Clutch and brake problems

[nuteman]

Hi All,

I've recently acquired a barely running 1973 240Z. It's been sitting for several years. With some new gas, and some starter fluid it will start when boosted (battery is dead).

Both the clutch and brake pedals have almost no resistance at all (though they do spring back). The resvoirs for both seem to be within spec. With the engine running I can't get the car into any gear.

I've restored several motorcycles, but none had a hydraulic clutch. One of them did have a hydraulic front brake, but looks significantly less complex than the hydraulic brakes of the 240Z.

Will I need to replace all master and slave cylinders for both clutch and brake?

Is it possible that a disassembly and cleaning of the master and slave cylinders will do the trick?

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[MikeW]

Originally posted by nuteman

Is it possible that a disassembly and cleaning of the master and slave cylinders will do the trick?

It's possible but you won't know until you start taking things apart. A good cleaning might do the trick but it's also quite possible that the rubber seals and hoses are beyond hope and need to be replaced.

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by nuteman

Is it possible that a disassembly and cleaning of the master and slave cylinders will do the trick?

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

It is possible that you "may" get by with disassembly and cleaning of the brake and clutch systems (don't forget to flush ALL of the lines as well); however more than likely you'll end up needing to replace the masters, and wheel/slave cylinders. Brake fluid tends to absorb moisture and turn to jelly which fouls and corrodes the sytem. The rubber hoses can rot and develop leaks as well.

If the car been sitting (unused) for a long period of time you may be better off (safety wise) to just rebuild the systems and then you'll know for sure that these vital systems are working properly.

Just my $.02

EDIT: By "rebuilding" the systems, I mean replacing the cylinders and hoses, pads, etc. making the systems like new. Not rebuilding individual cylinders as you cannot repair corrosion in these parts.

[Daniel]

Assume all brake and clutch parts are shot. I wouldn't waste my time/dollars trying to rebuild(yourself) any brake/clutch parts. I am a big believer of STOPPING!!:stupid: When the total cost of all those new parts seems high. Start adding up cost/ avail. of replacement front end parts. They are cheap!!

[Walter Moore]

You didn't specify your location... Dry areas are different from wet areas which are different from salty areas.

I thought that I should add here that I am in the middle of re-building the brakes (among other things... ) on a car that had been "sitting for several years" and I ended up replacing ALL the hard steel brake lines because they were rusted completely away.

Now I am replacing the fuel lines, vaccum lines, etc...

(When I pulled several of these pipes off of the car they literally crumbled in my hand... The price for living in the rust belt I guess.)