Brake issues! Help

[vbgambini]

Cool. Thanks man. Yea Im just talkng about the base of the rubber that slides through the firewall. Not the accordion part.  

[sweatybetty]

try some regular dish soap

[vbgambini]

Update of what I went through:

 

Dish soap heled! Installed everything pretty much today. But still have to install my SS lines. I know the rear brake hoses are pretty new, fronts do look like they need changing. So far no leaks seen anywhere.

 

- I had to pull out the booster so many of times to line up the brake pedal inside the car to fit the pin that holds onto the brake pedal and adjust and adjust and adjust. 

 

- Bench bled the MC as much as I can. 

 

- Bled all 4 corners.

 

- Had to adjust the push rod longer a few times because brake pedal felt so spongy. Seems like it is more than 10mm like FSM says. Pumped the brakes with the car off and felt stiff, then when I started the car with my foot on the brake it fell just a little like it should.

 

-Finally got it a little better but for some reason I feel it is still not firm enough. I also feel after I let off the pedal it comes up slowly with a little hesitation at the top top.

 

But I still feel it is pretty spongy. How firm is the pedal to feel when the car is started? Should I bleed the MC again in the car? Is there a way to adjust the pedal inside the car without having to remove everything all over again (Cant spin the adjustment fork without the pedal in the way)?  Too much free play? I would like these brakes to feel as stiff as my newer car and jeep (02 and an 05) Or is it not going to feel that stiff in these older cars with drum brakes?

 

BTW My ebrake goes up 6 clicks like it should so I didn't mess with adjusting the rear drums again. 

 

Im lost right now. What should I do?

Edited April 23, 2016 by vbgambini

[Zed Head]

9 minutes ago, vbgambini said:

 I also feel after I let off the pedal it comes up slowly with a little hesitation at the top top.

 

(Cant spin the adjustment fork without the pedal in the way)?

You can spin the rod inside the clevis (fork) using a pair of pliers (edit- from under the dash, everything else still connected), after loosening the lock nut.  You might leave a mark on the rod but it's doable.

There should be a strong spring on the pedal that pulls it up.

Sometimes bleeding brakes can take a long time to get right.

Edited April 23, 2016 by Zed Head

[vbgambini]

Will try that then. That wont ruin anything by just turning the rod right? I mean the pedal when not pressed is pretty much all the way up against the brake light switch. So I doubt I need any adjusting right?

[vbgambini]

Update! 

 

Tried to put on my SS brake lines in for the front, but when getting the old metal hard brake lines with a flare wrench, they rounded off. So now the flare wrench cant hold on. My question is how long of a brake line will I need from the brake hose to the master cylinder? Is that hard line even going to the MC? 

 

I want to change the hard line that goes from the hose to the caliper as well, and it seems Z Car Depot has an 8'' one I need. But Z Car Depot has 20-40'' of hard brake line that im figuring for the other line that goes into the engine bay. Which do I order? Never done hard brake lines before and how to bend them. They say you can just use your hands and will not kink. Is that true?

 

Or should I get it done at a shop? But I am worried they wont have the fittings like stock to fit my SS lines. Thanks guys.

[siteunseen]

All mine are rounded.

Small vice grips work good.

[Zed Head]

I used a piece of string to figure out how long the parts store line should be, and wood screws on a board to bend it.  Lay the old line on the board, put some screws inside the bends, bend the new line to match, repeat for each bend.  The advantage of the board and screws is that if you place them right you won't over-bend, plus you can go slow and see when you're close.  Beware though, average line will work harden so it's only (easily) bendable once.  

[vbgambini]

20 hours ago, siteunseen said:

All mine are rounded.

Small vice grips work good.

Any technique here or just sticking on a vise and turning? 

 

19 hours ago, Zed Head said:

I used a piece of string to figure out how long the parts store line should be, and wood screws on a board to bend it.  Lay the old line on the board, put some screws inside the bends, bend the new line to match, repeat for each bend.  The advantage of the board and screws is that if you place them right you won't over-bend, plus you can go slow and see when you're close.  Beware though, average line will work harden so it's only (easily) bendable once.  

Sounds like a good idea. Never worked on hard brake lines before so I want to get this right. If anything a shop can bend them correctly right?

Edited April 29, 2016 by vbgambini

[Patcon]

There is really no trick to bending other than not kinking them. Route them where they don't rub anything. The hardest part is really threading the connectors together again

[siteunseen]

I meant loosening the nuts that connects the hardline with the short hose going to the calipers. A 10mm flare nut wrench wouldn't work for me so I used a small pair of Vise-Grips to loosen the connection. Then needle nosed pliers to pull the concave metal piece that holds it in place.

[sweatybetty]

when i was bending mine, i used a large socket to wrap the line around. it helps to stop kinking.