Re: Solid footbrake on 1948 22nd Series Touring Sedan (RHD)

Posted by HH56 On 2016/7/24 9:32:32

It should not be solid but rather in the same condition you left it when you drove the car in.

The first question is if the car moves. I would start the car and place it in gear. Try to move forward or backwards at least a few inches. If it does not, or there is considerable resistance, there could be something on the hydraulic side such as contaminated fluid which has swelled the rubber so the pistons can't move. In that scenario anything swelling rubber to the point the pedal couldn't move would have probably applied the brakes. If so getting it free from the storage space could be a challenge if the car has to be dragged out. You might have to crawl under and access a bleed screw to see if relieving pressure would free the brakes enough to roll it out.

If the car appears to move normally for at least a few inches then the mechanical linkage portion of the brake between the pedal and master would be suspect. Perhaps something has rusted or corroded. If you have a steel master piston and water got in the rear of cylinder thru the rod boot the piston might have rusted in place. Another possibility is something came loose, fell and is blocking and preventing pedal movement.

In either case I am not sure how you can determine exactly what is needed to fix the problem without moving the car from the storage space.