Brakes. WTF am I not doing / doing wrong?

[BentleyArnage]

Greetings. The triple loop dissipates heat. Apparently it works. I won't trap air. Tap it a few times if it makes you feel better. Your pedal issue is because your rear drum brakes aren't adjusted correctly. You gave it away when you said you didn't get much from the rear. Happens all the time. With the amount of heavy hauling we do, it's essential our rears work perfectly. Get in there and adjust the shoes. You may want to find an old fashioned brake shop who can arc the shoes to the drum. Something not done these days. But at the very least, adjust them until they barely drag. I mean you hear them touch the drum a bit while turning. Don't rely on self adjusters. They don't. Adjust them at every oil change or more frequently if you're a hairball driver like me. Upgrade your fronts to drilled and slotted rotors and ceramic pads. Wilwoods if the truck is worth it to you. I hope this solves your problems.

 

[BentleyArnage]

Another thought. Are your calipers sliding on the pins? I've seen this before. Another one. When you stand on the brakes, does the idle speed change? (running, stationary) What are you using for brake pads?

 

[96-2D-Hoe]

Greetings. The triple loop dissipates heat. Apparently it works. I won't trap air. Tap it a few times if it makes you feel better. Your pedal issue is because your rear drum brakes aren't adjusted correctly. You gave it away when you said you didn't get much from the rear. Happens all the time. With the amount of heavy hauling we do, it's essential our rears work perfectly. Get in there and adjust the shoes. You may want to find an old fashioned brake shop who can arc the shoes to the drum. Something not done these days. But at the very least, adjust them until they barely drag. I mean you hear them touch the drum a bit while turning. Don't rely on self adjusters. They don't. Adjust them at every oil change or more frequently if you're a hairball driver like me. Upgrade your fronts to drilled and slotted rotors and ceramic pads. Wilwoods if the truck is worth it to you. I hope this solves your problems.

The rear brakes have just been replaced and are fully adjusted. I will replace front brake components at some point but the cheap pads and rotors only have a couple thousand miles on them. I also figured I would try to get everything else/the pedal right first as replacing front brakes won't change that much if at all.

I do need to service my front calipers though as the passenger is dragging, squeaking and annoying me.

FYI The initial post was while I had a bad MC that had locked itself up. I've been through a few more since then.

Thanks for the suggestions

 

[BentleyArnage]

The dragging caliper may be your issue. They have to float in order to get full application on the rotor. Some of the MC available are pure junk. Might be better to hone the bore and build it yourself. Just a thought.

Are the rears adjusted fairly tight? You have to have some contact shoe to drum. I would recommend you find one of those old brake supply houses. We have had tremendous success with going back to the old way of doing things. We did the brakes on a 62 Corvette a couple of years ago. Customer wouldn't drive it because it grabbed and had issues. We replaced the shoe material with the same friction all the way around, scuffed the drums, arced the shoes to the drum and installed. Three test drives and adjustments, the car would stop like discs. Hammer the pedal, let go of the wheel and you get a straight stop. Believe me when I tell you that drum brakes these days are not working as intended. Get new drums and shoes, drop the shoes in the drum and see the amount of friction touching the drum. Less than half. Arcing will get you 100% contact!

Good luck buddy. Been there, done that!

 

[96-2D-Hoe]

The brakes work fine but the pedal isn't great/as good as it should be. The footbrake is a very good indicator of how much the rear brakes need adjusting and mine is right at the top.
I've had a firmer pedal already during this saga than I have right now. I'm not going to give up, or settle, as I've done too much already for that. Will see how I get on after I replace the brake booster. I'll also probably check the MC with another bench bleed, but I'll put teflon tape on the plugs this time and see if it really is drawing in air or not.

If I still have my original MC (Can't remember if I used it for a core or not) I will use that reservoir with the AZ Duralast MC I still have and prep it in case I need to use it.

Thanks for everyone's support and advice.

 

[OR VietVet]

I used to change boosters by just unbolting the MC and with the soft flexible lines attached just pushed out of the way and removed booster and never cracked a line. If you have room and long enough lines you can do that.

 

[east302]

Did the same on my 98, just moved the MC forward to fit the booster and didn’t disconnect the lines.

For whatever reason, the brakes were fantastic after that. Probably some stray bubble that worked itself out while the MC was tipped and jostled.

 

[96-2D-Hoe]

I'll see how far I can maneuver it without creasing anything. Haynes manual doesn't mention removing it.

Booster should come tomorrow.

 

[iamdub]

I used to change boosters by just unbolting the MC and with the soft flexible lines attached just pushed out of the way and removed booster and never cracked a line. If you have room and long enough lines you can do that.

Yup. I did my hydraboost conversion like this.

 

[OR VietVet]

Yea, just want to make sure the master cylinder is sealed tight and try to move it and keep upright as you position it to wherever you move it to.