sschevellecutlass_Bob

70 Cutlass with stock front discs and rear drums. Brakes work, but I have to press the pedal farther than I would think normal. How far should you have to press the pedal before brakes start working? How can you reduce the amount? Or, is it normal? rotor and pads are new. Thanks

oldcutlass

The brake pedal should go down a couple of inches and while gradually increasing in braking power. Make sure the brakes are bled properly and the rears adjusted gently rubbing the drums.

sschevellecutlass_Bob

Will do. Thanks

joe_padavano

Power or manual brakes? Manual brakes require more pedal travel due to the smaller diameter master cylinder - more travel is required to displace the same volume of brake fluid. If these are power brakes, you may need to adjust the rear brakes to ensure the slop is taken out. Also, are you just pressing the pedal after a brake job or do you notice this after driving a while? New disc pads need to bed in and the pistons in the calipers will move outward to take up the slack after driving a while.

sschevellecutlass_Bob

Power. Situation was like this when I purchased the car in November. hoped that changing pads would make a difference. Nope. Exactly the same pedal distance. I'll try bleeding brakes. Can you point me to directions how to remove rear brake slop? I have put new drums on before but not sure how to adjust. Thanks

oldcutlass

There is a star wheel in between the shoes at the bottom, adjust shoes out so the drum barely slides on. Inspect for leaks and amount of available brake shoe material.

joe_padavano

Remove the rubber plug on the bottom of the backing plate and use a brake adjuster spoon to turn this star wheel. There should be a slight drag on the drum as you rotate the wheel.

sschevellecutlass_Bob

Cool. Much Thanks. I remember seeing that star when I changed the chevelle drums.

Fun71

On my car, when the pedal is fully depressed I can just barely fit the toe of my other foot behind the brake pedal. The brakes start grabbing long before that point, but I can't say right off how far down the pedal goes before I feel them start to grab.

76olds

With power brakes, your brake pedal should be at the height of the gas pedal at minimum when the brakes are fully applied. You can move your foot across from the gas to the brake to see if the brake is close to the same.
If your brake pedal goes lower the the gas pedal when fully depressed, you will need to set up your rear shoes the way Joe P posted and others mentioned.
The brake pedal an inch above the gas pedal fully depressed would be optimal.
Hope this helps
Eric

Kensey

I just got a 72 Delta 88. The brakes work fine, stop the car no problem. HOWEVER, I had the same concern! Just felt like they went too far. The booster also seems to be kinda loud when pressing it. Not leaking though, passes all the pedal checks. I'll investigate further once it's not so shitty outside, but I'm thinking I'm just not used to it.