Chebe
Active Member
I have a 69 barracuda with this setup on it. I did get the emergency brake option on the rears. Anybody else have this setup and what do you think? I've had nothing but trouble with this kit and to the point of ripping them off the car. I've been fighting them for 2 years now. See list below of issues:
I did get the 15/16 master cylinder from The Right Stuff and the thing leaks out the top, so I barely keep the cylinder half full to prevent it from spilling brake fluid down my firewall or steering shaft. All 4 bleeder screws leaked and had to be replaced probably due to me having to bleed the brakes way too many times. Also got the rear proportioning valve and installed it but the car doesn't have enough stopping power to even need to adjust it from fully open.
If anybody has this setup, do you have any suggestions for bleeding (I'm about to remove the caliper from the rotor completely, stick a 2x4 in it and bleed with the bleeder screw facing straight up instead of horizontal to the ground or downward as they face while installed on the car). Last bleeding session was with a brake bleeder that forced fluid thru the master cylinder thru each bleeder screw that I thought for sure would clear any air in the system. Also, thinking about taking the emergency brake bracket off the caliper and cutting new points in it so that it will engage instantly instead of after a 1/4" of motion on the parking brake bracket located on the caliper. Currently with the 1/4" motion, the rear pads have slight play back and forth that makes me think there is too much play for constant friction on the rotors, thus lack of stopping power with a low pedal. Yes I've adjusted the hex bolt on the rear of the caliper but I can not get it to line up to where the bracket rests on the stopper without having to back the hex bolt off a bit. If the parking brake is fully engaged the pedal is hard and at the top. I've cut the spring on the emergency brake cable of the driver side a few coils because it seemed the spring was too long not allowing the cable to fully pull the bracket without causing it to bind up thus not engaging the parking brake fully. This actually seemed to have helped a bit as now the car will hold still on a flat surface only while in gear. Any uneven surface and the car will roll. I also just replaced the rear pads because they wore unevenly causing them to form a lip on the pad itself likely due to play. I just got back from Crusin' the Coast and was literally embarrassed because everytime I had to come to a slow stop the rear brakes would growl very loudly. I was hoping it was just a break in period but after driving the car about 200 miles they are still just as loud. Lastly, I'm thinking about stepping up the master cylinder to the 1-1/16" bore just to try at this point.
I've spoken to tech support multiple times and all I get is bleed the brakes again. "They can be stubborn." I can not get the parking brake hex bolt to move and I've driven the pistons out a good distance before I thought they might damage them, pushed the piston back in to have it in the same spot and also tried twisting the piston back in to have the hex bolt in the same position. Apologize now for the long, probably jumbled rant but I'm tired and pissed off with these dam brakes. I'm seriously considering cutting my loss on these and buying the Wilwood setup.
I did get the 15/16 master cylinder from The Right Stuff and the thing leaks out the top, so I barely keep the cylinder half full to prevent it from spilling brake fluid down my firewall or steering shaft. All 4 bleeder screws leaked and had to be replaced probably due to me having to bleed the brakes way too many times. Also got the rear proportioning valve and installed it but the car doesn't have enough stopping power to even need to adjust it from fully open.
If anybody has this setup, do you have any suggestions for bleeding (I'm about to remove the caliper from the rotor completely, stick a 2x4 in it and bleed with the bleeder screw facing straight up instead of horizontal to the ground or downward as they face while installed on the car). Last bleeding session was with a brake bleeder that forced fluid thru the master cylinder thru each bleeder screw that I thought for sure would clear any air in the system. Also, thinking about taking the emergency brake bracket off the caliper and cutting new points in it so that it will engage instantly instead of after a 1/4" of motion on the parking brake bracket located on the caliper. Currently with the 1/4" motion, the rear pads have slight play back and forth that makes me think there is too much play for constant friction on the rotors, thus lack of stopping power with a low pedal. Yes I've adjusted the hex bolt on the rear of the caliper but I can not get it to line up to where the bracket rests on the stopper without having to back the hex bolt off a bit. If the parking brake is fully engaged the pedal is hard and at the top. I've cut the spring on the emergency brake cable of the driver side a few coils because it seemed the spring was too long not allowing the cable to fully pull the bracket without causing it to bind up thus not engaging the parking brake fully. This actually seemed to have helped a bit as now the car will hold still on a flat surface only while in gear. Any uneven surface and the car will roll. I also just replaced the rear pads because they wore unevenly causing them to form a lip on the pad itself likely due to play. I just got back from Crusin' the Coast and was literally embarrassed because everytime I had to come to a slow stop the rear brakes would growl very loudly. I was hoping it was just a break in period but after driving the car about 200 miles they are still just as loud. Lastly, I'm thinking about stepping up the master cylinder to the 1-1/16" bore just to try at this point.
I've spoken to tech support multiple times and all I get is bleed the brakes again. "They can be stubborn." I can not get the parking brake hex bolt to move and I've driven the pistons out a good distance before I thought they might damage them, pushed the piston back in to have it in the same spot and also tried twisting the piston back in to have the hex bolt in the same position. Apologize now for the long, probably jumbled rant but I'm tired and pissed off with these dam brakes. I'm seriously considering cutting my loss on these and buying the Wilwood setup.
