How should Manual Brake pedal feel?

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jimmyray

jimmyray

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After thinking about it, I have never owned a car that had manual brakes! I recently switched my Duster over from Power brakes, using an old a-body rod with a 73 Duster manual disk/drum master cylinder from Advance Auto parts. I have the stock 73 Duster disks up front, and b-body 11 x 2 inch drums out back. I also am running the stock 73 power disk proportioning valve.

Question: I have bled the brakes, and the pedal at the rest position is similar to where it was with the power brakes. When I push the pedal, it feels similar to the old power brake setup in pressure, with a grdual slowing of the car. If I want to slow faster, I have to push the brake pedal with much more effort. If I stand on the pedal, I can lock up the wheels, but this takes a lot of effort. Also, the brake light comes on, which I assume is a function of the incorrect proportioning valve. Also, if I pumpp the brake repeatedly, I get no change in pedal feel, so I believe I have the system bled properly. I did bench bleed the master also.

Is this amount of effort typical?
 
If the brake light comes on it means there's a pressure differential from front to back. Maybe go back and rebleed your brakes.
 
Sounds right to me. In a manual brake car you are the brake boster. Want to stop faster? Just push harder.
 
What was the bore on the master? If its the 1 1/32" you may need the 15/16" bore. Just like DOn said, rebleed the brakes. This time you need to leave a front bleeder open when bleeding th rear or vice versa. Keep a test light on the electrical pin, and when it goes out, its centered.
 
I tried to buy a manual disc master cylinder from Advance Auto Parts recently and when it came in it was a drum brake master cylinder. The drum brake master cylinders how equal size reservoir where as the disc has a bigger reservoir for the front. When I brought it to their attention they said looked at my old one and said "its the right one, it will bolt up". I had them send it back and went to a real parts store. They ordered one same thing, then they did a little searching around and got the correct one.
 
I will check into the Bore on the Master, and also try to rebleed the system for the "balance" as you suggest.

Thanks!
 
jimmyray said:
After thinking about it, I have never owned a car that had manual brakes! I recently switched my Duster over from Power brakes, using an old a-body rod with a 73 Duster manual disk/drum master cylinder from Advance Auto parts. I have the stock 73 Duster disks up front, and b-body 11 x 2 inch drums out back. I also am running the stock 73 power disk proportioning valve.

Question: I have bled the brakes, and the pedal at the rest position is similar to where it was with the power brakes. When I push the pedal, it feels similar to the old power brake setup in pressure, with a grdual slowing of the car. If I want to slow faster, I have to push the brake pedal with much more effort. If I stand on the pedal, I can lock up the wheels, but this takes a lot of effort. Also, the brake light comes on, which I assume is a function of the incorrect proportioning valve. Also, if I pumpp the brake repeatedly, I get no change in pedal feel, so I believe I have the system bled properly. I did bench bleed the master also.

Is this amount of effort typical?
Click to expand...

My Barracuda has factory manual disc brakes. With a replacement Bendix 1-1/32 MC and new K-H calipers, the pedal is like a rock. Yeah, it takes effort, but there is no sponginess.

I recently switched to ceramic brake pads from Summit Racing and they are awesome. They bite right away, and don't fade. Unlike metallics, they work just as good cold. Cheaper, too. And supposedly they are easier on the rotors.

Oh, Summit also sells cross-drilled, slotted rotors, for cheaper than the "replacement" rotors, which never seemed to last. To me, they are a no-brainer. In your case, you might need to max out the efficiency of the discs because you are running a lot more rear brake than stock (11 x 2 vs 10 x 1.75).

Did you replace all the hoses while you were at it? Old hoses may not look cracked but can bulge under pressure and reduce the brake response.

PS: the Summit rotors and pads are for the factory K-H brakes -- I didn't make that clear.
 
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