mushy brakes

[scarylarry]

I replaced wheel cylinders, drums, shoes, lines, etc. Bled the brakes, no air, no leaks. The pedal still goes to the floor. Sounds like something needs to be adjusted. Could it be something simple as adjusting the shoes?
Thanks in advance,
Larry
59-HT-430

[Ratboy]

Yup. The shoes should slightly drag on the drum when you spin the wheel. Adjust em snug then back off a couple clicks

[jopizz]

Did you replace the master cylinder? If not a leaking master cylinder will cause mushy brakes.

John

[scarylarry]

I did not replace the master cylinder, cuz everything worked fine last year. Brake lines were iffy and a couple wheel cylinders were starting to weep. I did purge the master when I replaced everything

[jopizz]

I've learned never to assume anything. I would pull it out and see if the back of the master cylinder where the push rod is is wet.

John

[scarylarry]

I'll try that, thanks

[cuul59]

I’ve been down this road a few times. Here’s what I would do in this order;
1. Adjust the brakes tighter than needed to see of this lifts the pedal
yes? Okay, just back them off a little. Some drag is okay.
no? Proceed below...
2. Rebleed the brakes a couple more times. Make sure you are doing it correctly. Don’t depend on a one person bleeder. Find a friend to help by pumping and holding.
3. Remove and inspect master for leaks. If so, replace it, rebuilding yourself is tricky but you can send it to a couple places that do a nice job.
4. Adjust the concentric on the Kelsey Hayes unde dash booster (58/59)
Not fixed?
5. Consider converting to a dual master set-up with an under hood booster. This is a much safer setup and worked great on my ‘59.

Questions? Email me directly at cuul59@gmail.com

[scarylarry]

Thanks Cuul59. I did just that any no more mushy pedal.
Now I've run into another problem, my power booster isn't working. Ive replaced all the vacuum hoses, but no dice.
When the engine is idling and I step on the brakes, the engine sputters a little. To me it sounds like a vacuum leak somewhere. Do you think it's internal? I've disconnected the reservoir vacuum tank and plugged the port.
Sounds like I need a new booster

Larry
59-HT-430

[OX1]

Thanks Cuul59. I did just that any no more mushy pedal.
Now I've run into another problem, my power booster isn't working. Ive replaced all the vacuum hoses, but no dice.
When the engine is idling and I step on the brakes, the engine sputters a little. To me it sounds like a vacuum leak somewhere. Do you think it's internal? I've disconnected the reservoir vacuum tank and plugged the port.
Sounds like I need a new booster

Larry
59-HT-430

You have that under dash booster I assume. I thought it was worthless even though mine was working.

[scarylarry]

Mine's the stop sign type in the engine bay

[OX1]

Was it factory that way?. If so, must have been a midyear change.

[scarylarry]

It was factory, mid year changeI guess. I've seen it listed as a 59/60 offering

[vermbird]

sounds like a bad booster. i guess the true and tried booster fixer is booster dewey in oregon. i recently used Karps in upland (LA); had it done in 2 weeks but the paint job was terrible. i had to strip the booster, sand it down and repaint it myself. also charged me tax on the $195 charge, there is no tax on labor usually. he said his accountant told him to charge the tax. look online and see whom you want to use. many of these places have several weeks wait time so your car is out of service. better tht your booster is in engine bays under dash ones are a pain to r and r.

[scarylarry]

I found one at Pat Wilson's. Said he had one on the shelf. Just gotta send the core back

[Sherman]

Hello, If the brake booster has a in-line check valve, double check that is on the correct way.