71 Satellite Brakes seized up??

[Jake]

OK, I recently got my 71 Satellite back up and running after it's been sitting in my garage for about a year. Had it fired up, ready to move it out of the garage, dropped it into gear and........she won't move!! It's like the brakes are locked up. I tried to goose the throttle in hopes that it would roll forward, but she chirped the rear tires and would not budge. I triple checked the parking brake lever and it is not engaged. WTF?? :angry9:

A little background: the day before I pumped the brakes while it was running to make sure the brakes were going to work before I moved it. Well, the pedal went all the way to the floor:confused5:. OK, so I pop the lid to the master cylinder and...NO FLUID!! No biggie, right? I go to the local parts store and pick up some DOT 3, top off the master cylinder to about a quarter inch below the top and close it back up. Started the car, pumped the brakes and felt pressure. Got back out and open the master cylinder again to check the level, and added a bit more fluid. This time I noticed the color of the fluid was a muddy brown color. Not sure if that is good or not.

Anyway, I haven't any experience working on brakes other than changing pads and such and I am not sure where to start with this. She has drum brakes all the way around, and I plan on replacing the front drums with a disk system in the future, but for now I just need the car to be able to move and safely stop so that I can get her on a trailer and moved.

Should I bleed all the old fluid out and put fresh in?

Is there an adjustment that I need to make?

Any thoughts?

Jake

 

[MarPar]

with a muddy brown color, the brake lines/master might have gotten rust in it. poppin' off the wheels would give you a better assessment of the overall brake situation...IMHO a brake bleed/flush probably wouldn't hurt....they are BRAKES after all!!

im sure the guru's will chime in with more expert opinions than I. lol

 

[Moparsmitty]

I would remove the brake drums to inspect the condition of the brakes in general. If the parking brake was on all that time the rear drums may be stuck. You might have to tap on them with a small hammer to break them loose. You absolutely need to completely flush the brake system if there's any sign of contamination of the fluid. I use a vacuum pump to flush brakes. It's pretty easy. If you aren't sure about doing brake work, get help. Your life depends on them. And maybe mine too.

 

[PST]

I would pull the drums all the way around on the car IMO. Make sure that none of the wheel cylinders leaking. A leaking wheel cylinder can soak a brake shoe and cause the drum to bind. Secondly if you do not seeing any leaking from a wheel cylinder I would than pull the rubber boots on either side of the wheel cylinder and see is there is brown/ rush moosh between the wheel cylinder piston and the wall of the cylinder. If that brown crusty moosh it is time for a rebuild or replacement of the wheel cylinder. I would do this at all 4 wheel

Just something for thought as well. If you are like me and your car sit a lot because life gets in the way. I would flush the whole system and start using silicone brake fluid. It doesn't absorb the water like DOT 3, which is causing the fluid to turn brown with rust.

But again this is just my opinion

Thanks
James From
PST Marketing Supervisor
1-800-247-2288
Ext 316

 

[Jim Bob The Dancing Bear]

Are you trying to get it on the street or just out of the garage for more work maybe on a trailer?

if you are heading to the street you need to do yourself and your family a favor by going through your brakes. If you just need to move it in and out of the garage a bandaid will work for now. When the time comes to get it on the street you need to go through the brakes and make sure you are in good shape. People will spend thousands on motors but then skimp on brake parts.

I would check your rubber hoses also. There are 3 and north replacing if there is any dryrotting.

 

[Jake]

At the moment I am trying to just get it to the point where I can move it in/out of the garage and then back onto a trailer. I will be going through the brakes more at a later date when I am ready to put it back on the road.

I read a post on the sister forum with somebody having a similar problem with a Dart. The solution was to loosen the fitting a little at the master cylinder and bleed a little pressure off. I'll try that and see what happens and post back.

Thanks for the replies! :headbang:

 

[Jim Bob The Dancing Bear]

Remember that brake fluid and paint do not mix. If it doesn't matter let it drip, if it does make sure to catch the fluid in a rag or something to protect your paint.

 

[YY1]

I'd also jack up all four corners, to see which wheel might be actually locked up.

Empty master cylinders tend to rust because they're not painted/coated inside.

Discount/Asdvance had a m/c for my 73 at the warehouse and I picked it up the next day. It was $20.

x2 on flushing the system after you replace the m/c.
It's a lot of labor, and goes much faster with 2 people.

Rebuilding wheel cylinders isn't bad, but reman ones are like $5 each from rockauto.

Don't try this at home alert~~~~I have no m/c on my 73 Charger, and it has the legendary "vise grip on the emergency/parking brake release" system in operation.

 

[Jake]

LOL, scary...but I've seen worse.

Anyway, I loosened up the fittings to the lines to the master cylinder and drained a tiny bit of fluid out into a cut off top to a water bottle. A trusty 2x4 wedged 'tween the seat and the pedal provided some assistance. That was just enough to relieve some pressure so the beast would roll forward. I was very excited (I think the car was too) to have her out in the sunlight again. Was good enough to get that side of the garage swept out and give the old girl a wash and wax.

Afterwards, I moved her around in the driveway a bit, just back and forth and it seemed like that helped to loosen things up a bit. I parked my beater daily driver VW to block my driveway....just in case, well you know. Anyway, car seems to stop fine at slow speed and no sloppy pedal travel. Not saying it would be suitable for high speed highway use yet, but good enough to get her moved. I even put it in neutral and pushed it back into place in the garage without much effort. Real happy at this point. :upside down:

Thanks for the help everybody.

 

[rodderstan]

Welcome Jake

This spring I purchased a 67 Coronet and when I was checking it out for an inspection sticker,I applied the parking brake. When I released the brake the lever released, but the brakes remained on. Had a hell of a time to free up the cables. I purchased new cables at Advance Auto,good price and they fit. Just a thought.

Good luck
rodderstan