Somethings wrong with the brakes capt...

[onefastmustang]

So... I drove my cobra out of the garage today.. Was gonna take it around the block but I got an unpleasant suprise.. I couldn't stop capt..... I know I bled all of the air out of the brakes so I am a bit bewildered as to what happened.. Any suggestions of things I could look at??

I have th recommended Master cylinder from the build manual, a wildwood proportioning valve, 11" disc in the front and stock drums in the back from the rearend.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Wisconsin_Snake]

Question, when you bleed all the air out of the brakes, where you getting a firm pedal???
Does the car brake at all, or is it just braking real slow?

[onefastmustang]

The pedal goes 9/10 of the way to the floor before the brakes engage.. It will slow down but not fast. I must have bled a quart of fluid through the lines.

[Excaliber]

Drum brakes on the rear? If so, sounds like they shoes are not adjusted close enough to the drum. Your using most of the pedal stroke to 'take up the slack' and push the shoes out until they finally reach the drum.

Check adjustment. Air in the line symptoms are a SOFT spongy pedal, generally not associated with a lot of pedal travel as you describe.

[onefastmustang]

Yeah.. I checked those drums just now and they are pretty close.. I can barely pull the drums off. I used all steel braided lines and stainless steel hardline for the brakes. Maybe I should buy a pressure bleeder and see if I can get any air out that may still be in there.

[golfnutjetsfan]

something is absorbing the movement of the brake pedal and not transfering the pressure to the pads and shoes. examples; the pushrod is too far from the master cylinder, firewall flexing/master cylinder moving, brake rotor or drum not mounted properly and moving/bending.

[dscott]

Sounds like the rod between the master and booster needs adjustment. Did you buy the master and booster from us? We had a few master cylinders that were shipped wrong from the facctory where I buy them. Check your master cylinder where the rod engages. If the plunger is inset about an inch inside the master cylinder then that's the problem. The rod from the booster isn't long enough to engage the master cylinder. You will need to lengthen the rod. Give us a call if this looks like the problem.
Don

[byron w]

If you do not have a residual pressure valve in the rear lines they will bleed off everytime, even if your master cyls are above the brake lines.
Just a thought, also, there are different ones for drum/disc.
Good luck,
Byron

[Art Burtt]

Don,
Should the plunger just touch the piston in the master cylnder or should it
depress it a little?
Art

[onefastmustang]

The MC/Booster is the one that is called for in the build manual. I ordered it online, I think from Napa..

[Curt C.]

Did you bench bleed the master? Just a thought.

[onefastmustang]

I did.. but I also passed 2 quarts of fluid through it. Could it be possible that the master could still have air in it even with all of that fluid that has passed through it.

Is there any easy way to check?

[Curt C.]

Have someone push the pedal and look into the MC. If you see air bubbles coming up its not bled completely. Air or the rods not properly adjusted is my best guess.

Curt

[dscott]

There should be 1/16" clearance between the rod and the master cylinder. If your pedal is moving as far as you say then it's not engaging the master soon enough. Are you sure the brake pedal is in the proper hole in the pedal housing? I have a picture of the proper hole in my gallery.
Don

[onefastmustang]

I checked my installation I am in the 3rd hole like in your gallery picture. I did call your office and spoke to Pete. He seems to think that maybe I need to extend the push rod. My clutch and brake pedal are neck and neck as far as height goes. He seemed think the brake pedal needed to come out a bit further. Does that sound right? Is there a measurement for pedal height. I also ordered a pressure bleeding system and will rebleed the entire car in case I didn't get all the air.

[dscott]

It doesn't matter if the 2 pedals are at the same level. It sounds like you have everything put together correct. I would check the rod length.
Don

[onefastmustang]

Well I bought a pressure bleeder from summit and after cussing at it for a while I got it working and pushed another quart of fluid through the lines. I also checked the rod length like Don suggested and now we have brakes.. Yay.. Thanks guys..