Brake Problem

[NeXtras]

whats up guys..
so today i fixed my e-brake.. everythings working good, nothing frozen..

when i drive my truck, i have almost no pedal.. feels like it grabs, then stops and my foot sinks until the brakes grab again.. i can pump it to get a higher pedal as well.. i plan to go to the shop tomorow but any ideas? ive been told master cyl.. but im hoping its a wheel cyl..

 

[john112deere]

Errr...did you do anything that could have introduced air into the lines in the course of repairing your e-brake?

 

[NeXtras]

doubt it.. just installed the cables.. thats it.. lol didnt come off the ground

 

[john112deere]

And the problem started when you repaired the e-brake?

 

[flareside_thunder]

Is there fluid in the uhhhm reservoir?

 

[NeXtras]

yup.. at the MAX line

 

[flareside_thunder]

try bleeding them....

 

[NeXtras]

yeh.. going too.. it did this before and i took it to a mechanic.. he said he just adjusted the rears..
i put ir in reverese and gave a little gas and hit the brakes repeatidly trying to get the self adjuster to go.. if it did, it didnt help
nothing adds up..

 

[flareside_thunder]

time to pull off the drums and check the shoes....

 

[NeXtras]

shoes are new.. so is the left rear cylinder

 

[flareside_thunder]

might be the booster instead of the master cylinder...not holding its vacuum anymore....

 

[NeXtras]

ahh damm.. that could suck.. expensive?

 

[NeXtras]

if the truck is off.. i can pump up the pedal and it does become stiff.. and as i said.. when driving.. the pedal will sink.. but if i pump it, it will start to have a pedal again

 

[BKW]

The Master Cylinder is history, it's time for another.

The seals have hardened up, causing a hard pedal. This same problemo occurs on cars/trucks without a brake booster.

If the pedal sinks to the floor when you apply pressure to it, something is leaking. If it's the master cylinder..you'll prolly see no fluid leaks, because it's leaking into the booster, so you'll have to replace that also.

LOL...those self adjusters aren't worth 2 cents. They only work when you back up and step on the brakes.

But...over time....the thin self adjuster cables stretch and begin to fray, the brake adjusters threads gets rust on them. So you can back up to infinity...stepping on the brake every coupla feet...nothing happens.

If that cable snaps (very common) the cable guide comes loose and wanders around inside the brake drum. Sooner or later, usually sooner, the guide gets between the shoe and the drum. Step on the brake...the awful sound you'll hear will make you think you have an entire family of Scretch Owls living there.

Now...you'll need new shoes..and a brake drum, because the guide will chew up the shoe, and put a nice groove in your brake drum in the process.

NAPA offers kit that enables you to remove those worthless self adjusters.

 

[Chrono558]

NAPA offers kit that enables you to remove those worthless self adjusters.

Care to elaborate on that one?

 

[BKW]

Care to elaborate on that one?

How much more elaborating do you want?

I typed the problems inre to Ford's awful brake self adjusters.

When I worked the back parts counter (for nearly 30 years), we used to buy those NAPA kits, remove the self adjuster crap and install it.

 

[NeXtras]

hmm.. interesting.. guarenteed its the master cyl?.. i adjusted the rears up today.. were almost all the way down, no drag at all.. fixed that, still the same thing.. but if i hit the brake, pedal almost goes to floor, and i can pump it twice and it comes back up.. but once i release the brake, and re-apply, it goes down again..

this has happened before, and the shop i took it to said they just adjusted it, and it fixed it.. but now i dunno what the hell is goin on.. and how does re-installing the e-brake cables start this? or was it pure coinsidence..