Soft Brakes (Drum)

[Oldsproject]

Need some advice as I've been chasing this problem for a while. Here's the scoop.... I took the car for its first spin a few weeks ago and realized there were no brakes as I backed out of the garage. The first thing I found was that the master cylyinder was bone dry and full of gunk. I pulled it cleaned and flushed it, replaced and filled with fresh brake fluid. Bled it from the front of the cylinder then pulled, cleaned and bled the front brakes. Everything was good so took her for a spin and didn't have any further problems until I started on the back brakes last weekend. I pulled the entire brake systems off and cleaned everything. The two rear brake cylinders were a mess and not working at all. After allot of reworking replaced the brakes bled the lines and all seemed well...... except, now I have to pump the brakes one to three times to get them solid. I thought it was air in the lines but I'm pretty sure I've got it all out (perhaps not though). Could it simply be the rear brake cylinders, still air in the lines or cylinders, bad master cylinder, ?? Looking for advice or suggestions.

[redoldsman]

My guess is you still have air in the system. Did you bench bleed the master cylinder before you put it on the car? You have to do that. My first Cutlass which I had years ago had no brakes when I bought it. It almost drove me crazy. I finally took it to NTW and had it pressure bled. It was worth the money. The Cutlass I have now (both were 72 convertibles with drum brakes) did not have any brakes when I bought it either. Biggest problem was the booster. Don't ask why I only buy Cutlass' with no brakes. They were both good buys but the trip home was a challenge. Good luck.

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by Oldsproject

Need some advice as I've been chasing this problem for a while. Here's the scoop.... I took the car for its first spin a few weeks ago and realized there were no brakes as I backed out of the garage. The first thing I found was that the master cylyinder was bone dry and full of gunk. I pulled it cleaned and flushed it, replaced and filled with fresh brake fluid. Bled it from the front of the cylinder then pulled, cleaned and bled the front brakes. Everything was good so took her for a spin and didn't have any further problems until I started on the back brakes last weekend. I pulled the entire brake systems off and cleaned everything. The two rear brake cylinders were a mess and not working at all. After allot of reworking replaced the brakes bled the lines and all seemed well...... except, now I have to pump the brakes one to three times to get them solid. I thought it was air in the lines but I'm pretty sure I've got it all out (perhaps not though). Could it simply be the rear brake cylinders, still air in the lines or cylinders, bad master cylinder, ?? Looking for advice or suggestions.

When you pulled the master cylinder, did you rebuild it or simply flush it and replace it? If the former, chances are the seals are shot.