics.weebly.com/anti-lock-brakes-vs-normal-brakes--benefits-and-limitations.html
There are a few videos, tests and articles going over ABS vs. Non-ABS braking. Basically, the ABS brakes are there for soccer moms, soccer dads
Don't get me started on "stability control."
Andy, I'm always happy to supply some warmth.Boy do I feel better. I was expecting to get flamed over my ignorance of using the latest vehicle control systems which allow every person to be a great driver.
Had a friend with a BMW (don't know the model) who called in for work one morning, couldn't get his car out of the driveway with 1" of snow. I called ********! and he challenged me so I drove to his house. Immediately upon putting the car in drive the transmission would clamp down on the engine reducing rpm's until the tires would not slide. I could only get it to move a half inch at best, which was his problem. The cutout switch made no difference. But, since it was not my car, I figured out I could rev it up and pop the shifter into and out of gear rapidly and get some movement. After getting it up to an astounding 0.1 mph I could slow the shifter action and finally got it into the street and headed downhill toward cleared streets. He was a very nice proud member of the Gupta family with a stubborn streak I was envious of who had to eat a little Okie Crow that day.
What a disaster for a design. I am confident the self driving cars will be super safe and I look forward to bluffing them on the highway.
JB, the Pontiac dealer that sold me my '68 GTO was so bad I visited it every year for 5 years and kicked the tires on the new GTOs. When the GTO was offered on the Ventura (Nova) platform in '74 I couldn't bring myself to return. Each of those 5 years I would waste an hour of the salesman's time and make the stupidest offer I could think of before walking out. OK, my car and $300 was probably not stupid enough but it made me feel good.That is one of the best lines I've heard in a while Andy, thanks for that.
As for ABS, mehh I really don't have an opinion, but for traction control, it was really fun to use the Hemi Ram rental on gravel roads with my foot to the floor until the system finely said screw it and let me play.
We had the rental while my wife's 1 year old Mazda was getting a new transmission installed (It would pop out of 4th gear constantly, then when that was "fixed" it would grind every time going into 3rd). A week later I was changing the oil and noticed the entire belly pan was covered in an oily mess. Turns out the service tech didn't tighten the two transmission halves together and it was leaking out. Bad on an auto, but being a manual it would have been really bad! We don't go to that dealership again, it took us probably 10 trips to get it fixed under warranty and that was 1.5 hours each way.
Distraction over,
JB
Stewart, my feelings as well. It isn't really confidence building to have the car completely release the brakes, even if it's only for a fraction of a second.
Man I still hate doing that. But, it had 150,000 miles, no A/C, and it HAD to have premium fuel with lead. We spent four hours in St. Louis Missouri looking for premium fuel that summer. There was some leaded regular still, and no unleaded premium, and no lead substitute or octane booster in service stations and it was Sunday and the auto parts stores were closed. Major frustration with a small child and red headed wife (personality to match the hair). The elimination of premium leaded was spotty and I got caught without additive. The car would not run on regular but it would ping loudly with no power.Bobby, I had a similar experience with an A/C problem. When I find a good mechanic, I am happy to pay. The evaporator on my PT Cruiser sprung a leak, according to the first mechanic. They wanted $1,600 to do the repair so I did it myself. Parts came to about $250 so it was just my time and labor (with the aid of the Factory Service Manual). It was a fairly straightforward job. You sit in the driver seat...
).Sub, I've shown the easy part. The rabbit hole gets deep real fast.
Kenny, I was stuck in the blizzard of '96 in the Washington DC area. Every single channel on the motel TV had blizzard coverage 24 hours a day through the weekend. Only food available was a Papa Johns next to the motel so I ate pizza and watched TV. Every picture of a car in a ditch was a Jeep or other 4-wheel drive vehicle. People buy them thinking they are invincible in snow. They do 4-wheel skids exactly the same as every 2-wheel drive vehicle. Once you're buried nose down in the snow up to the windshield, you're not going anywhere.
Andy, I think we're alone so it's safe for me to tell you my wife is a red head. I have no idea what you mean about personality to match -- look, I still have my right armI bought a 74 Ventura. Traded my 69 Nova SS 300hp 350 Muncie 4 speed in on it.
But I digress. I liked the Nova size and had looked at Novas and stopped at a Pontiac dealer. Ventura in the showroom with a Chevy orange 350 under the open hood. I bought a yellow one with a 350 off the lot and didn't raise the hood as it had been a long day and it was late. Same wife ready to get home. Next morning I was shocked to open the hood and find a Pontiac destroked 389. You know why they were blue? Cold natured. Turned out to be a good car but I hated that engine.
(I do like that left thumb).I have never lusted after a 4-wheel drive but my oldest grandson is crazy about his. It's a Dodge diesel pickup that he has upgraded with a bigger turbo, Bullydog, lift kit, giant rims and tires and I believe a daily-fail automatic transmission. I think he's on his 7th or 8th rebuild with enough billet parts to make a grown man cry. The only time I wish I had a 4-wheel drive was pulling the boat out of the Intracoastal at low tide. Seaweed and slime does not improve traction and there was less under the front wheels of the GTO than the rear.
I only use 4wd when I know I need it like last year pulling vehicles out of the mud on our "gravel" road that were stuck. Even in snow and ice I don't bother unless it is needed. I can see that feature even keeping you from pulling off on to the shoulder to give the guy behind you more room Maybe it was the body shop lobby?WP, I found most car sales people to have almost zero interest in cars. They just want to sell you something. When we were buying our '68 GTO the elderly salesman ignored me and focused on my wife. He said "you'll want the small engine" to her and she asked "is it cheaper?" When he said no, she said "I want the bigger, more powerful engine -- it won't have to work as hard." And I sat back down.
WP, you are right on the button with the 4-wheel drive crowd that has no idea how to engage the front axle. I do understand the attraction. We don't have the speed boat and my wife won't let me get a trailered race car so it just doesn't make sense for me. However, I wanted a Corvette in 1957 when I was 13 and saw my first fuelie with a 4.11 rear smoke the tires without any effort. Had to wait until I was 33 and graduated from college (with teenage children) to get one. Now I'm that old geezer driving around in a Red Corvette convertible. I tried to sell it this year but my wife won't let me.
Andy, well said. I love everything that burns fuel and has wheels. I'm even liking some of the electric vehicles. OK, I like the Tesla. I just don't want to have to remember to recharge it. I'm just getting to the point of filling up with gas before the warning light comes on.
Bret, maybe it's my Scandinavian ancestry. I have always been a Volvo fan but I just can't bring myself to drive a car that takes care of me -- I want to take care of my car.
Jeepster04, I live in a perpetual state of sticker shock. My 68 GTO sold for $3,500 and my big block 72 Corvette sold new for about $5,500. I bought it used for $4,200 when it was 5 years old and felt like a spendthrift. I never felt secure buying anything on time and even more so when I realized how much I was actually paying for my house (over the course of the mortgage I would pay them back triple what I borrowed). I made a deal with my wife and we made payments to an investment (IBM stock) and when the investment reached the price of the thing we wanted, we'd sell the investment and pay cash. Over two years we put $1,100 into stock, sold it for $3,300 and bought the GTO. Over time, that process let us buy our current home without involving a bank (we did have to pay the seller's bank to satisfy their loan).
[FONT="]JB, great stories. As I said, I don't get the auto A/C shops. Ripping customers off is a bad word-of-mouth strategy and makes sure there's almost zero return business.My first Lemon (Yellow 2000 Ford ****** ZX2, manual) car had the A/C go out when I was heading back to Ok. from Mo., I figured it had sprung a leak as it had 180,000 miles and 10 years old so I just rolled the windows down and finished the trip. Turns out the clutch on the compressor was toast, when removed it only had 5-6 of the ball bearings left and they were in bad shape. I replaced the clutch then took it to a shop that quoted $2,200 to replace lots of parts. I said no thanks and went on. 3 weeks later it started working again and never had another problem until it was finely totaled by an inattentive driver.
As for trucks, I prefer 4wd if I'm already buying a truck you might as well. Now I leave it in 2wd 99.9875% of the time approximately.
A few years back it snowed about 18", I didn't have anything 4wd then so I used my Lemon to take her to work after the big trucks knocked the snow down a bit. One of her employees called in because they couldn't get to work. I went to pick her up in the Lemon, what couldn't she get to work in? Her 4wd Ford Explorer, she laughed when she saw me pull up in a fwd car.
JB
Andy, I have the same feeling about the self-driving cars. I will be that geezer hitting the accelerator instead of the brake and a dozen nearby Google cars will explode.That's just crazy. A car that comes to a complete stop after you push it enough to activate the ABS. WOW. So you are in a string of traffic moving fast and there's a panic stop up ahead and you have to slide a bit and then lose the ability to avoid the guy behind you sliding your way.
Don't be too hard on the 4WD city crowd. They get "offroad" every time they pull into their driveway.
Rod, I like it -- I always turn the car around in the driveway to avoid backing onto the roadway. Sometimes I go a bit too far on the K-turn and put a tire on the lawn. Maybe I should invest in studded tires!There's a sticker right there Andy, "I go off-road every time I pull into my driveway".
Looking forward to it Andy!
[FONT="]Five lines are bundled together and run from the ABS unit, along the driver side rocker and then follows the frame before turning up, left, right and straight. Four are brake lines and the other one is a vapor line that goes from [FONT="]the gas[FONT="] [FONT="]tank[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] to the vapor canister up front. The metal sections of the vapor line are connected with rubber hoses and the rear one on my car has disintegrated. I'll fix that when the brakes lines are done.
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[FONT="]Because this is a convertible, there's an x-brace that has to be removed first (it attaches [FONT="]to this corner with[FONT="] the four threaded inserts in the bottom of the fram[FONT="]e[/FONT])[/FONT][/FONT].
When I traced the lines it looks like the master cylinder to ABS lines need to be swapped out next. I have long tube headers so there are no pre-cats in my system. Not sure if the headers make it harder but I have already modified the brake line heat shield. The heat shield bolt and the bake line clip above it have to come out, along with the bolt at the front of the heat shield.
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[FONT="]Because I have an aftermarket ground effects kit on the car, I also have to [FONT="]remove the rocker panel extensions. [/FONT][/FONT][FONT="]A number of clips hold the bundle of lines along the rocker panel, along with a few zip ties.
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[FONT="][FONT="]It would be quicker to just cut the lines and pull out the pieces but I wanted to see how much bending was needed to get the old ones out so I didn’t do unnecessary bending of the new lines. I moved the vapor line out of the way and wiggled the first new line in place. The line still had quite a long bend so I teased it into place with my foot. I can do most things one-handed but in Florida I spend a lot of time barefoot, unless my project involves chainsaws or heavy stuff.
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I am certain I'm the only one who ever has to undo their work. [FONT="]T[/FONT]he ABS to rear brake line had to come back out because it crosses over all the other lines at the ABS unit. Not a big deal but I'm glad I'm not paying myself by the hour.
After I had the master cylinder to ABS lines loosely connected, I had to disconnect them and move them out of the way to remove the ABS to front left brake line. One step forward, one step back, cha cha cha and repeat. I was going to have to bend the line a lot more than I wanted so the steering shaft has to go. It occurred to me I could [FONT="]put the steering shaft [FONT="]back rotated 180 degrees. Then my steering wheel would be upside down and I suspect the directio[FONT="]nal signal wont cancel correctly. I used a center-p[FONT="]unch to [FONT="]put three dimples in the shaft on [FONT="]either side of the rag join[FONT="]t.[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="]With the column removed, it’s no picnic but at least you can see the clips and connectors that have to be removed. It also looks like the wiring and that vapor line can be better routed.
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[/FONT][/FONT][FONT="]With some patience the old line came out and the new one went in. The last long line was easier but before the old one would come out, it had to be disconnected from the short line that goes to the driver side front caliper. Not easy to get two wrenches into the space but I was able to get the short line disconnected from below.
[/FONT][FONT="]I thought I was home free but that last line going across the front of the car snakes up and down and all around the two braces for the front cross member.
[/FONT][FONT="]Once the crossmember braces were out of the way, the line fell out and I spent a little time cleaning up the crossmember.
[/FONT][FONT="]The new line went in with no problem and I thought it was just going to be re-assembly time. I re-routed the ABS sensor cable so it didn't pass as close to the headers. A lot of debris was falling out of the car around the crossmember but I thought it was just dirt and gravel.
[/FONT][FONT="]While I was installing the driver side diagonal brace, pieces of plastic started falling on me. I pulled the brace back out and the ABS sensor connector had disintegrated.
I didn't know it at the time but this is when things got ugly....[/FONT]
And it's like he can do that tough stuff with one hand tied behind his back. I'm glad I've got a machine named Bob. Kind of makes me feel better about myself.Thanks Craptain! I do get carried away when I start working on the cars.
Andy, thanks and I hope the ending isn't too much of a disappointment.Tremendous effort, Bob! I am truly impressed.
Great work. I'm on the edge of my chair waiting for the next installment.
Terrick, this should be a good lesson for someone.
Bobby, you did notice I was lying down while doing most of this. Walking, heck, even standing while working gets me in trouble all the time.Sure Bob. I finally got to be walking with only a minor limp and now I got to bend brake lines with my toes to measure up?
Stewart, I learned that our feet continue to grow slightly as we get older. That might be why most of my shoes no longer fit and once I get down to flip-flops (thongs for my down-under mates) I just give up and go barefoot.
Terrick, you may have noticed that I try to keep the cars fairly clean. There's a reason for that. Before nitrile gloves, when I got really greasy dirty, I washed my right hand with my left foot. It's not a pretty sight so I always blocked the door when it was cleanup time. When I was young and limber, I did it in the sink but now it's a bucket on the floor.
Yeah Andy, you should be ashamed of yourself. Someday, when you graduate from building sheds, erecting 4-post lifts, melting steel, punching bulls, feeding cows, baling hay, making brooms, fixing Bob AND cooking... you'll sit back and type up silly stories. Oh wait, you do that too.Bob is putting us all to shame.
