no brake pedal pressure

[49gary]

Hi all,

Need all the help I can get. Now working on my son's 1970 Ghia he purchased, and we do not know how long it sat. It had no brakes, so we replaced most of the brake lines and the master cyl. We drove it, brakes worked but poorly and car turned sharply left when braking. We replaced the front frozen cylinders and now we have no brake pedal at all. Bled all 4 wheels many times and still the pedal drops to the floor. Could use some help or maybe magic beans!!!

Thank you in advance for your help,

Gary

[Ian Godfrey]

A few things to look at.
Is any air getting in the master cylinder from perished grommets on the fill side?
sometimes even a new master cylinder can be bad, is it a 'reasonable' quality one?
Are all the hard line and soft lines leak free?
Check the soft lines closely as some times they swell up on the inside!!!!!
Then start bleeding the back wheels first, sometimes it helps to raise the back of the car a bit so the bubbles can rise up hill.
when you do the fronts put the back down and raise the front
Let it sit overnight and do it again, I don't know why but sometimes it all goes much better on day 2
good luck

[c21darrel]

start at the M/C remove connections and bleed it, be sure fluid from the ports. Then methodically bleed each corner. Good Luck.
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[49gary]

Ian an Darrel,

Thank you very much for the help. All lines look good, no leaks and most have been replaced. I bled the lines several times and finally decided to replace the new master cylinder. Auto Zone took it back and tomorrow I will discuss with Jbugs and order a replacement.

Thanks again,
Gary

[kent70ghia]

I have a 70 ghia also, and had very similar issues, replaced calipers, master cylinder, and still had problems. Finally I replaced the rubber brake lines, and that solved the problems. Good luck with your challenges! I purchased a master cylinder from jbugs, without looking, I think I went with the German one, and new brake light switches. A word to the wise, don't toss the old switches. I couldn't get one of the new ones to stop leaking, put one of the old ones in, worked like a charm.

[Eric&Barb]

If you do not know how old the flex lines are, then replace them all. They can look perfectly fine outside, but there is an inner liner that can break up to clog or even at as a one way valve.
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[49gary]

Hi All,

I am back with an update. I replaced the new mater cylinder with one from JBugs and it reacts exactly the same as the first replacement. Again after coming out of storage for many years I replaced the front cylinders and the master cylinder because they were leaking. Now with new cylinders and a second new master the pedal still drops to the floor. I have bled the lines many times using a vacuum tool and still no pedal. I set the brake pedal to match the clutch pedal about 8" from the fire wall. I have adjusted the brake pedal plunger all the way in and all the way out and still no pedal. The rubber lines look good and no signs of a leak anywhere.
I would appreciate any more suggestions.
Thank you,
Gary

[49gary]

Hi All,

I am back with an update. I replaced the new mater cylinder with one from JBugs and it reacts exactly the same as the first replacement. Again after coming out of storage for many years I replaced the front cylinders and the master cylinder because they were leaking. Now with new cylinders and a second new master the pedal still drops to the floor. I have bled the lines many times using a vacuum tool and still no pedal. I set the brake pedal to match the clutch pedal about 8" from the fire wall. I have adjusted the brake pedal plunger all the way in and all the way out and still no pedal. The rubber lines look good and no signs of a leak anywhere.
I would appreciate any more suggestions.
Thank you,
Gary

[49gary]

Eric and Kent,

If the rubber lines were bad should I be able to see a leak?

Thank you,
Gary

[49gary]

Dear all,

Could I have bench filled the master cylinders incorrectly?

I did my best at the bench but did not use a reservoir. All line holes were plugged and the top plastic nipples removed. The plunger was moved in and out 1 inch at a time and fluid added through the top as fluid came out of line openings they were unplugged then replugged then I moved on to the next line opening. Installed the cylinder and removed the plugs one by one and installed the lines. I think this is right but not sure all the air was removed. Since a vacuum bleeder was used I am hoping all air was removed. Any thoughts?

Thank you,
Gary

[Eric&Barb]

[Eric&Barb]

Also did you take apart the rear wheel cylinders to inspect?? If not, you should. Standard brake fluid attracts water right out of the air, then rusts up all of the cylinders from the inside out.

We went from 18 to 24 months between taking the brake system apart to clean out rust and replace that which could not be saved.

Switched to DOT 5 brake fluid and now getting about 8 years between working on the hydraulics of the brakes in our wet rainy PNW climate.
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[kent70ghia]

[jeffrey8164]

I’ve tried a suction bleeder before but not with good results.
I switched to a Motive power bleeder and that thing just works.

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[49gary]

Dear all,

Thanks again for all the suggestions. Sorry about the double posting not sure how that happened. Well, I bit the bullet and removed the master cyl. and bench bled it again. This time I also remove the reservoir and used it for the bleeding. Again, no brake pedal. Bled the brakes again and still no pedal. Tried sucking air up through the reinstalled reservoir and still no pedal. I give up. Going to have to take it to a mechanic.

Thanks again,
Gary

[Braukuche]

[Eric&Barb]

[Braukuche]

[c21darrel]

Did you confirm good or replace the rubber lines? are you getting fluid out of the rubber line before the slave cyl? its a process.
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Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Eric&Barb]