Master cylinder

[Eds56]

Thanks CNut & Rick,

The "massaging" involved cleaning up the mounting holes with a good file, a little grinding on the backside of spindle (where top bolt mounts) as the weld was holding it off slightly and a little sanding on the back side of the main bracket near the bottom...... basically the holes were slightly off and one of the bracket welds was holding it off from aligning good, i just dressed it up for a smooth well aligned mount and made sure nothing was binding as i tightened everything up evenly.

The deal with the B. pads is i don't know for sure what type they are. No box...no paper work but clearly D52 and fit just as they should. I was just afraid that with them being really OLD... plus there probably "El Cheapos". I've read previously that good quality pads can make a difference.

Next step will be to Re-Bleed and i'll try to do that tomorrow afternoon, if my helper is here when i get in from work.

Also, the pedal rod to MC is set so that IF i slightly pull up on the pedal then the clevis pin area clearly rattles..... but otherwise no rattle. Basically, i can remove the pin and put it back in by hand, But......Should i back this off a little more?

[Rick_L]

If the clevis pin rattles when the pedal arm is on the stop, that's what you want. If the arm is not on the stop, that's bad. In the other direction, you don't want preload.

Not sure by what you mean "if I pull up on the pedal". You shouldn't have to pull up on the pedal, it should go to the stop by itself.

A cheap pad should work just fine when new. Then wear out fast or degrade in performance sooner than a quality pad. You also need to break in a new pad correctly. Make some soft stops from less than 30 mph and see what else might need attention. (Like bleeding.) After that, make 2-3 moderate stops from 50 mph. If all goes well, then make 2-3 heavy stops from 60-70 mph. Allow 2-3 minutes between these stops so that you create heat without overheating. Recommendations on this may vary, but what you want to do is to increase the heat incrementally and avoid overheating. Cheap pads will usually "break in" more quickly than a quality pad if they are soft (usually are).

[Eds56]

Thanks Rick,

The pedal does rest on the rubber bump stop by itself but i do NOT have much rattle unless i pull up on the pedal a little. However, I can remove the clevis pin from the rod as it is, i thought that may have been close enough. Sounds like i'm close but may need to back it off 1/2 a thread or so.

I've only had her out for One quick test run therefore And I'm probably NOT describing my concern very well. Perhaps Soft isn't the right word....maybe it's more spongy. On first pump, the pedal travels about 1/3 to 1/2 of its total stroke and just feels soft. by the way, it does NOT go all the way to the floor (which is good).

All i know is, in that one test run, my first impression was "what the crap!! this is worse than the drum brakes" It just seemed to be slow to re-act. Example: @ about 40mph, while coasting in neutral on level pavement, hit the brakes one time and held steady pressure (very firmly) it took 5 or 6 seconds to come to a stop. Does not lock up either. Now If i pumped them then it seemed a little better.

[Rick_L]

Ed it's hard to diagnose this over the internet. What I would recommend is to make sure you have no preload with the pedal up. (Preload prevents complete bleeding.) Then bleed the brakes again. If you are still not satisfied, get some premium brake pads like Wagner or Raybestos.

[Eds56]

Well I adjusted the pedal to MC rod to have a slight rattle, re-bled the brakes (yes, there was AIR in the lines) & bedded in the pads. Now, I can report that They work MUCH BETTER now!!!. Might go to a premium brake pad in another month or so, when my next oil change comes up, just for good measures too.

Maybe later on i'll make the switch to POWER / BOOST (before i turn it over to my daughter)...... but based on today's run and feel of brakes, I'm gonna leave it be for awhile & enjoy.

Guys, I learned a LOT with the info in this thread....... THANK YOU!!

[Rick_L]

Glad to hear you made some progress. Sounds like things are operating normally now. Drive it a bit before you make a new call on this.