Re: [T3] Brake weirdness (stumped)

["Bill Niles" <beel@avicom.net>]

I recently had similar problems with my brakes.

Pulled the master cylinder out, cleaned and checked out fine.

Pulled rear cylinders, cleaned and checked fine.

Replaced the front cylinders with NOS parts because the front right was
leaking.

So after all that I still couldn't seem to get the brakes adjusted
right.....
Hit the brakes and the car jerks to the left a little bit....
Hold the brakes and the pedal sinks....sometimes a fair amount.
Seemed like every couple of days I was trying to bleed the system or adjust
the pads....still no help.

Finally a new symptom appeared.

If I hit the brakes a little harder than normal then it seemed like one of
them would hang up and not back off. After driving for half a block it
would release.

Well, from the pull I assumed the right rear, (after all the front was
new), pulled it again....nothing seemed wrong. After driving I would
sometimes check the rear by putting my hand on it and seeing if it was
warmer than the others....sometimes it seemed yes and sometimes no. 

It finally came to a head when one day I was heading out to Rugby practice,
a ten mile drive out of town. I pulled up to the school and suddenly there
was that distinctive hot brake smell. Got out of the car to take a look and
my FRONT RIGHT is literally smoking. Damn! Brand newæçÛírs too!

Well I got it home and pulled the tire off.....the problem was immediately
clear. It was exactly what Greg suggested. The rubber hose had a huge bulge
in the side of it. Disconnected the hose from the back plate and couldn't
push a drop of fluid through it. The hose was so old that it began to come
apart inside and clog itself up.

So the point is (after such a long winded story) after checking and doing
all of the things that you expect it turned out to be a simple rubber hose.
I replaced mine with new hoses from a Type 1, I have a '64 notchback. They
ran me $18.00 a piece for the two front hoses, (did not replace the rear,
yet) and my brakes have never worked so well.

If you are having strange intermittent problems with your brakes, you might
think about replacing those hoses.

Bill 


> Hi All-
> 
> My brakes (68 square) are acting up in a strange way and I am hoping
> someone can help me diagnose the problem. Here's the deal -
> 
> Today while on the freeway in heavy traffic I had to make a few quick
> stops. I noticed a pull to the right side and immediately thought that
was
> strange. Soon after that the pedal started to feel a bit mushy, and then
it
> almost went to the floor! Because I have new replacement front calipers,
> excellent condition discs, new rear cylinders/shoes etc.(and all *clean*
> back there) and 6 month old 100% replaced brake fluid that was bled right
> (I did all the work myself and the brakes have been *excellent* for the
> last 6 months) I expected to find my master cylinder leaking like a
sieve,
> as it is the only part (besides the metal fluid tubing) that wasn't
> recently replaced.
> 
> I got out of the car and checked the fluid level first....it was full!
> Then I got under the front to look for the master cyl drip I was
> expecting.... Bone dry!  Then I went around to each wheel to see if I had
> sprung a leak somewhere in the lines or at the rear cylinders. No leaks!
SO
> then I got back in the car and started to nurse it home slowly, as I was
> obviously par\ñz›out rearending/killing somebody. At first the pedal
> felt strange and mushy, then, after I used the brakes a few more times,
> started to feel normal again!  I did a few quick stops in an empty
parking
> lot to check them out and everything seems to be fine now.
> 
> My problem is that I can't deal with unreliable brakes! Even though they
> are working fine now I don't feel like driving it to work on the freeway
> until I figure out what the problem is/was.  Any clues or things I didn't
> think of/check?  TIA!!!
> 
> Dave Y.
> 68 Sqbk
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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