I just had a new engine (B230) put into my '87 244 because a slipped timing belt on the old one killed it. BUT since the installation of the new engine, the brake pedal needs to be depressed past the accelorator and almost to the floor before the car will stop. Three months ago (before the old engine gave out), I changed all the brake pads and rotors and replaced one of the rear calipers with a seized piston. The brakes worked beautifully until the engine was replaced two days ago. Aren't the engine and the brake system independent of each other? what is going on?!

I have to point out that a compression test on an engine with a slipped belt is worthless. FIRST you install a new belt and get the valve timing correct then you test compression. If the valves are partially open during the compression cycle then you won't get a lot of pressure.
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88 765 w/2stage boost (TO.)

I just had a new engine (B230) put into my '87 244 because a slipped timing belt on the old one killed it.

I'm highly suspicous of this. Is that what your mechanic told you, and you just believed it? A slipped belt on a 230F will NOT "kill" the engine. It will just leave you stranded on the roadside. In fact, the towing bill might have been your biggest expense, because even to put the new belt on shouldn't have been more than an hour's labor. I really hope that your mechanic didn't just sell you that bill of goods just to get a perfectly good B230 to sell to somebody else.

With regard to your brake problem, one of the most common times for a master cylinder to go out is just AFTER a brake bleed or brake job. What happens is that during bleeding, many guys will pump the pedal all the way to the floor, because that will expel more fluid and the job will go faster. The problem is that an old master cylinder will get destroyed if you press it beyond its normal length of travel, because the cylinder gets corroded and gunked up beyond that. So with the system open on the other end as you're bleeding, the piston with its aged, delicate rubber seal will travel over all of that corrosion and get messed up. It can fail immediately or soon after a brake job. Lesson: when bleeding the brakes with an old master cylinder, only press the pedal half-way, or no more than you normally would when flooring the brake pedal.

Did the same mechanic who told you your broken timing belt "killed" your engine also do the brake job? If I were you, I'd pull the Ricky Ricardo on him: "You got some 'splaining to do...."

Thanks for all the helpful info, I went back to the mechanic and mentioned that the B230F is a non-interference engine but he said that he checked the engine pressure(?) and got a reading of 30(?), according to him, this is the equivalent of a lawnmower. As for the old engine, I was a little too late because it's already gone (to where, I don't know). The new engine runs fabulously but I'm not sure if it is the year he claims it to be (1992). The lower half of the engine is red (different from the original B230F) and the number on the timing belt cover on the front of the engine is: 1289092. Not sure if this helps to identifythe year. The flame trap is located under the intake manifold; I thought that from '89-'93, the flame trap was relocated to the top of the manifold?

Hi. Let's see... your mechanic falsely told you that your broken timing belt trashed the engine; then sold you a pre-'86 engine (viz., the location of the flame trap) that he claimed was a '92; and then he destroyed your master cylinder in the process of a brake job?
It sounds like you sent his kid to college; you should send him to the pokey by contacting the authorities. Start with the local radio (or even better, TV station); then contact the local district attorney's office, who will have experts to confer with and can check that engine.

Check for a torn up brake line.
You should be aware that a slipped or broken timing belt on the B230 engine is a minor repair. The engine is a non interference design engine which means that when the timing belts goes no damage can result, the engine simply stops. On other engines which are interference design a timing belt failure is catastrophic because valves and pistons collide.
Perhaps you need a hard talk with your mechanic about that and have him explain the braking problem.


--
David Hunter

Check to make sure the brake lines coming out of the master cyl were not damaged by the motor when they were lifting it in or out.
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88 765 w/2stage boost (TO.)

Sounds like the Brake Master Cylinder is going. The way to check a master cylinder is to turn the car on and without the car in gear and the parking brake on LIGHTLY press down on the brake. Barely depress the pedal. If the Master Cylinder is gone the pedal will slowly start to sink to the floor until it bottoms out. If you pump the brakes the pedal will get firm again. If you press the brake hard the pedal will bite everytime. It is only when you lightly press on the brake that you canm really tell if the master cylinder is going. I have used this method on 10's of master cylinder changes with great results. I don't see any connection with the engine and the brakes other than the vacuum applied to the brkae booster. Other than that the systems are independent of each other as far as I can tell. Good Luck!

Sincerely,

Nickvjr
1979 264GL 120,600