I've got a 4wd '87 chaser (Gl hatch to the US) i've been fixing up so I can use it in the winter, me and buddy just put in a new headgasket and now we're working on getting the brakes working properly.

 

The first 3/4 of brake travel does VERY little to slow the car, but the last 1/4 feels like normal braking, maybe a little worse. In another words I can't even lock up the tires if I STAND on the brake pedal.

 

The car sat for 3 years before I found it, just FYI.

 

WE bled the brakes and got all the nasty fluid out and all that did was make the last 1/4 of brake pedal travel work a little better. I can't hear any vaccuum leaks but it does feel as if the brakes are underpowered.

 

What should I check first?

Have you removed the calipers in the front and made sure they are free on their pins and the pads are good?

 

GD

havn't taken the calipers off, but the pads looked really good still. As for being free on the pins, do you mean not seized and easily move back and forth? I can check that but I don't think it's an issue. The car has no reluctance to start moving (we can push it around all day) and the brakes stop the car when the engine isn't running. Also when in reverse if I jam the brakes hard the front tires skid when the weight transfers to the back. I think the front brakes are functioning well, they just don't clamp very hard.

 

I'm unsure of the back brakes though.

 

It still wouldn't explain why the brake pedal feels "empty" for the first 1/2 to 3/4's of its travel.

 

Likelihood of the Master cylinder?

Vaccum leak?

check your caliper pins, then try adjusting the pedal freeplay under the dash

If the caliper is frozen on the pins it could be holding the caliper body away from the disc. Thus allowing the piston to have excessive movement till it contacts the pads or the disc. Might need to bleed the MC as well.

 

GD

I'll get to that this week sometime and report back.

 

as always, thanks for the help guys! This place is awesome.

Calipers all seemed to move fine when I inspected them, e-brake and all that work good too.

 

We got a new MC off the JY today cause it was half off for the long weekend along with some new tires and stuff. Put the new MC in, bled it, bled the brakes again, and took it for a spin. The brakes work a little better but they still arn't doing much at all until over half way down the pedal travel... more like 3/4's actually. After that they work like they should. however, they do still work a little bit on the first half, just not enough to be usefull. I can't just adjust the brake pedal to compensate because then the brakes would drag all the time a bit.

 

anyone know what could cause this? solutions?

 

thanks!

one time my brakes did that in my 91 loyale and it was the e-brake out of adjustment.....

Adjust the rear shoes.

 

They are manual adjusting. Once they are worn the shoes have to travel very far to reach the drum, this is what makes the long pedal travel.

 

adjust them or replace(and adjust) them and you will have the pedal feel back.

I'll try adjusting them today when I do the exhaust and stuff, A friend just told me it might be the brake booster or the MC though, since I just replaced the MC, what are the odds of it being the Booster? anyway to rule that out?

I went to take off the rear driver side drum yesterday and it wouldn't come off. Is it pretty normal for it to require a puller? I didn't have one that size so I left it on, but it sure would be nice to check that brake. Its definitely a contributing factor to my brake problems. Even with my foot hard on the brake my buddy can spin the wheel with a wrench.

 

My manual says to back of the adjuster screw to get the drum off, and we did that but it didn't help. We tried pounding the drum with a mini sledge and it still didn't budge. When I went to screw the adjuster screw back in i noticed there was alot of brake fluid leaking from somewhere around there but it could have been the pen. oil we used to back off the adjuster. Just didn't remember putting that much there. So while adjusting the adjuster screw forward it seemed like it was stripped or something. It screwed into the housing fine but it was really "notchy" and I could feel it making the brake tighter on the wheel when spinning it by hand, then once i turned the adjuster just a tick more and it passed the "notch" the wheel would spin easily once again.

 

any ideas?

The adjuster is a sqaure pyramid shaped thing so it's normal for them to be "notchy" like that.

 

The drum won't come off till you back off the adjuster - it's catching on the edge of the drum where the shoes have worn it down. There is now a ridge there that the shoes must clear. Back off the adjuster as far as possible and smack the drum a few times to dislodge the shoes. Should pull right off.

 

GD