My '72 has fairly new brakes all around...I've checked. The rears are adjusted properly, there is no pumping required, nor is it effective. All the rubber lines are new. The master cylinder is now a rebuilt copy. Full of fluid, the system has been flushed and bled and the pedal is firm. The pedal is, however, about 1-1/2" (I haven't really measured) off the floor when depressed. It may well be within specs (I think I read somewhere it's supposed to be 1" to 1-1/2" off the floor), but damn, it's too low for my liking. Have I just forgotten what it's like to drive one of these?
Richard Did you rebleed brake afters bench bleedding master , cylinder ,then starting at passenger rear ,then drivers side rear then passenger front then drivers side , giving atlest 3 pumps each time before moving to the next one .
Yes sir, Andy. I sure did. I guess the pedal is more like 2-1/2" - 3" off the floor. Maybe it's all I can expect. Perhaps BRAND NEW rotors and pads would bring it up more. Hey, it stops the car, even locks up the brakes, can't ask for much more I suppose.
Is the MC rod adjustable, maybe you can turn it out a few rotations? And the obvs questions, like are they real touchy or pulling?
I'm showing my stupid again, but what the hell. When I replaced the MC and booster in my Durango, I forgot to put back on the spacer between the firewall and the booster. The net result was actually the opposite of your condition... high pedal. Point I guess is, did you install everything properly? Also it could just be you getting used to it again.
If it stops fine (straight and smooth), I'd say it's the whole 'gettin used to it' thing. These old beasts don't steer, stop, or turn like anything built in the past 20+ years; they do these things worse. The only thing some do better is accelerate.
Unless the rotors are warped, new pads and rotors should not have an effect on pedal height...the piston on the caliper extends, and more or less stays extended as pads/rotors wear. A warped rotor will push the piston back into the caliper, requiring additional pedal travel to push the piston out until is begins squeezing the rotor. How did you go about adjusting the rear drums (I'm assuming that's what you have)?
Yeah, he said he has drums rear. I found one trick that works, oh, 60-70% of the time, and that's to find an empty and wide parking lot, pull up somewhere where you have plenty of room to reverse-fast! Accelerate backward as fast as you can, then stomp the brakes as many times as you can before the car stops, then pull forward and do it again until the rear tires skid. At that point, your brake shoes are very closely adjusted; drive forward and test-brake a few times to ensure you don't have any problems or noises.
One other thing, about the push rod; it should extend from the face of the booster, IIRC, .965"? I'll look it up, but if it doesn't, you should be able to sub in an adjustable one from a newer Ford intermediate, as I had to do that on my '74 Squire.
Essentially, the rod should be long enough that the pedal arm is just about at the pedal stop on the dash. If you can pull the pedal up with your toe more than a few millimeters, the pushrod is too short. Conversely, if it's too long, it'll not allow the master cylinder piston or pistons to fully retract, reducing brake fluid pressure generated during stops.
One thing that can be adjusted is the distance the pedal moves down before engaging the MC. If you look up under the dash you will see a bolt that accomplishes that. You want between 1/4 and 1/2" of play. The play will be easy to feel when operating the pedal by hand.
I dunno' what I would do without you guys. I'll be looking at adjustments for it over this weekend. Thanks again!!
Does the pedal feel significantly loose? When I did my '67 F250, I learned that there were master cylinders for use with boosters, and MCs for use without. The difference is how deep the hole in the MC piston for the pushrod goes. The '67 pushrod from the pedal is not adjustable, but the pushrod between the booster and the MC was. Probably not your problem, but I figured I'd throw that out. Joseph
