Hi Jeff,
I would say that a faulty master cylinder is a good possibility by the symptoms
that you describe. Those symptoms could also indicate that the brakes need to
be adjusted (since pumping action seems to bring them "up") and/or air in the
lines. If the fluid level was okay, then it is not likely that there would be
air in the lines unless they were not bled properly to begin with. Having the
cover to the master cylinder finger tight vs. wrench tight (but don't over
tighten it) should not effect the amount of pedal, unless it was so loose that
fluid would have pumped out and caused the level to drop.
Paul
In a message dated 10/30/2003 11:12:47 PM Eastern Standard Time, JCantor791
writes:
>
>
> Over the last week or so, I've posted a couple of times with some questions
> on the brakes on my '56 Sedan. Performance has been good almost all the time
> but usually the third or fourth time the brakes are used after the car is
> started, the peddle goes soft and to the floor. A minute later they return
>to
> normal and seem to remain fine until after the car is restarted. Today I had
>a
> chance to look over the system closely and wanted to report on what I've
>found
> and ask a few questions.
>
> Up front, I had little difficulty removing both drums to inspect the shoes,
> wheel cylinders, and springs. It would appear that everything, including the
> drums, are relatively new; probably having been done in 1998 when the PO
>first
> got the car and had a lot of work done. I was happy to see new flexible
> lines, new wheel cylinders, and completely new shoes (not just resurfaced).
>
> In the rear, I was not able to get either drum off as the wheel nuts were
> tighter than I wanted to deal with in the dwindling daylight. I did notice,
> however, that once again the flexible lines had been replaced along with the
> bleeder fittings which leads me to believe that the wheel cylinders are also
>new.
> The drums appear to be in okay condition from the outside (not that that
>means
> much) but are also different which has me puzzled. Also different from side
> to side in the rear are the wheel nuts - one is 1 1/4" the other is probably
>1
> 1/8". I have to guess that this is NOT correct although it may not matter.
>
> Inspection of the master cylinder revealed no signs of recent repair,
> reconditioning, or other work which leads me to believe that this is the
>culprit.
> Anyone have suggestions on a source for remanufactured master cylinders (or
> rebuild kits although this is one job I'd rather pay a professional to do)?
>
> One last question - I rechecked the fluid level this afternoon just to make
> sure there wasn't any major leakage - there wasn't. When I put the cover
>back
> on I realized some time later that I forgot to tighten the cover bolt beyond
> finger tight. I also noticed little if any problem with the brakes when
> testing the car afterwards. Is it possible that I overtightened the cover
>bolt the
> first time I opened it up to add fluid? Could this have caused my problems?
>
> Thanks
> Jeff Cantor
> with a '56 Sedan in Trenton, NJ
>
>
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