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My father is having problems with his 66 to 74 conversion. He swapped everything and it all fits fine, but the brakes won't work even after extensive bleeding. Would appreciate any and all advice. Thanks.
Check these two things:
1. Did he bench bleed the M/C?
2. Check my gallery for a picture of the proper brakeline setup off the porportioning valve. It is a pic of a '78, but it is the same '73 - '79.
I already found your pic in the gallery about a week ago, never knew I would end up talkin to the guy who did the exact same brake job we just did. I saw the pics and things. I liked how you explained about the brake light switch, we have been brainstorming this issue.
nope, but I'm sure we will sooner or later. All of the lines are new and replaced, and I think we will take care of it tomorrow. I appreciate all of the advice, and if you come up with anything new please let me know. I'll let you know if we solve this.
The master cylinder should be bench bled before installing.
If you don't have air in the system, and you are not losing fluid anywhere, then the
master cylinder is no good. (even if new)
Here is how to check if the system has air in it:
Use a tape measure to measure from the steering wheel how far the brake pedal goes down with one "push." Then pump the pedal and hold it, if it doesn't go down as far, there is air in the system. Another thing you can do is have someone else pump the pedal and hold it, then remove the master cylinder cover and watch the fluid while the helper slides his foot off the pedal to let it spring back up fast. If there is air in the system, you will see a "gusher," a stream of brake fluid will shoot up out of the master cylinder reservoir. The air gets compressed by the pumping, and then it expands when you let off.
Also, to bleed the back brakes, there is a plunger on the proportioning valve you pull out.