brake help

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hamsterhats

hamsterhats

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here come the embarrasing ?'s I have power brakes, disc front, drum rear. The dual master cylinder, are both resevoirs to be filled? Only the little one was full. There was a cut in the line at the pass side hose, fluid on the floor. I replaced the line and filled both resevoirs. The pedal goes straight to the floor with almost no resistance. Do i need to bleed the brakes? Can i do this alone?
thanks in advance.
 
New to brake systems? No problem usually the front resivore is for the rear brakes and the the larger rear one for the front usually the best way I find is to use whatever you can find whether a 2x4 or a snow scraper to press down the brake pedal so you can loosen the bleeder screw one at a time and then tighten it back up and release and reapply the pedal before you loosen the screw off again keep repeating this until you have a straight flow of fluid from the bleeder screw but make sure you don't run out the brake fluid resivour or you will have to start all over you can do it with the cap off the resivour but if you press the pedal down too fast you will spray fluid out.
 
so air in the lines will cause the brakes not to work at all and let the pedal hit the floor with no resistance?
 
Yes, you have to bleed and bleed them some more. It can be done by yourself, but easier if you can borrow someone's leg for a little while.

And welcome to FABO
 
a cut in the flexible hose that goes from an anchor point on the frame to the brake. thanks for the welcome six pack!
 
just did, need to bleed now. I can't figure out how air in the lines would render the brakes useless? Not doubting anyone, just can't figure it out.
 
Because air compress` and fluid does not. Thats why the pedal goes to the floor you are compressing the air.
 
hamsterhats said:
just did, need to bleed now. I can't figure out how air in the lines would render the brakes useless? Not doubting anyone, just can't figure it out.
Click to expand...

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/how_to/4213448.html

you have to bleed your brakes because it is a hydraulic system...it's dependent on the fluid doing the work. If their is air in the system, the air basically compresses and decompresses, causing the fluid to do no work at all.. Once you get that air out, you'll be set! READ the link above! :wave:
 
Yes, brake bleeding can be done as a solo act. There are a couple of inexpensive kits that have the needed hardware & instructions usually available at a parts store.

However, for a first time I suggest a knowledgeable friend to assist you or check your work. Last thing anyone wants is someone getting hurt over a botched one-man rookie brake job.
 
thanks guys, a friend is coming over tom. to help. good article judge, thanks! My remaining question is why arent the rear drums working, their resevoir is full?
 
You should bleed all 4 wheels even though your leak was in a front hose. The brake system is full of air.
A helper is a great thing :cheers:
 
Supposed to start at closest wheel and work around to farthest?? or viseyversey??? Never sure about that one!
 
an article that i read says to start from furthest and work towards closest. We will see how it turns out!
 
hamsterhats said:
thanks guys, a friend is coming over tom. to help. good article judge, thanks! My remaining question is why arent the rear drums working, their resevoir is full?
Click to expand...

The rear drums may in fact still be working, but since they only provide about 30% of the braking power, they can't do the job alone. You may never know if they are working or not until you get that pedal pumped back up. Geof
 
thanks for everyones help! Bled the brakes, i simply couldn't believe how much air came out! Now i understand why air can render brakes useless! The only thing now is that the brakes stop the car but in a panic, I don't know if they would do the trick. Any ideas? power brake booster? thanks again!
 
Another easy way to bleed them is to 'gravity bleed' them. Just open the bleeder valves and make sure there is fluid in the master cylinder, and let gravity pull the fluid out the bleeder and take the air out. Still want to bleed them but you usually don't have to bleed them a bunch.
 
Worried about panic stops, eh? Recall that maximum braking effort is achieved immediately prior to lock up. A locked up wheel can not be steered. The factory bias in the system is towards the front. Lock up the fronts and the car tends to go the direction in which it was heading prior to lock up. Lock up the rears and the back end wants to come around.

If you're still not impressed with the performance of your drum brakes they may be out of adjustment or the linings may be glazed.

The drum brakes are equipped with self-adjusting mechanisms (little tab that contacts star wheel adjuster). To engage them, drive backwards and apply brakes HARD. It is not necessary to be going very fast, 5-10 mph is adequate. You may hear a pop or clang during this operation.
 
I would suspect that you are used to the new modern brakes, whereas these are old school brakes and do not have the efficiency of the new stuff. One way you can maximize your old system is to make sure that you keep up on it's condition. First, make sure that you have bleed the system enough to have a nice FIRM pedal, not kinda squishy or feels OK, make sure it's firm. Next, if you have not turned your rotors and installed new pads lately, doing so will make for nice smooth stopping. Glazed rotors and pads do not!! While you have the calipers off, make sure that you inspect all of the seals and such, and lightly grease the ways that the caliper rides along. Make sure that the rears get their attention also, make sure that there is plenty of lining on the shoes and that they are properly adjusted. Changing the fluid is also a very good idea, but since you just bled them, you should have pumped enough through for a complete exchange. There is no substitute for maintenance on the older set-ups, unless you are going to go all the way and buck down for the conversion to modern brakes. $895.00, OUCH!!! Good luck with your system, Geof
 
hamsterhats said:
The only thing now is that the brakes stop the car but in a panic, I don't know if they would do the trick. Any ideas? power brake booster? thanks again!
Click to expand...
Sounds like you are making great progress on the brakes. :cheers:

Make sure the pads and shoes did not get contaminated with any fluid or grease while working on them. That will cause them to grab, if that's what you're referring to with "but in a panic".
 
i am going to check the brake pads after work, thanks guys!
 
Sounds to me like you just need to bleed the brakes more. There is probably still some air in the system.
 
If you have a prop valve, it may be closed, due to the leak. Bleeding all will re-center it.
 
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