TheTodd’s 2008 Malibu (re)build thread

[naiku]

Well dang, that sucks. That's a tough decision as well, especially after all the work that just went into the Malibu.

Similar topic, when we got home, pulled the wheel off my son's Mustang, the reason that one wheel was entirely covered in dust.... literally nothing left on the pads. Went ahead and put new rotors and pads on both sides when we installed his coil-overs. He's grumbling now about brake dust on both wheels, I laughed, told him that'll happen with white wheels.

[TheTodd]

Clean em up real good and get yourself a ceramic coating of some sort and coat the wheels. The spray on stuff from Meguiars isn’t bad. It’s not really a true ceramic coating but works really well for this purpose. You may only have to reapply it every few years but, for the most part, the brake dust just rinses off with a good pressure washer.

On my end, though, I’ve made the decision to fix the car. I pulled out of my driveway yesterday morning and the dash lit up like Christmas morning: “Brake System Failure”, “ESC unavailable”, “ETC unavailable”, “Service Brake System”, “ABS unavailable”, “Low Brake Fluid”… the whole gambit. There was a big puddle of brake fluid on the ground by the drivers rear wheel. Normally with GMs, especially in the Northeast, the brake lines have a habit of rusting. So when I got home I did a bunch of investigating and it APPEARS that it’s just the caliper leaking. I won’t know for sure until I start tearing stuff apart. Things always seem to end up worse than they appear so I’m crossing my fingers that this is it. It’s 14yrs old and approaching 170k so some things are bound to go bad but if it turns into doing new brake lines I’m drawing a line. I’ve done them before and will NOT do it again.

[mumbles]

Hope the caliper swap goes well and sorry I missed the meet, was looking forward to hearing your system!

[TheTodd]

I’ll be doing the swap Saturday so I, too, hope it goes well. I’ve also noticed over the last few days that there’s no leakage if I don’t use my parking brake… which I almost always used as my driveway is on a bit of an incline. So we’re guessing there’s a seal somewhere that’s gone bad. Unless something else catastrophic happens it’ll be at Ian’s meet in Sept and I think it sounds WAY better than Jason’s meet, especially after (other) Jason tweaked it a bit.

[mumbles]

Weird, I thought parking brakes were mostly rear wheels... maybe I'm thinking of something else?

[TheTodd]

They are. It’s the drivers rear that’s leaking on mine.

[TheTodd]

Small update. I replaced the drivers rear caliper on Saturday and I’ve had absolutely no leakage so it appears all is well… for now. It IS, after all, 14yrs old with 170k on it. A real careful inspection, though, showed that all brake lines & hoses were in good shape so there should be no immediate concerns there. So for all that worry, $80 for a caliper, $10 for a bit of fluid & 2hrs of my time the ol girl is back on the road.

[TheTodd]

Well… this is the beginning of the end for the Malibu. If all goes according to plan (even though it rarely does) it’ll make it to the fall meet in VA for one last demo session. I am purchasing a new car & should be picking it up within the next week or so. A buddy of mine is buying the ‘Bu for his son but can’t take it until Sept so I’m hoping to still have it come meet time.

The new ride:



2014 Toyota Avalon, 1 old lady owner, 35k miles and not a flaw on it… for now. It does have the JBL system in it so it’s already creating a few headaches as far as getting my radio in but with the help of a few friends I think we found a work around. Stay tuned for a new build thread.

[BenevolentDictator]

You're a lucky man. That is a beautiful Avalon and she'll treat you well. Can't wait to see how this one turns out.

Well… this is the beginning of the end for the Malibu. If all goes according to plan (even though it rarely does) it’ll make it to the fall meet in VA for one last demo session. I am purchasing a new car & should be picking it up within the next week or so. A buddy of mine is buying the ‘Bu for his son but can’t take it until Sept so I’m hoping to still have it come meet time.

The new ride:



2014 Toyota Avalon, 1 old lady owner, 35k miles and not a flaw on it… for now. It does have the JBL system in it so it’s already creating a few headaches as far as getting my radio in but with the help of a few friends I think we found a work around. Stay tuned for a new build thread.

[Stycker]

Way to go. Can't go wrong with a Toyota. Hope to see you in VA. If you get a chance stop by SVR this weekend.