Re: DO NOT TRUST BTV

Posted by gone1951 On 2009/11/13 22:36:31

Quote:

Add Oldsmobile to that list. I have always defended the Treddle Vac but I think I may be changing my mind a little. When I bought the 55 olds back in 1976 it had been in a front end crash that did considerable damage. The guy I bought it from said the breaks failed. Sure enough the brakes were defective. Found the check valve between the intake manifold and the TV was stuck and not allowing the vacuum to reach the TV. Could have also been a vacuum leak as well. Cleaned it out and made sure all the vacuum lines were tight. The TV worked well for some 25 years and then began to give me trouble. If you tried a panic stop the pedal felt like you were standing on a rock. The pedal would not move very much and there was absolutely no breaking effect. I parked the car and ended up selling the car about a year ago. The new owner has installed a new dual master cylinder/ power break setup. Looks like a later model GM mounted on the firewall. Can't say I like the looks of it when you look under the hood. He says it stops a lot better now.


My opinion is that the TV was probably reliable when new and probably for the first 20 or so years. I'm glad my 51s brakes are standard and not the TV power brakes. The older a car gets the better off you are with nothing power to go wrong. ie I can still roll the windows up on my Packard but not on my 73 charger.