No change in the pedal at all. I am thinking that my next steps are to use my new fancy venturi brake bleeder and see if that helps. I ran a whole big can of brake fluid through the car already, but that was with my sweet wife helping me with the pedal. This is what I got. http://www.harborfreight.com/brake-fluid-bleeder-92924.html So I must have a small air bubble in there or my MC is needing to be replaced. What do you guys think? Thanks so much!
Brake Fun Don't be too impressed Wolf , your brakes are not working correctly yet . A word about master cylinders : if the pedal is hard when you depress it and not spongy and doesn't slowly sink if you hold it down , it's almost certainly O.K. ~ pull back the rubber dust boot and peer in there , it there's wetness it's leaking and needs replacing or rebuilding . I see the rear drum is wet with something and needs cleaning along with the brake shoes , use only brake cleaner on the shoes , alcohol or starting fluid on a clean rag can be used inside the drum . Depending on what's happening , the adjustment may be fine , how much free play in the brake pedal proper before it begins to transfer fluid ? . It's critical that the M/C's push rod can be rattled my hand when the brake pedal is released . I like 1/4" of free play measured at the pedal . Remember : a pedal return spring that returns the brake pedal to the toe board with a THUMP is critical . I like the brake fluid bottle you bought as part of your bleeder kit ~ I'm never happy with vacuum bleeding , I prefer pressure bleeding but if you get a rock hard brake pedal regardless of height , it's bled and good to go , the low pedal problem is else where . Me ,I'd get another M/C filler cap and drill it , use it with my pressure bleeder , not exceeding 3 PSI . I assume you now have perfectly clear brake fluid coming out at each bleeder nipple ? . I'm in Grand Junction , Colorado to - night , it's balmy and nice the rains & lightning are West of us .
Nate, just to update this thread. A nice guy from the chrysler forum let me borrow a very rare and expensive brake adjustment tool. Oh sorry Nate I just saw you question as well. Yes I have nice and clean and clear fluid at every bleeder! So I did have some time finally to work on the car. Been far to busy, 2 young kids and one on the way, just started a new job Monday, having the house painted, building a 1300 sq ft deck and many more projects as well. Anyway Sunday afternoon I had some time to use "the tool" This is the major brake adjusting tool that Chrysler had. This tool is awesome. Love how solid and heavy it is. So I first checked my passenger front. This is the front one that did NOT have that strange angled rod. Everything was aligned very nicely. All nice and even. Just as I figured as the wear on the shoes indicate that it is set up nicely. Sorry these are the only 4 pics I took. I ran out of time later to take some more. And yes they are dark and not so nice. So I decided to move on to my drivers front. This one remember had the strange angle on the push I set up the tool and it too was nice and even. So I took off the springs and was able to reset that rod and the angle went away. It now sits as it should. Rechecked with the tool can't remember if I adjusted anything or not, but it wasn't much if I did anything on that one. Moved on to the passenger rear and found another rod that was misaligned. I missed that one the first time. Got it set in and all was well there. Good thing everything is less then 1 yr old and the rubber wasn't deformed or anything. It all aligned right back up and looks great now. Still no leaks or anything like that. Went to the drivers rear and one of the shoes was a bit out of wack when I put the tool on it. adjusted the major bolt and that too now is well. The results... The pedal is much higher now!!! I believe most if not all of the help came from getting those push rods straight. This and the adjustment brought it up from 50% travel, that would be roughly the low setting, and that would be where it would have stopped, like locked up the brakes stopped. Now it is about 25-20% travel. Much much better. Thank you all for your help with this! It is a nice feeling to win one and to get to know this car a bit better. On another note I went to a local Mopar show / meet last Saturday night. Great time! I was the oldest car there so that was fun. Another really nice restored 52 Plymouth was there but most all the other cars were 60-70's muscle cars. Sounded great for sure! So thanks again. I think most of my problem was from that bad angle on the push rod to one of the wheel cylinders. Car's pedal is nice and high now. Not as tight as my 52 but so much better then before.
Mo-Par Brakes O.K. , looks like you're getting there Wolf . The brake pedal will get higher as the shoes bed in and you re adjust them in the early morning when they're cold ~ this helps shrink the drums . Remember : proper adjustment has NO DRAG . a tiny air gap is critical for cooling , otherwise the drum heats up and expands as you drive leading to ever lower pedal and finally brake fade . The 1st. photo clearly shows the shoes un even wear top Vs. bottom . Those are ready for replacement . I'd rustle up a spare set of brake shoes and have them re lined then keep in a box with the spare water pump , points and so on .
Nate, thanks so much! I actually already have a fresh set of shoes for the rears. That first picture is the one that was quite a ways out of adjustment. The others were pretty much bang on. I think I will try to throw those new ones on now as you suggested. The guy is coming back through tomorrow to pick up that Miller tool he let me borrow. Now would be the best time. Looks like it could be another long night... Thanks again, I figured I could pick the most random vehicle and random problem and someone on here would know every detail about it. Just love that! Thanks so much
Fwiw ; I've learned here far more than I can ever give back . Knowledge : it's USELESS unless shared .
Very true Nate! Thanks again!!! I went ahead and replaced the rear shoes on the car since I had a relined set already. Really the only shoe that was worn uneven was that front shoe on the drivers rear side. I went ahead and double checked all of my other alignments. Adjusted the minor adjusters just a tad tighter and bam, pedal is now high and tight. Not quite as good as my gmc but 95% there. Much much better. I would say it was at 40-45% before and now its 95% perfect. Much more confidence in stopping now. That low pedal just isn't that exciting...
Correction : Low brake pedal is often VERY exciting , it's just not much fun . Different , see ? . Don't forget : those new brake shoes will bed in and the pedal will drop in 50 ~ 100 miles , don't forget to cold adjust them again . Properly adjusted brakes last longer and stop far better too .
Well I officially sold the truck. Deal won't be final for another week or so but he's going to a new owner. The new owner is an awesome guy. I enjoyed getting to know him. Now to take a few last rides in the blue truck. Don't worry though, I won't go anywhere. And who knows I maybe back with another rig sometime... Like I said I will still be around. I enjoy you all a lot. Great group here!
So now it is more official. Did all the paperwork this last weekend and now the car carrier company came and picked it up. It will be going to upstate New York area. So if anyone lives up there keep an eye out for the blue truck
Yeah it is. Still excited to see it go to a good home. To someone that will just like it for what it is. Not tear it apart and put in a modern drive train. Not that I am against that, just not for this truck. Their are plenty out there that are NOT good reliable drivers. This truck has never let me down once! That is after I figured out that carb thing... My oldest son asked me to get another old truck to fix up just like the blue truck. So maybe that will be in our future again as well
Told you I would still be around. I stop by quite a bit, just haven't posted for a while. So after selling my old blue truck it has been great. The new owner calls me about once a month just to chat. He has done some awesome stuff with old blue. He put in a nice wood bed oak, with SS rails, had the big dents knocked out PDR to not mess up the patina. Got a tail gate and dome some general other maint items. Main thing is he drives it and drives it all the time. Just loves it. Makes my heart happy that it is being driven and used as it should! Still driving the old Chrysler around. Had it break down on me last week, due to crappy Chinese made parts, the PO put on a new fuel pump and the pin that holds the cam arm to the pump arm worked its way loose. Apparently very common as lots of others had this happen. Well I fixed that permanently and she is back up and running. I am reminded why I let the old truck go every time I see all 3 kids and my wife and I in the car together which is roughly once a week. Thats what its all about.
Good to see you're still hanging around Brian. When you drive these old cars/trucks they'll let you down every once in a while, but if you're in it for the fun and can do a lot of the work yourself, it is no big deal. Yesterday (July 4th) morning the local volunteer Fire Department was hosting a parade for kids with bike/trikes and old kids with old cars. I had forgotten all about it and was on my way out of my neighborhood on my (almost) daily 12 mile bicycle ride. Two blocks from home I ran across a mid-60's Buick Riviera dead in the water, about a block from the parade's gathering point. The driver (older than me and obviously not in great health) tried to get it into the subdivision swimming pool parking lot, but couldn't get it out of the street. He said "it just sputtered and died". I pedaled home and got my '52. Drove back and attached my tow strap, then pulled him into the parking lot under a tree. He said it had gas. I pulled the air cleaner and pumped the carb. No gas there. Pulled the gas supply line off at the fuel pump. No gas there either. About then his wife showed up in another car, a late 60's Olds 442. I advised starting by putting a couple of gallons of gas in it and seeing if that wouldn't get it running. Back to the house and out on my bike ride. When I came by again a little over an hour later the Riviera was gone.
Nicely done. From all of us who have ever been stuck on the side of the road, sometimes for something as dumb as being out of gas, I Thank You. I have been on both ends of the proverbial tow strap. The most memorable was when I got my Camaro stuck in the sand. At Daytona Beach. During Spring Break. Many hands made light work!
Thanks guys! Yes it does come with the territory. Just the other day I helped a 5 guy and his bride in a 58 buick. Sweet car! They just had a flat tire. Glad to have this fuel pump back going and prevented from this common problem. Glad to see everyone is doing great still!
Hey, Brian~ I know you're driving a *car* now, but you can still post photos of it. Especially ones with happy occupants.
