Re: brake system problem

Posted by jfrom@kanter On 2014/6/11 11:40:18

Regular maintenance is needed on all systems of any car, especially safety related items. Cars that are 50+ years old and not used regularly should get even more attention. Manual brake systems need attention just like power brake systems and at the first sign of trouble diagnosis and repair are in order.

I recently purchased a very nice '56 400 with power brakes from a long time Packard owner. Upon purchase I went through the entire brake system and ended up installing our Bendix Treadle Vac repair kit, wheel cylinder and hardware. It was a simple, straightforward job and I followed the directions that were supplied with the BTV kit. I also found the instructions that one of the members here up loaded very helpful.https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/article/view.article.php?c8/404

In my case I had multiple issues with my BTV as the car had been sitting 10 plus years. The vacuum section had much fluid in it due to a leaking seal (which did create some light pitting in the canister). The lack of use and maintenance coupled with brakes fluids inherit property to absorbed water wreaked havoc on the BTV. While in there is replace the piston as well and went through and disassembled the vacuum diaphragm assembly cleaning all the various parts.

In my opinion the rebuilding was very enjoyable and rewarding at the same time. All turned out fine in fact I had a friend take my 400 for drive and he was impressed with how powerful and sensitive the brakes were, just like reports said when the car was new.

I have worked on older and newer cars in shop for years and have found that cars that are 10-15 years old do not usually need the master cylinders rebuilt/replaced, over that it is quite common. I had a similar issue a few weekends back at a shop I work at on Saturday's. It was a lower mileage 93 Cadillac Deville. One of my techs was pulling the car into the shop went to hit the brakes and they went to the floor and the car coasted out the other side of the shop (Note this shop is not part of Kanter) thank god the other garage door was open. The car had a catastrophic master cylinder failure. So it didn't matter at that point if it had a tandem master cylinder or not. What it comes down to is annual maintenance, inspection of your vehicle and how familiar you are with your car and how its systems work. Especially vehicles that will sit for long periods of time, as most of our cars due over the winter.

Brake fade is not directly related to the BTV/master cylinder. It normally is related to the lining composition of the shoes, over adjustment of the shoes or contact surface of the drum being glazed.

Thanks
James