Hi all , our 1955 olds is here we have cleaned it and now doing a service , my question is the brake pedal sits really low and the brake tail lights are on , when you lift the brake pedal with your hand the lights turn off , the brake pedal has alot of play , it seems to me the brake pedal should sit higher , the brakes work but what do i need to do to get the brake pedal to sit higher, that way the brake lights won't come on tilll i apply the brakes, at the moment i have a block of wood under pedal so tail lights don't come on , i can't drive it till i sought it out , i'm not a mechanic so take it easy on me. oh they are power brakes , hope someone can help.
cheers chris.

 

It maybe you have a master cylinder issuse. It may need to be rebuilt.

 

Your brakes are not self adjusting. Try adjusting the brakes per the manual if the pedal is still low check the fluid if it is low add fluid. If the pedal is soft then try bleeding the brakes also check for fluid leaks at the master cylinder and at the wheel cylinders. Another cause is the fluid bypassing the master cylinder plunger because the seals are shot. Its a process of elimination by checking each area.

 

thanks for the replys , the wheel cylinders look like new , the brakes stop the car really well and are very responsive, another thing i forgot to mention , the rod that connects to the brake pedal ,looks like the clip that holds it is broken and you can lift the pedal off the rod , hope i/m making sence, if the pedal isn't lining up properly on the pedal could this be stoping the pedal from coming up further and not hiting the tail light brake switch, anyone else have this problem , i spoke to jason from fusicks this morning and he said that could also be the problem.
I can drive the car but the tail lights stay on and i have to lift the brake pedal up with my foot and there is play , can you adjust the brake light switch so the pedal can sit lower?
once again thanks for your help.
cheers chris.

 

All good , after pumping brakes and pulling up on the rod , it seems to have come good , the pedal is much higher and there is no play , brake lights are off and only come on when applied , the cup behind the break pedal that the rod goes in has some of the sides broken , i will call fusicks tonight my time and order a new one, i just want to say that the car drives real nice and the hydramatic shifts smooth as.
cheers chris