My brakes don't hold the car still unless the pedals all the way to the floor. Booster is unhooked because it doesn't work and I haven't had time to replace it yet. I know I have a leaky wheel cylinder in the front, which I'm replacing both front wheel cylinders. Can I mess anything up by unhook in the booster? It doesn't work at all. With it hooked up there's a huge vacuum leak when I press the brake pedal. Caused the engine to idle poorly and run rich. Brakes have been fine but I'd like to have a more confident brake pedal......any ideas?
Your profile say's it your daily driver.. You probably don't want hear it but, any idea's would be to fix everything. Wheel cylinders first at least. This is a single master cylinder car and you will lose all of what brakes you have left. It's a danger to you and others. To even have a soft pedal with the booster disconnected is telling you something. On a power brake car with it disconnected the pedal pressure gets pretty hard.
It's got a new master and new shoes and springs all the way around. I realize I need to replace a bunch of things but it's hard to do that since I'm 17 years old working for myself. I need a new radiator as well as a booster and wheel cylinders. I've ordered front cylinders and they should be here next week. The rears are dry and not leaking. Also my brake pedal is hard....but there's not alot of travel before it goes to the floor. When I adjusted the brakes a couple months ago the pedal travel increased and my front brakes actually grabbed more. I guess I need to readjust the brakes. I'm telling you this car has been nothing but costly. A week after I got it, the water pump went out. Completely. Left me stranded on the side of the highway.....at night......in a rainstorm. Then I had a blowout....so I bought 4 brand new tires. I've had them for 3 months. Then I replaced the master as well as shoes and springs. Also I did a total ignition tune up with new everything. But I don't have the dwell and timing set right; it's just "good enough." Also my driveshaft really needed worl so i saved up the cash and replaced every u joint as well as the center bearing. Took me 7 hours to do the work by myself. Ive been trying my best to keep thus car on the road!
Yup it gonna cost some money to have a nice car A bit more info as far as the booster and vacuum leak would help. How are you un hooking the booster hose? Are you plugging any ends as there will be vacuum leaks?
I disconnected the vacuum hose that goes to the booster itself. I taped off the vacuum line from the intake with electrical tape. I also stuffed the hole in the booster where the vacuum hose plugs in to.
Depending on a 50 year old car as a daily driver and only means of transportation isn't a good idea. Even though the car only has 40k miles, stuff deteriorates with time. Its like playing whack a mole with repairs. In another thread you said the car is leaking fuel. My advice is to stop driving the car till you get the car sorted out. As PGSS indicated, your a danger to others at this point by driving it like that.
It's my only vehicle so I really don't have a choice. The fuel leak is very minor. It drips once or twice and stops. It's a work in progress.
When you replace the front cylinders, you should also replace ALL the brake lines while the system is open. It's big insurance for a single master cylinder system. You then have to figure out the booster leak as all the other work would be kinda pointless. Adjusting the brake shoes after all is down is gonna take some playing to get the it right, but either way drum brakes up front can pull the car left or right, and on the rear one tire might lock up before the other. Its kinda scaring me reading this, so drive sparingly till you get this fixed..
The cars been parked for a couple weeks. I've been borrowing a family members car. I'm not going to replace the brake lines because they're fine. They're not even rusty. (Welcome to the south) I've had to stomp on the brakes a couple times and have had no issue squealing all 4 tires
If I had money to buy another vehicle, trust me, I would have months ago. I have the option of trading or selling this car for something newer but in my book that is not an option.
Well the brake line mention is coming from someone who lives MA where lines rust out with a passion, not to mention exhaust systems every 3 years I wouldn't sell either being 17 and having possible years and years of a 66 Electra Just want to add, the brake rubber flex hoses do dry out so double check.
I sure did forget about the rubber hoses. I'll have a look at them. But why replace something if it's not broken? I've learned a few times on this car that if it's not broken don't mess with it or it WILL be broken!
Replace the wheel cylinders and rubber hoses. Replace the booster or have it rebuilt. Brakes are #1 when it comes to driving your car. Make sure your emergency brake works, especially with the single reservoir master.
I know I made it out like my brakes barely work. They do work but they NEED work. A new booster is $85 so I'll just replace it. I'm replacing the front wheel cylinders thus week then when I get some more cash I'll replace the rears.
The hoses may look fine, but they can clog easily. The inside diameter is only about 3/32 wide, even though the OD is about 3/8". Then bleed, bleed, and bleed again
Hey Jonah... Been watching this from the side and have a few comments that may either hinder or help you. Two years ago, I changed my stuff out, half for cosmetics and half for reliability. Booster, rebuilt DOUBLE RESERVOIR master cylinder and a few new lines (steel tubing). The pedal was always at the top (good) but ROCK HARD (bad). I always had a hard time bleeding the rear brakes due to a collapsed flex hose from the frame of the car to the "T" on the rear end that goes to either side. With brakes, the Government dictates many mandates against failure. The hoses wont necessarily burst, but can collapse inside and thats what mine was about. Looked perfect externally. STANDING on the pedal to bleed would net a drop or two of juice out the wheel cylinders on the back. Personally, there is absolutely no question whatsoever that you should change over to a double well master cylinder. Power booster or not, theres no worse feeling in the world than having 4000 lbs rolling even 25 mph when the pedal hits the floor. Invest all your time, money and energy in that upgrade PLEASE! Then move on from there. Next step, is to buy an el cheapo inverted flare flaring tool from Harbor Fright. They work fine for once in a while use. A 50 foot coil of new brake line is only about $25.00. I tend to generalize on prices! Deal with it! The steel tubing can look like new, but with new and improved brake fluids coming out all the time, and the internal corrosion issue is omnipresent. DOT 5 is a silicone based oil. It wont absorb moisture. The old DOT 3 is HYDROSCOPIC and if used from an open can can introduce moisture into the system and have it rot out from the INSIDE. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE CHANCES WITH THE BRAKES !!!! Stay on top of this issue! The last pic shows the two ends on the hose. I couldn't even push a wire through the fitting. PLUGGED SOLID. ws
Jonah, Did the problem with the booster start when you replaced the master cylinder???? IF it did you didn't replace the sealing o-ring attached to the rear of the master. This could be the start of most of your brake problems.
QUOTE="telriv, post: 2789739, member: 6035"]Jonah, Did the problem with the booster start when you replaced the master cylinder???? IF it did you didn't replace the sealing o-ring attached to the rear of the master. This could be the start of most of your brake problems.[/QUOTE] I'm not even sure the booster had ever worked since owning the car. When I disconnected it I noticed no change in the brakes. All it was , was a big vacuum leak when I hit the brakes.
