no brakes

HugYourPlumber · Post by **HugYourPlumber** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 10:52 pm

ive bought a truck that has been sitting for 15 years got the engine running but it has no brakes. push the pedel and it goes to the floor. checked the master cylinder and the rear reservoir was empty filled it with brake fluid but it didnt change anything. wondering what it will take to restore the braking. the mastercylinder is 20 bucks for a reman at local parts store i will definetly start with this but im wondering if i will have to replace anything else?anybody every done this?kinda hoping its just the master cylinder and some brake bleeding.

Post by **FORDification** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 11:13 pm

If it's sat for that long with the rear resevoir dry, it is very likely the master cylinder is shot, so you can almost count on replacing that. It's also possible the seals in the wheel cylinders are bad or the cylinders themselves are corroded and/or seized up, but you won't know that until you either try bleeding the system or you make a preemptive strike and just replace them now.

fordman · Post by **fordman** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 11:21 pm

something else i've noticed my truck has a habit of rotting the brake line about midway back right where it goes over a frame crossmemeber. it has done it to me twice. so you may want to check for leaks on your lines too. the easiest way is to fill the master cylinder pump the brakes several times and refill the master cylinder. keep repeating this until you see fluid somewhere. if you don't start seeing fluid after the third try its probably going into your brake booster if you have one. which means like keith said the m/c is bad.

CamperSpecialCruiser · Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:11 am

If your going to drive this on the road, I would replace the master cylinder, front and rear wheel cylinders, and lines. That way it's safe and you know what kind of condition its in.

HugYourPlumber · Post by **HugYourPlumber** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 10:39 pm

replaced master cylinder and installed one man speed bleeders, brakes are working great now.pulls to the right when i brake hard but im sure the drums are rusted and in need of turning and shoes might as well do the lines and cylinders while im at it.

Chasbod · Post by **Chasbod** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 3:05 pm

I can't believe the pistons in the wheel cylinders aren't completely corroded. Hope you can get your drums off easily. I still have one that is stuck on. Haven't tried heating it yet. Probably will try some PB blaster first.

Maxum96 · Post by **Maxum96** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 9:42 pm

Just redid the brakes on my 71 F100. Due to the low mileage on the truck, I think everything was original except for the front brake shoes. Because of this I replaced or rebuilt everything. I honed and rebuilt the wheel cylinders. The kits for those were $4-$5 each. You can buy entire rebuilt wheel cylinders for under $20 each. I put new brake shoes on all the way around, $35. Got a rebuilt master cylinder, $22. Put new rubber brake hoses on the front, $18 each. The only rubber hose I reused was the one to the rear axle. This was because it showed no signs of wear or cracks. Total for my brake rebuild was less than $120 and a few hours of my time.

I'm finding it so much fun to work on an old truck like this because of it's simplicty. I went to change the spark plugs on my girlfriend's Korean V6 P.O.S. and had to take the intake manifold apart to get the plugs out on the back of the motor!

flyboy2610 · Post by **flyboy2610** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 1:14 pm

Maxum96 wrote: I'm finding it so much fun to work on an old truck like this because of it's simplicty. I went to change the spark plugs on my girlfriend's Korean V6 P.O.S. and had to take the intake manifold apart to get the plugs out on the back of the motor!

Sounds like what I have to do to change the plugs on my Taurus with the 3.0 V6!
Yea, the simplicity of these old vehicles is nice. Everything (well, MOST things) is out in the open where a guy can get at it.

Big D's 69 · Post by **Big D's 69** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 9:13 am

Hope it all works out.