HELP-Keep breaking my brakes LOL..........

[R2]

Just venting here,,,,,

I finished installing my front SSBC disc conversion brakes,,,,,went smooth,,,new rotors, calipers,,MC,,,new lines,,put in a proportioning valve,,,bent up new lines,,,yada,,yada,,,,buttoned it all up.....

Went to bleed the brakes,,,,and proceeded to snap off a rear bleeder screw, ,,,,from the rear wheel cylinder,,,,,)(&)*&&,,,guess it was a good thing,,,,b/c as i was pulling the rear drums off,,,,i noticed my rear brake shoes were SHOT.......

Ordered a new wheel cylinder for the back,,,,and new rear shoes,,,,,,

Now the rear brake line,,,that goes to the wheel cylinder i am working on,,,,is siezed on to the wheel cylinder,,,,( not the nut itself,,,but the line as it inserts into the nut )....if i turn it too much,,,,the line is starting to kink,,,,(and will break ) 

so,,,,,i thought,,,i'll just replace the line,,,,,as it runs over the diff,,,,,,,,and hooks to what looks like a proportioning valve or "T" on top of the driver side diff,,,,,,,,,,,,,,that line is also "not cooperating",,,,,

I am going to try and soak it over night with some PB compound,,,,and see what happens,,,,maybe throw some heat to it....

What exactly is that on top of the diff,,, ,,,it looks like a PV or T ( has a small rubber nipple thing on the top ) ( looks like a Year One part if i break it,,,or the line going to it ) ?? 

had to vent,,,,,no biggie,,,this is all a "winter project",,,,( but wasnt planning on tearing into the rear brake system,,,,,thought it was just going to be a front brake disc install ) LOL 

[bordin34]

Do you mean where the line connects to the rubber hose? On my 73, it is a "Y" with a bolt holding it to the diff.

[R2]

I found some pics of the T valve thing,,,,,this is a pic from Year One,,,,,$20



This is the rubber line coming from the front of the car,,,to the T on top of the diff,,,,,,,,,,,,,,$32 !!



Not sure if i am going to end up getting into this,,,,,but the way things are going,,,,,i might just order it,,,and replace it all,,,,,and install new lines in the back of the car..........so far,,,what i have is ok,,,,,just not sure if i can pull the existing brake lines off it without ruining something............

PS,,,the "Y" or T thing on mine,,,,has a little rubber thing on the top,,,,,i didnt look at it too close,,,,is it just a cover ? or is there a valve of some sort inside ?

Can you get the 2 above parts anywhere else ? eg NAPA ?

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

You should be able to get the rear brake hose from RockAuto or NAPA etc....

The "valve" on top of the brake tee is actually your vent from your rear....

[R2]

The "valve" on top of the brake tee is actually your vent from your rear....

??

How does the T piece fit into or on the "valve" ( vent ) ?

havent taken one of these apart before ?

Does it come apart ?

[R2]

I found a pic of the rear vent tube,,,,,,,,,looks like it screws into the axle housing,,,,,I suspect the small "nut" keeps the rear axle T block attached to the diff ?

again,,,if i can get the rear line off the T fitting,,,,this will all be a mute' point,,,,,and i'll just replace the brake line itself,,,and not tear into the vent/T fitting,,etc,,,,,, ( but i am learning some stuff that i didnt know about ).... 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

I found a pic of the rear vent tube,,,,,,,,,looks like it screws into the axle housing,,,,,I suspect the small "nut" keeps the rear axle T block attached to the diff ?

That would be correct

[R2]

ALL DONE.............
I cut the rear brake line off,,,at the T area / vent.....and used some vice grips and got it off..........
Bent up some new line,,,,installed the new wheel cylinder,,,and put the rear brakes on,,,and adjusted them...........

I even bled the whole car,,,and the pedal pressure seems good,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

so,,,,i got new discs upfront,,,new MC,,,,,and now a new wheel cylinder,,,rear lines,,,,and rear brakes,,,,,,,,,,,,,this thing should stop better now........

Hope to test drive it in the next few days,,,,check for any issues,,,and adjust the proportioning valve as needed............

hope it all works,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[R2]

[firefighter3931]

I just noticed this thread Doug (spend too much time in engine forum  ) and it sounds like things are progressing well. 

Looking forward to a braking performance report. 



Ron

[R2]

Took the car out the other day,,,just up and down the street,,,,nothing fell off LOL....and it stopped....

Still doesnt feel right,,,,,pedal seems hard,,,but i think i am going to bleed it again...

Still feels like i have to apply LOTS of pressure,,,and it doesnt want to stop well,,,,at least yet,,,,

Not sure if it will take a bit,,,to get everything to seat,,,and breakin ?,,,,,,or that i need to bleed it again,,,,,which i am going to do...

I am also going to check the pedal pushrod,,,,,make sure it is adjusted correctly,,,,,brakes are not dragging,,,

I also need to find a "sweet" spot for the proportioning valve,,,,,we'll see.....

either way,,,its rolling under its own power..........

Doug

[bordin34]

Are they power brakes? It sounds like the brake booster isn't boosting.

[firefighter3931]

Doug, the pads & rotors need to wear-in so it takes a few miles. Several members have reported that braking improved with increased drive time. 



Ron

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

If you are running the manual disc SSBC kit, the hard pedal effort is "standard" equipment.   Bedding the pads in really doesnt improve it.  Its the bore size of the master they supply (I believe its an A body master)
After a few months of driving I got "used to" the effort, but I eventually converted to the correct Bendix power booster & corresponding master..... 

[R2]

Doug, the pads & rotors need to wear-in so it takes a few miles. Several members have reported that braking improved with increased drive time

Thanks Ron,,,i might bleed the system once more anyways,,,just in case,,,,I am hoping it is like you mention,,,and they will improve a bit....

Its the bore size of the master they supply (I believe its an A body master)

yup,,,,I didnt even use the one they supplied,,,and used a 73 Dart MC,,,,with the smaller bore size.......i have a solid cam,,not much vacuum,,,,so i dont run power brakes,,,just the manual setup....I am used to the hard "manual" brake feel pedal,,,but this is actually worse than what i had,,,,i am going to put a few miles on it,,,,and see what it does.....i also have to figure where to set the PV,,,,they give you some instructions to get it close,,,,,

I'll keep ya'll updated...........

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

SSBC also gave me the "design aspect" theory of manual drums over manual discs....considering a drum brake setup is a cantilever design that requires less pedal pressure due to the wedge effect where as the disc brake design requires the caliper to squeeze the rotor thus requiring more pedal pressure....
Like I said you'll get used to it and the added bonus of getting more than two good stops out of your brakes before they fade is a good trade off