1960 Ford Galaxie Sunliner with power brakes. All new shoes. Drums fine. Vacuum lines to MC are OK. MC full of fluid. no apparent leakage at back sides of wheels. All of a sudden, very hard pedal but no stopping power. Have not pulled the wheels yet. What could cause the hard pedal and no brakes to speak of?
2007-09-05 07:17:55 · 14 answers · asked by louganser 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Ford
It is definately a problem with your booster. To all the dummies who say air in your lines, do you actually know the symptoms of this? Air in the lines means the pedal will go soft and near hit the floor due to the travel. If the pedal is hard and there is mimimal braking, the booster is not working. Now before you change that booster, check that the vaccum line to the manifold is not collapsed, as this can also cause the booster not to function. (yes i have seen this happen) If the line is good, it's time to change the booster. Good luck.
2007-09-07 22:03:10 · answer #1 · answered by Mustang Mike 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rotors that are too thin could cause this problem as the brake caliper pistons has a limited range of operation, they can only extend a certain amount and beyond that the pistons are not pushing the pads on the rotor with much force. But the combination of a the parts with the new rotors could be the final parts needed in the problem. You answered the question when you said the brakes are working now. Factoid, Repair shops always say that's normal when they don't really know what is wrong with the car. This shows that they are not a honest repair facility.
2016-05-17 10:20:35 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well, i had the same problem on a 68 charger and it turned out to be 2 things,
1. that the brake cylinders were seized on the inside (not visible on the outside)
2. the brake shoes were not set correctly.
If the car was braking fine before, eliminate #1 and check the shoe gap to the drum.
if all this was changed recently, the brake shoes are still not "broken in"
hope it helps
2007-09-05 07:32:18 · answer #3 · answered by Chargerman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like the brake booster diaphram has failed and you are not getting power boost anymore. This will make it very hard to build line pressure to the brakes without a whole lot of manual force from your leg.
2007-09-05 19:15:49 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Definitely the power brake booster, if you get down near the floorboard and push on the pedal (engine running) you will probably hear a hissing sound. ( diaphram in booster leaking)
2007-09-05 07:29:12 · answer #5 · answered by Sophie B 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Two options: badly rusted/frozen lines or wheel cylinders (not too likely) or bad booster for powr brakes
Make sure fluid is flowing through freely by cracking a bleeder. Then check vacuum unit.
2007-09-05 07:21:18 · answer #6 · answered by chris m 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Everyone that said it was the booster is right all the others are wrong period. It is not cylinders or air in the lines or any other lame stuff they say find a booster and replace it and go on down the road.
2007-09-05 10:37:28 · answer #7 · answered by the tech spot 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Grease or brake fluid on the shoes, assuming that the brake shoes or the calipers are expanding.
2007-09-05 07:24:22 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check your fluid and lines, also most preferred is see a mechanic asap.
2007-09-05 07:22:05 · answer #9 · answered by Firedogfire 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I suggest you go full force (petal to the metal) towards a brick wall and slam on your brakes and let us know how you do...
2007-09-05 07:23:11 · answer #10 · answered by Contorted Brains 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋