Still no brakes! Losing my mind.

skag101 · Apr 12, 2016

1963 Sport Fury, Front disc brakes.
After having a front caliper sticking, I replaced both calipers and hoses. lost all pressure. I replaced master cylinder, no luck. I found a leaky rear cylinder so I replaced both cylinders and brakes, still nothing. Put on another master cylinder, nothing. I have bled all wheels twice and still nothing. Everything I can replace has been replaced and still no brakes. Does anyone have any idea what could be the problem that I am overlooking? Is there any way a front caliper could be bad without leaking? I have never had this kind of problem before.

Glenwood · Apr 12, 2016

i think if a caliper was bad it would be leaking. is the pedal just going to the floor?

Coronet 14 · Apr 12, 2016

Did you bench bleed master cyl. If someone steps on the brake pedal you can still spin the tires. Could be something with the pushrod. Is this a power brake car? Or manual brake car?.

GearAddict · Apr 12, 2016

I would look at the distribution block, easy to get plugged up if your lines were rusty.

furyus · Apr 12, 2016

At times, I've had so much aggravation, I would open the brake lines to confirm I was getting fluid. Try plugging the master cylinder fittings after bleeding it. If it holds pressure, it's good. If not, the MC is bad.you will need to work your way from there. The rear flex line is known for collapsing internally. I'm sure you have bled the car from the farthest to the closest to the MC, and your bleeders are at the top.

skag101 · Apr 12, 2016

Glenwood said:
i think if a caliper was bad it would be leaking. is the pedal just going to the floor?

Yes. Will not pump up at all when bleeding the brakes.

skag101 · Apr 12, 2016

Coronet 14 said:
Did you bench bleed master cyl. If someone steps on the brake pedal you can still spin the tires. Could be something with the pushrod. Is this a power brake car? Or manual brake car?.

Yes. I did bench bleed the M/C. It does have power brakes. The strange thing is that I had brakes with the old M/C until I changed out the calipers.

skag101 · Apr 12, 2016

furyus said:
At times, I've had so much aggravation, I would open the brake lines to confirm I was getting fluid. Try plugging the master cylinder fittings after bleeding it. If it holds pressure, it's good. If not, the MC is bad.you will need to work your way from there. The rear flex line is known for collapsing internally. I'm sure you have bled the car from the farthest to the closest to the MC, and your bleeders are at the top.

So, I should plug the M/C ports while it is on the car? didnt think of that to check the M/C. If the rear flex line is bad, would that keep it from holding pressure?

Daves69 · Apr 12, 2016

Post a picture of your MC and brake distribution block.

skag101 · Apr 12, 2016

skag101 said:
So, I should plug the M/C ports while it is on the car? didnt think of that to check the M/C. If the rear flex line is bad, would that keep it from holding pressure?

plugged M/C. It holds. something past that.

skag101 · Apr 12, 2016

skag101 · Apr 12, 2016

Daves69 said:
Post a picture of your MC and brake distribution block.

Posted.

skag101 · Apr 12, 2016

Glenwood said:
i think if a caliper was bad it would be leaking. is the pedal just going to the floor?

pedal is going to the floor. will not pump up. I plugged the ports on the M/C and it holds pressure so it is something past that.

Daves69 · Apr 12, 2016

So you have no pedal at all and you can turn the front wheels when pedal is fully depressed?
You are not losing brake fluid. Does the pedal provide any resistance and fades to the floor or just goes right down?
Did you manually adjust the rear brakes up?

Bobo · Apr 12, 2016

Is the bleeder at the top of the caliper if not they are upside down and can cause trouble

Daves69 · Apr 12, 2016

Bobo said:
Is the bleeder at the top of the caliper if not they are upside down and can cause trouble

I've heard that has happened to some folks also.

nitrojunkie · Apr 12, 2016

I am assuming that the m/c is good if you plugged it off and it held pressure as was suggested. It sounds like what Daves69 is saying. Try readjusting the rear shoes. Run them out a little more. The shoes only need a few thousands clearance on the drums. I ve had this happen before where there was too much clearance between shoes and drums and brakes would not pump up. Ran the adjuster out more on the shoes and then I had a pedal.Worth a try.

skag101 · Apr 12, 2016

Daves69 said:
So you have no pedal at all and you can turn the front wheels when pedal is fully depressed?
You are not losing brake fluid. Does the pedal provide any resistance and fades to the floor or just goes right down?
Did you manually adjust the rear brakes up?

Small amount of resistance then to the floor. Never enough to actually provide braking. I put new brakes on the rear and they are adjusted to practically rubbing the drum. Just before I quit on it today I did plug off the master cylinder and it held pressure so it isnt another bad M/C. I guess I will have to work my way back. Would the proportioning valve have anything to do with not having any pedal? Looks like the original. I dont see any metering valve for the discs. Some people say to check it but it seems it would just cause uneven braking if it was bad or plugged.
Bill

skag101 · Apr 12, 2016

Daves69 said:
I've heard that has happened to some folks also.

Yeah, the valve is on the top.

khryslerkid · Apr 12, 2016

I'm thinking it has something to do with your push rod.

If the rod is too short you won't be able to move the piston in the mc far enough. If it's too long or not inserted in the hole in the piston, it will have the piston located beyond the fluid holes, inside of the mc and won't draw fluid. If the new mc has a different depth hole in the piston, it will effect this.

Try taking the mc loose and see where the rod is.
You can also look under the dash and see what is going on from the peddle to the back of the booster.

I'm also thinking that the rod can come loose in the booster on some units. When you reinstall the mc things are not connected. (This last statement is just a guess. It's been awhile.)

Did everything work ok before you replaced the sticking caliper?

Still no brakes! Losing my mind.

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