Folks I need a little help here. Last Spring I noticed my Master Cyclinder was leaking so I put one I had gotten from the prev.owner on it. Well as time went on the pedal started getting tighter when you drove it for any length of time to the point of vibration by the time to put the car up. So sunday I figured Bad Mc so went and got another and put it on. Felt good So lets cruise around and I thought all was fine till I got it home and I noticed front wheels were tight. Maybe the proportioning Valve or anybody else have any Ideas. I have never seen anything like this before. Thanks for any ideas anybody may have Oh and its manual drums stock. Tim
Sounds like you might have restrictions in the front brake hoses. It's not letting the fluid travel back to the master. Which in turn, makes the wheels tighter, cuz it can't release the shoes.....In other words, your brakes are on all the time. Just a thought......
What do you mean, the pedal is getting tighter? Takes more foot pressure to stop the car? If so, could be brakes are fading because the shoes are too tight and they are over heating. That could be caused by a number of reasons. Could be brake hoses collasping and not letting pressure ease when you let off the brakes. Could be brake shoes adjustments are not working correctly. Just cause the mc is new, dont mean its good. There's no way the proportioning valve can cause the problems your having. It just turns on the brake light should one side fail.
Hey Dennis i mean the pedal is tight as in the wheels will actually lock up. After it sits for a while it releases.I will have to pull the front wheels and check the hoses. I was gonna replace them anyway so maybe its time. I was just wondering if it could be the valve but sounds as if its the hoses Huh? Thanks Tim
if your hoses are old they can swell up internally, kind of like arteries getting blocked,they are reletively inexpensive and should be changed every few years if your car sits for long periods of time. Or maybe they just need changing and never have been, many people don't know but most newer shop manuels say to change brake fluid every 3 years and keep it fresh. good luck!
Tim, Did you switch to silicone brake fluid by chance? I have been told not to switch to silicone from standard DOT fluid without changing everything. Seth
Hey Folks Went by Napa today and ordered new front hoses and Jacked up car and put it on stands. Pulled the wheels and hit the pedal and it doesnt release . So i let off bleeder and they released. Gonna try the hoses and I have new wheel cyclinders i am putting on also . Wish me luck . Tim
tim i hope all is better with the car. silly question... why not go to disc brakes? an easy swap and after driving my mavs with drums and did the switch... all i can say is wow! safer for you AND your car.
brakes How old are the brake shoe springs? They are what makes the shoes pull back in. Is the brake pedal returning to where it should be? Might be holding a little pressure on the master cylinder. Also for testing, start working your way back to the master cylinder bleeding pressure to see where it stops at.
There's a residual pressure valve built into the MC port, supposed to keep about 10 psi on the wheel cylinders to keep them from leaking at the seals. Maybe it's not working right, holding too much pressure in the lines.
Thanks for the help fellas. I put new hoses and wheel cyclinders on Friday and put about 50 miles today with no problems. Keeping my fingers crossed.
