Sort of Project

[dna9656]

10 hours ago, ArcticFoxCJ said:

 

Low brake pads don't cause a low pedal.  As you said, as the pads wear, the calipers fill with fluid so the pedal travel isn't affected.  A low pedal where the brakes engage firmly is typically an out-of-adjustment rear brake system when there are drum brakes.  

 

In this case, the truck is 4-wheel disc so it isn't likely to be that.  I should have been more clear, the pedal is not only low but incredibly soft, and the brakes never firmly engage.  So the first thing I need to confirm is that there isn't air in the brake lines.  (One way that can happen is if the previous owner had let the fluid get too low and topped it off too late, after some air had gotten into the hydraulic system.)  If after I bleed them the pedal remains soft, then the master cylinder is the most likely culprit.  

Well' wouldn't the low pedal be caused by thin brake linings when no one was keeping the reservoir filled?

[ArcticFoxCJ]

7 minutes ago, dna9656 said:

Well' wouldn't the low pedal be caused by thin brake linings when no one was keeping the reservoir filled?

 

In a case like that if the reservoir gets too low then you'll start pushing air into the hydraulic system, which causes a soft, spongy pedal.

[dna9656]

And isn't that one of the symptoms being discussed?

[ArcticFoxCJ]

12 minutes ago, dna9656 said:

And isn't that one of the symptoms being discussed?

 

No.  It isn't that the pedal is spongy, it's that it's very, very low to the point where I'm pushing it against the firewall.

[dna9656]

That sounds like a master cylinder gone bad. Or a major brake line failure in both circuits....

[ArcticFoxCJ]

1 minute ago, dna9656 said:

That sounds like a master cylinder gone bad. Or a major brake line failure in both circuits....

 

That's what I'm thinking.  Hopefully on Saturday I'll get some time  to dig into it.

[dna9656]

So, what's the scoop on your brake system?

[Niners 365]

So where you at with this project? Any updates?

 

 

 

[ArcticFoxCJ]

Yeah I'm waiting for my tax refund to pick up a transmission for it.  I'll go over the brake system at the same time.

 

Will update when that happens!