Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

I just took my Caribbean out of the garage after about a year. I stepped on the brakes and they felt very weak. The main symptom seems to be that the peddle is slow to recover after pushing down on the pedal. I thought of a vacuum leak, but the vacuum lines seem good. I pulled the vacuum hose and felt for suction, which seemed ok. The vacuum tank seems ok. I can only something is amiss in the Treadle Vac. Any Ideas?

If the pedal is slow to return it's possible the pedal is mechanically binding or something has happened to the rubber seal in the valving and vacuum is still being partially applied to pull the piston down. I think most likely would be something in the canister around the leather piston seal has either hardened or become sticky.

There is a single spring inside the unit which pushes the piston and attached pedal back to the top. Anything that provides resistance to the spring such as dry lube or even a gummy surface caused by deteriorating lube or worse, hydraulic fluid leaking into the vacuum side would make things slow to return.

I would check the fluid level to make sure vacuum has not pulled the level down. If that is OK let the car run awhile to heat the unit up and then work the brakes several times and see if things start freeing. If not then it is time for more comprehensive troubleshooting.

Maybe give us some history on the brake system???

When was it last rebuilt, How many miles haave u driven with no problems etc etcc.

The entire braking system was rebuilt about 15 years ago.
It has been driven very little since probably 100 per year.
When I push the brake pedal, it feels as though the power assist is gone. If I pump the brakes, the brake pedal does come up but with some hesitation.

I think it's unrealistic to expect a power brake booster to last that long with such rare and intermittent use. Ditto for the fluid it in. That's just asking for troubles like you're experiencing, and maybe worse. The car needs more frequent road use.