Quote:
HH56 wrote:
I'm thinking the brake cleaner would not do any good with the problem. You could risk not being able to get all the stuff out to try doing anything with the system intact.
Doubt you will have had any engine issues with burning fluid. More importantly if it is sucking that much to be concerned about engine damage, I'd be more worried it would worsen and you would suck enough fluid out between a successful stop to have an empty master and not be so lucky on the next. I personally would not drive the car with the situation.
In the first case, the brake cleaner is so volatile that it dries off of parts and leaves no residue, so I think it would evaportate out of any fluid it mixes with as well. I'm fairly confident it wouldn't hurt anything, but just about positive that it won't help. I just like to try unlikely stuff that has an outside chance of working, because sometimes it actually does.
Failure of "rebuilt" BTV units does not surprise me, if these are purchased in exchange for a "core." The rebuilds are going to be done at a speed and with the care that suits economic interests of scale. I really lean toward having the unit rebuilt by an individual who does MCs one at a time and has experience with this type of braking system. There is at least one such person in the area. Also, I would trust my current mechanic to follow the excellent firsthand instructions provided by Ross, along with the Shop Manual's original procedure, to do a job on the original brake setup that I can have some faith in, with of course precautions in how I drive and my skill at getting to the finely tuned parking brake! I have a fair amount of practice with that already.
Evidently, these BTV power brakes were not blowing out on a regular basis when most of the cars were newer and out on the road in great numbers. Not just Packards, but other makes that used the BTV, would have caused unending mishaps if their percentage of failure was as high as the older and rebuilt units is. This leads me to believe that these things just didn't have a very long useful life, and were difficult to rebuild to a reliable standard, especially after they became rare and unfamiliar to most mechanics and rebuilders.
I kiind of suspect the pot metal construction is just plain not sturdy enough to hold things together to spec as it ages.
What's happening now:
I have disconnected the vacuum hose at the manifold, plugged both ends securely, and hence have a very firm pedal. Residual fluid did drain out of the end of the vacuum hose. I had to be very careful removing it and plugging it, as it is quite brittle. So far, so good.
So, no more brake fluid in the intake, but no power brakes, either. I plan to experiment with how the "manual" setup works out if the vacuum hose is plugged, and with it open to atmospheric pressure. Just another dumb experiment.
The fluid reservoir is empty, so I guess now would be the time to blast some brake cleaner in there and let it sit with the plug out overnight to evaporate. Then I'll top off the fluid and see how hard I have to stand on the pedal to get any stopping power.
No worries, though:
I'm an excellent driver. I drive slow in the driveway.
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