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1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Early Eighties Bullnose Ford Truck

Having brake problems....

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Old Aug 18, 2006 | 03:53 PM
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Having brake problems....

Ive got some pedal but really bad stopping power.......not losing fluid, though........Kind of feels like a loss of hydraulics.............Could it be anything other than the master cylinder???
 
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Old Aug 18, 2006 | 03:55 PM
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It could be a bad leak in the system, but if you're not losing fluid, then it's the master cylinder. The pedal sinks slowly to the floor when you hold it?
 
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Old Aug 18, 2006 | 04:04 PM
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if it is a leak, it is a very slow leak.

when you push the pedal, it isnt as firm as it used to be, not spongy though, but if you push hard enough it will go to the floor but the braking is horrible.......if you stand on the brakes it wont even come close to locking the brakes up
 
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Old Aug 18, 2006 | 04:18 PM
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It could be the master cylinder, but it could also be the rubber flex hoses. If they are expanding when you are on the brakes, they will feel like you describe. There really isn't a good way to tell if they're bad (there are three of them) but if the truck is an 86, they are 20 years old.

I would probably pull all the wheels off and do a thorough inspection of everything just to be safe. I know the rears are a royal pain to get apart if you have a Dana axle, but brakes are important. It might need wheel cylinders too.
 
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Old Aug 18, 2006 | 06:16 PM
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yeah, I think im gonna take a look this weekend and see if I can find anything
 
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Old Aug 18, 2006 | 07:39 PM
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Try this.

with engine off.
Pump the brake pedal 3 times and then hold it for 3 - 4 minutes.

Does the pedal slowly sink to the floor ?

Now try this.
again.... engine off

Pump the brakes 3 time and hold.

Now..while pressing on pedal.... start engine

What happened to the pedal ?


There wil be more to do once you answer these two.
 
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Old Aug 19, 2006 | 11:33 AM
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with the engine off the pedal holds firm........once I start the engine, the pedal does not sink...........could it be a problem with the power booster?????
 
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Old Aug 19, 2006 | 03:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Ken86F350
with the engine off the pedal holds firm........once I start the engine, the pedal does not sink...........could it be a problem with the power booster?????
Well...when does the pedal, "if you push hard enough it will go to the floor"?
 
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Old Aug 19, 2006 | 06:16 PM
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That's right.

You said Quote: "but if you push hard enough it will go to the floor .......but the braking is horrible....."

When does that happen ?

If it goes to the floor while driving... it will also go to the floor while sitting
 
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Old Aug 20, 2006 | 06:49 AM
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well, I dont know if it makes sense to you.....




with the truck off it has a firm pedal, start the truck it does not change, but put it in drive and it will roll.......you have to really stand on it to get it to stop.........the normal foot pressure doenst work like it used to.....
 
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Old Aug 20, 2006 | 04:50 PM
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Bad rear axle seals can saturate the brake shoes with 90 wt. gear oil resulting in almost no rear braking action (and it doesn't take much).
 
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Old Aug 20, 2006 | 05:04 PM
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if it did that do you think you might see some evisence of moisture around the drums????
 
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Old Aug 20, 2006 | 05:53 PM
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On mine (with Dual rear wheels), the left side showed just a little, none on right but both required replacement.
 
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Old Aug 20, 2006 | 06:04 PM
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maybe I'll pull the wheels before I go any further
 
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Old Aug 20, 2006 | 08:25 PM
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Before you do, remove the little covers for the adjusters (near the bottom of the brake backing plates) and use (tobacco) pipe cleaners to swab the brake drums. With a little care you should be able to work them all the way down to the braking surfaces. If they come out dry, no use to pull the drums. If wet, then you know you have to replace shoes, seals, etc.
 

Last edited by Piffery1; Aug 20, 2006 at 08:28 PM.
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