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Old Sep 3, 2010 | 12:06 AM
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PV question...

I just went through my haynes, and discovered that i am supposed to open up the PV in order to bleed the brakes... can someone shed some more light on this for me as i did not have to do anything to get fluid to flow right out of the front calipers when i bled them the other day, im trying to trouble shoot why i have WEAK braking power only in the last 2 inches before the brake pedal hits the fire wall...

1973 f100 302 2wd disc/drum manual brakes
 
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Old Sep 3, 2010 | 12:08 AM
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by opening up its refering to something i use to allow fluid to move out of the PV but i dont know in specific what its refering to or if its 'open' and i close it i can get some more brake pedal?
 
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Old Sep 3, 2010 | 12:22 AM
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It's talking about the pin on the front of the proportioning valve. You're supposed to pull it out and hold it there while you bleed the fronts. This opens the metering valve (which is one component of the proportioning valve) all the way so that fluid can go right past, making sure there isn't any air trapped in the metering valve.

The metering valve is responsible for the delay between the front and rear brakes in a disc/drum setup. The brake shoes for the rear brakes have to travel a small distance before they make full contact with the drum, whereas the brake shoes for the front brakes ride the rotor surface at all times.
 
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Old Sep 3, 2010 | 02:31 AM
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Originally Posted by fmc400
It's talking about the pin on the front of the proportioning valve. You're supposed to pull it out and hold it there while you bleed the fronts. This opens the metering valve (which is one component of the proportioning valve) all the way so that fluid can go right past, making sure there isn't any air trapped in the metering valve.

The metering valve is responsible for the delay between the front and rear brakes in a disc/drum setup. The brake shoes for the rear brakes have to travel a small distance before they make full contact with the drum, whereas the brake shoes for the front brakes ride the rotor surface at all times.
so because i was albe to bleed the front disc brakes without pulling this pin out, is that in itself an issue with the braking system causing the issues i am having? or is this a normal thing with manual brakes? or a faulty PV?
 
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Old Sep 3, 2010 | 10:04 PM
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It's definitely a good sign that fluid is getting to the calipers, but it's still possible for air to be trapped in the metering valve. When it comes to this issue, instead of wondering whether or not having skipped a step can contribute to a problem, it's best just to do it correctly in the first place. That way you don't set yourself out on a wild goose chase.

To answer your question, is the pedal spongy at all? Can you pump the pedal several times to build pressure, or does it behave consistently? Was anything recently replaced that lead to this problem?

Proportioning valves have the lowest failure rate of the entire braking system. The most common reason people replace them is because they're trying to chase down a mysterious soft pedal issue, and it's the only part they haven't replaced. While they do fail, at this point if you're getting fluid to all four wheels, there are some other more common areas to look at first.
 
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Old Sep 3, 2010 | 10:37 PM
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The most common reason for low pedal is that the rear brake shoes are not adjusted correctly. You must run the adjusters all the way out until it locks the wheel from turning, Then use a skinny screwdriver through the adjuster slot to unseat the ratchet and allow you to reverse the adjuster until there is just the slightest drag when rotating the wheel.
Do this before you bleed or look for other problems.
 
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Old Sep 4, 2010 | 12:30 PM
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Originally Posted by fmc400
It's definitely a good sign that fluid is getting to the calipers, but it's still possible for air to be trapped in the metering valve. When it comes to this issue, instead of wondering whether or not having skipped a step can contribute to a problem, it's best just to do it correctly in the first place. That way you don't set yourself out on a wild goose chase.

To answer your question, is the pedal spongy at all? Can you pump the pedal several times to build pressure, or does it behave consistently? Was anything recently replaced that lead to this problem?

Proportioning valves have the lowest failure rate of the entire braking system. The most common reason people replace them is because they're trying to chase down a mysterious soft pedal issue, and it's the only part they haven't replaced. While they do fail, at this point if you're getting fluid to all four wheels, there are some other more common areas to look at first.
i continued to re-bleed the brakes last night and ended up putting a crap load of air in the lines because my son who was pressing the brake, was slamming it and spilt out all the fluid of the MC, thus... spending 2 hours bleeding the brakes last night.

while bleeding the brakes, the noticed that i was able to build pressure, even while bleeding them, the pedal wouldnt go all the way to the floor... i thought this was a good sign... but after 3 attempts of bleeding, pedal is super spongy still. i can pump them a couple times and there is pressure... but when i am driving it, it almost feels like the front brakes arent working and im creeping to a stop on the rears... not sure though

from all the threads ive read, the PV is in most cases self adjusting and an almost never fail component. i simply asked because when i went to look under the truck, the cable wasnt connected and the when i felt around the PV i noticed that i could pull the part out a little, i was just curious about that.
 
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Old Sep 4, 2010 | 12:31 PM
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Originally Posted by 4x4 Bart
The most common reason for low pedal is that the rear brake shoes are not adjusted correctly. You must run the adjusters all the way out until it locks the wheel from turning, Then use a skinny screwdriver through the adjuster slot to unseat the ratchet and allow you to reverse the adjuster until there is just the slightest drag when rotating the wheel.
Do this before you bleed or look for other problems.
my wifes grandpa asked about this last night, ive found it, but what direction does it need to be adjusted?
 
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