Do we really want to now.
Humm, probably not! but if you want to fix your car. Yeah most definitely you do
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Why did you put mechanic in parentheses
youāre either a mechanic . . . or youāre not
no parentheses
I, along with many of the other regulars, have been a mechanic . . . no parentheses . . . for decades
Iāve got WAY more ASE credentials than you
I passed my last L1 recert with flying colors in 2018 . . . the current composite car, as far as I know
Just saying
And by the way . . . I donāt advise guys how to convert their cars to mechanical brakes
Just because you know how to do something doesnāt always make it a good idea
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Thing about cars is there is nothing that canāt be done if you have the time skill and $$$ you can do anything you want to a car or truck including mechanical brakes.
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I recall reading this court case summary. Some guy wanted a custom high powered car. He knew enough to be dangerous but couldnāt fabricate any of it. So he went to a professional and the guy built what the customer wanted. The guy was out of his league and promptly wrapped it around a tree. Ended up paralyzed and was suing the guy who built it. His argument- as a professional, he should have known better than to provide this novice with something so powerful he would get hurt in it.
The point is, just because you CAN do it, doesnāt mean you SHOULD do it. Some half-butted rube goldberg mechanical brake setup is going to kill this guy or someone else. Just like you dope slap a bud that is drunk and about to do something heāll regret, responsible people are trying to discourage this ill advised adventure. You should be tooā¦IMO.
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good idea or not itās not your project and he didnāt ask for your opinion on it and no you donāt have more than me ASE cert. only last for 4 yrs on average. you got your 1st in 2018 I got my 1st in 1992 and there is a difference in a mechanic and a parts changer you must be a parts changer because of your comments also he is looking to do the work himself not having someone else do it for him no I would not do it for him at a shop but as a project car, I could build a mechanical brake system that would function very well with mechanical disk brakes! This is where you could start creating a mechanical disc brake system! also take in the fact that it is a 70s car so he isnt a hot rodder or a reckless driver so he isnt going to be pushing it like a bat outta hell or it would be so trashed by now he wouldnt think about keeping it. e41-8592_4|484x500
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lol ok parts changer
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You know for sure that there are mechanics and there are mechanics. Youāve been around long enough to know what Iām saying.
Just today a customer came in, drives a Buick LeSabre. He has a complaint of an intermittent vibration on acceleration. His regular āmechanicā referred him to us to have an alignment done, because he was sure thatās what the car needed.
Yesterday a woman with a Silverado brought her truck to us, her regular āmechanicā said there was a pinhole leak in her condenser and thatās why the A/C sometimes blows cold and sometimes warm.
A fleet customer brought in a van for us to check the catalytic converter. Their regular āmechanicā said thatās where the rotten egg smell was coming from. Apparently he didnāt notice the 10 year old swollen leaky battery.
Iām thankful that there are āmechanicsā out there. They send me a lot of business.
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What took you so long?
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Referring to the picture of a brake caliper posted above in post 92.
You would actually consider using go-kart calipers on an almost 2-ton car? I hope you mean just using that as an idea for a starting point.
Actually designing and fabbing brake parts (for a regular everyday street-driven car, driven like a bat out of Hades or not) would incur way too many liability issues, as @TwinTurbo alluded to above, even if the OP built it himself. He could still end up killing someone, if not himself, if (or more likely when) the system failed.
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Well to be fair the picture he posted is a rear caliper from an early 80ās Riviera/Toronado. But itās a conventional hydraulic caliper. The cable connection is for the parking brake mechanism. Enough to keep the car from rolling when itās parked. Nowhere near enough to stop a car when driving.
Iāll have to take your word on that. I did a reverse image search and found it here on Amazon, as part of a go-kart brake kit. Maybe that kit is using actual car calipers, or there is an error on the Amazon page, but it is also shown here, sold as a rear go-kart caliper.
The Olds calipers on Rockauto look quite a bit different.
You apparently donāt read very well
I never said I got my first ASE cert in 2018
However, I did say I passed my L1 RECERT . . . which means recertification . . . in 2018
And I never did say how many certs I had, only that I had way more than you do . . . based on your statement that you had 5
go ahead and believe whatever you want . . .
I understand you. You couldnāt be clearer. And I agree with you.
Speaking of mechanics and mechanics . . .
one of my current colleagues looks to be about 15 years older than me, so literally a generation older. Anyways, Iāve determined heās been wrenching about the same amount of time as I have. Yet heās not very good. His diagnostic skills are only so-so, maybe less than average, in fact. Heās not good at finding information. He canāt think outside of the box, which can be an important skill set, in my opinion. He doesnāt have a lot of confidence, either, which makes the supervisor(s) wonder if the guy knows what heās doing and so on.
The guy is fine doing simple things, such as scheduled preventive services, brake jobs, oil changes and maybe busting tires. But thatās it. And he misses a lot of stuff. For example, on an inspection, heāll miss that the pads and tires are worn. If you give him a check engine light . . . especially evap . . . or some electrical problem, heās pretty much out of his element. He has no concept of mode 6 data or freeze frame. Thereās good information available, and he has no idea what it is or how to use it . . .
Sadly, this guy might fit the description of mechanic with the parentheses
And his case proves a point . . . just because somebodyās been at their job a long time, doesnāt mean they were ever doing it well and/or correctly
Iām pretty sure heās not senile or suffering from early onset dementia or anything like that. I believe he simply was never a good wrench
I genuinely like the guy, and we get along very well. We have a good rapport, so to speak. But I donāt have a high opinion of his skills.
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I have no doubt you could do it. So could I and half the people posting here. But that doesnāt make it right to instruct someone else that doesnāt have a first clue how to do it. That makes you complicit and irresponsible.
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Tex-Rebel has been Banned . Good move by the Moderator. @cdaquila I would also suggest that all of his posts be removed .
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He only got a 1 year ban, not the century + ban given more recently wet wax guy and others. Maybe heāll come back and spew garbage again next year, wonāt that be fun 
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I donāt think he meant for you to use this part, but was giving you an idea of how to start and he mentioned fabrication and customising with that in mind as a machinist I can see where this is leading besides cars have to pass a state safety inspection every year if it passes fine if not we wonāt be able to have registration so why are their so many haters out here saying you cant. CANāT never could do anything do you think racing would have ever been created if cant had its way
??? No mechanical brake caliper exists for use in cars. So someone suggesting designing a brake system (the single most important safety system on a car) around something that doesnāt exist earns my scorn.
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so what HATER scorn all you want too do you really think any one is going to loose any sleep over your scorning. have a happy life scorning everything you dont approve of oh and the world dosenāt revolve around you
Mr. Fixit, this thread was started by what many believe is a Troll and then joined by a possible Troll who has been Banned . There are over 100 posts so you might want to read all of them before you criticize people who have made logical replies .
The idea of strictly mechanical brakes is a terrible idea and I hope you really donāt approve of it.
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