brakes, did i get a good deal

camaro03

Registered User
my accumulator is out on m sc, i was at the swap meet saturday and there was a whole brake system, master cylinder, abs motor, accumulator, electronic booster and front calipers cheap,he said it worked great, is there anyway i can tell if its good before putting it on, oh by the way what are the torque specs on it and do i have to take off the ic tubes to get the accumulator off, it looks pretty close, thanks
 
Depends on how much you paid.

The problem with the accumulators is that they are made from a rubber bladder filled with nitrogen gas placed inside a steel container. The nitrogen gas filled bladder compresses as the ABS pump pressurizes the hydraulic system. It then helps to hold this pressure as you use the brakes allowing the ABS pump to not need to cycle so much. The accumulator stores the energy.

The problem comes from the fact that the rubber bladder eventually degrades to the point that the nitrogen gas is able to escape.

The rubber degrades over time and use. But even a new one sitting on the shelf for 15 years may have degraded sufficiently to release the nitrogen charge.

Thus the only known good accumulator is a rebuilt accumulator.

Probably the best thing is to take the assembly you purchased and send it in to be rebuilt.
 
"Thus the only known good accumulator is a rebuilt accumulator."

They aren't rebuildable, they have to be manufactured. Thus the only good one is a new one. Although its concievable that one which bench tests OK MIGHT show up in a rebuilt HCU. I'd check with a rebuilder before ordering one. I recall from some old thread that priorreman used to use the old ones, but that the number of warranty returns made them stop that and go with new ones.

If you talk to a rebuilder and they use the phrase "replaced if necessary" for the accumulator, go find another rebuilder. Thats the sign of a poor quality part. Thats the same sort of thing with rebuilt compressors and why they are such POS(s).
 
I guess I wasn't specific enough. I can't imagine a accumulator that can be rebuilt without effectively re-manufacturing it.

A new bladder will need to be used plus a refill of nitrogen to the proper pressure. The steel container should be able to be reused.

Any rebuild that doesn't include replacement of the bladder with a new one is certain to fail again.
 
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