VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 suddenly no brakes

Hey Glyn, I don't think anybody would argue about the importance of 'good' brakes and finding the problem and so on. And I certainly don't want to get into a 'word game.' But.... Gary hasn't really said anything about puddles (of brake fluid) on the floor. As I recall, early on in this whole thing he said something along the lines of he didn't see "much brake fluid on the floor." I guess "not much" can mean different things to different folks.

I'd say the bottomline is everybody has been urging him to use caution. For instance, when I suggested checking the fluid everytime he took the car out, I meant taking it out in the driveway or just up and down the street in front of his house. Certainly NOT on a 50 mile per hour "test drive" of the brakes type of thing.

Well anyway, it sounds like Gary is a sensible guy and will use caution. I do think (as I've already said) to be completely confident that all is well, a complete brake job is probably necessary.

Bill.

If there is no brake fluid leaking, then it hasn't leaked out.

2c worth, check for worn shoes and adjust the brakes.
Steep and windy roads will take their toll on brakes.

Keep it between the ditches and sunny side up.

Update on brakes. Just to clarrify; I have not had any big puddles, just some apparent oil leakage on the floor of my garage. After taking the car to my mechanics, they tell me that they cannot spot any leakage. They have checked over several days. Since they are in the valley, I decided to take the old girl out Friday and see how things would turn out. I drove about 25 miles total, testing the brakes periodically and they functioned great. The garage is going to check all of the wheels, etc before I pick her up.

One previous suggestion was that perhaps the car had a brake job before I purchased it and it was not driven much after that. Next, I buy the car and start driving on a regular basis. The fluid that was in the M/C gets dispersed throughout the system (because I am driving the car) and therefore drains the M/C. Thats why things now seem normal again once I re-filled the M/C. Does this scenerio sound plausible?? Thanks.

Yes, that is one scenario that had occurred to me.
I think that Antique Mechanic was the one who mentioned this too.

I was going to mention a scenario where:

The brake work is done, but the master cylinder is not refilled.
The brakes are not adjusted as per Chevy's procedure.
Normal use of the brakes empties the master cylinder.
(When the brakes are not adjusted properly, it takes more fluid than normal to bring the shoes into contact with the drums.)
The brakes become more and more spongy as the shoes wear.
At some point the shoes wear enough that the fluid does not return to the master cylinder, and the brake pedal then goes to the floor.

However, since you had not mentioned anything about spongy brakes, I didn't.

As I had mentioned in my last post:

If there are no leaks, then it has not leaked out.

But, the brake fluid still had to go somewhere.
I think that it is in the wheel cylinders, and adjusting the brakes will bring it back.
Since the master cylinder was refilled, this will overflow it.

Keep us informed on what the garage finds.

I agree with the scenario above but still feel, as I stated in my earlier reply, that until you bleed the brakes you will have a problem. The brake fluid system is a hydraulic system and hydraulic systems do not work with air in them. Even if there is no leak, air will get into the system if for some reason the master cylinder is not full. The only way to remove it is to bleed the brakes and make sure the master cylinder is full while that is being done. "Spongy" brakes is only one more symptom of air in the lines. Beamer

The lines and cylinders MUST be filled with fluid or you will have no pedal. That is why the air must be bleed from the system. I would continue to check the fluid level from time to time and see what happens between now and next Spring. If fluid does not drop in that time there is no leak. I would still be concerned abbout the general condition of the brake system.

Update - The brakes were never spongy. In fact they seemed perfectly fine except that one day while pulling out of the garage, the pedal just went straight to the floor.

After checking things, the mechanics I use decided to replace wheel cylinders, lines and fluid. They said that they found JUST a tiny bit of fluid around each of the wheel cylinders. They also mentioned that there seemed to be dirty, cloudy fluid in the system and wanted to get rid of the old fluid. The pads were fine.

I plan on picking my girl up in a few days and I will update everyone. Thanks everyone.

I have noticed that most of the drivers of pre 1955 Chevrolets are several years past having to sign up for Social Security benefits. I also deducted that they didn't get to be of such a senior age by driving the last 50 plus years with questionable brakes. Therefore this is the place of the old careful and safe drivers of vintage Chevrolets, of course there are some noteworthy exceptions......

If I had of known I was going to live past 70 years of age, back yonder in my younger days, I may have taken more risks, and had a shorter but more exciting life!
:cool2:

MrMack is correct, old drivers dont get that way by driving ANY car with questionable brakes. Brakes and steering are more important than correctly running engine.
Tony

Well I've had the old girl back for several days and everything is cool. New wheel cylinders and all new fluid. I appreciate all of the input.

Good driving to all.

Hey Gary,

Sounds like all systems are go. Well maybe make that stop! At any rate, good to hear all is well with the brakes on your 'new' 41 sedan.



Bill.