Midyear Brakes Problem

[Mario Boni]

My 1967 non-power assist L79 pulls hard to the left under braking. The pedal now bottoms out as well. I bled the brakes and the pedal was nice and firm, but the car still pulled to the left. After a couple of days the brake pedal bottoms out again. There is no brake fluid leakage. Any advice on where to start? Thanks

[Bob R.]

Re: Midyear Brakes Problem

If the pedal is soft and there is not fluid leak you must have air in the system. Try bleeding again.

[Bill W.]

Re: Midyear Brakes Problem

Mario,

If the pedal bottoms out and there is no fluid leakage your master cylinder is in need of an overhaul. The seals on the piston are not holding pressure. This is an easy rebuild with a kit that's not costly but may not be easy to find. Remove the fluid from the master cyl., remove the line at front of cylinder, remove two nuts holding cylinder to firewall and remove the cylinder. The piston can be accessed by removing the snap ring at the rear of the cyl. bore. Carefully inspect the cyl. bore for rust/corrosion, if there is ANY damage I would send the cylinder out to somenoe like "White Post" for sleeving. If no damage is evident, clean bore and hone LIGHTLY with a brake hone. Clean everything like you are going to eat off of it and re-assemble.

Bench bleed the cylinder and re-install. I think I would also bleed each brake caliper enough to insure complete removal of all old fluid. Remember the rears have two bleed points. Good luck. Bill

[Mario Boni]

Re: Midyear Brakes Problem

Could a faulty master cylinder cause the car to pull hard to one side?

[William C.]

Re: Midyear Brakes Problem

hard pull would more likely be due to brake fluid on the brake pad at one location or th other, which leads to the issue of you are absolutely cetain no caliper is leaking anywhere ever so slightly? It normally will not show up on the floor...

[Mike M.]

Re: Midyear Brakes Problem

collapsed rubber brake hose will cause similar problems. mike

[Bill W.]

Re: Midyear Brakes Problem

Mario, I think you have two brake problems. If your pedal goes to the floor but no brake fluid leak is evident, then you have an internal leak in the master cylinder.

Pulling under braking is a seperate problem. First, get a firm brake pedal then address the pulling. If your system has not been fitted with SS brakes, now might be the time for a complete system overhaul. If your budget won't allow that then pull the wheels and inspect the pads for brake fluid contamination. Even a small amount of fluid on pads will make your car pull. Tell us what you find. Bill

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Midyear Brakes Problem

Late last fall we had the same hard pulling to 1 side on my friend's '66. Turned out that one brake hose was completely plugged. New hoses corrected the problem.
Jeff

[Mario Boni]

Re: Midyear Brakes Problem

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll start troubleshooting.

[Ray C.]

Re: Midyear Brakes Problem

I had the same problems with my 61, soft pedal & pulled to the right. If I pumped the brakes I could achieve a hard pedal. I replaced all the rubber lines and both problems were solved.

Ray
#36314

[Bob Lovett]

Re: Midyear Brakes Problem

Dude.......my 66 just had the same problem of no brake pedal(NO LEAKS just air))............bled the brakes & had a pedal for a few days & the problem would re-appear, etc,etc,etc.Got tired of the bleeding thing(had already replaced the master C.)..Decided to replace ALL the calipers,pads & lines.While in the process of replacing the left rear caliper....noticed the cross over brake line at the junction (left side)was loose!I believe that is where the problem was al along( no leak, just sucking in air!)Hope this helps.....:)