Problems

[yoshi]

After priming the oil pump I turned the key & only got a clicking sound. I checked the battery & it's ok so I tried again but just clicking. When I looked to the engine (sbc350) there was smoke rising, when I looked closer I found out that the earth lead that I put from engine to chassis had got so hot it melted the outer sleeving ? I've tried & tried to bleed the brakes but the pedal is still travelling too far, the front pads will grip the disc but the rears won't ? I've also discovered no volts at the fuel pump, ive checked the fuse that's ok ? Not a good day

[63 & 64 Bowties]

I know this has been mentioned to you before. But, you either need to put your year/model truck in you signature, or you'll need to include it in all your questions.
To add a signature; "look up" see Home Forums UserCp ? Click on UserCP, then in the left column; Settings and Options ? then Edit Signature
Lots of forum info here:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/f...splay.php?f=93
please take the time to acquaint yourself with how to use the forum. It will make life a lot easier for everyone including yourself.

[yoshi]

I thought I had! Looks like I have just had to reply for it to appear

[Speedbumpauto]

Ground on these is - and the large cable should go to the engine, not to the frame. A 10 gauge or so wire can bond or connect the engine to the frame/body. Sounds like your main ground might be the frame causing an overload when your starter tries to pull 100-150 amps through a small ground. If yours is fuel injected with a factory harness/computer, there will be no FP voltage unless or until the computer sees secondary ignition voltage during cranking. Hard to check by yourself.

[OrrieG]

I will tackle the brakes. From you clip thread it looks like you are running stock MC and drum brakes. First thing is to make sure that the brake shoes are adjusted so they drag just enough to stop the drum after a couple of rotations when you spin it. The stock MC is tiny and has to work all four from one chamber. Next comes the fun part. Top off the mc and pump the brakes 100 times making sure you take your foot off at the top of the stroke so the cylinder returns all the way. That was my job when working with my Grandfather Orrie as a young child. Make sure you keep the MC full of fluid. This is working any air bubble to the wheel cylinder end of the lines.

Assuming you did not install speed bleeders, find a friend and start bleeding. Friend pumps half a dozen times and holds down. You put a piece of hose into a bottle with brake fluid in it and crack the bleeder nipple, you will either get bubbles or fluid into the bottle. Friends foot will follow the pedal to the floor, do not release pedal until you have closed the bleeder valve. Repeat until no more bubbles come out. Repeat with passenger rear, driver rear, passenger front and driver front in that order (longest line runs first).

If all goes well you will have a good hard pedal. If it is still mushy, there is air in the system somewhere, look for bends in the lines where it could be trapped. If it still goes to the floor MC probably has bad seals. Easy fix, but you need to start bleeding from scratch after repair.

This assumes you pulled the drums, and made sure the wheel cylinders were ok and checked the lines to makes sure they were not leaking at the fitting or had any pin holes.

[_Ogre]

we have no idea what your current pos/neg cable setup is, motor type or configuration
electric fuel pump; if aftermarket there should be 12v+ to the pump with key on
my ramjet has a gm harness; key on it runs for a second or 2 to build pressure

i like to see big cables and new clean crimped on ends.
new cars often use #4 gauge ground and starter cables
i like #1 or #0 from the batt+ to starter and batt- (earth) to a stud on the frame
from that same stud to the motor and the body with the same size cable
i run a big stereo with 60 amp fuses to each amp, a body ground #10 wire would let the smoke out

[mr48chev]

Guys from what I can determine Yoshi bought someone's half finished project that he is trying to finish. He is also in UK aka England

Orrie addressed how to bleed the brakes quite well the only thing I'd add is have your helper pump the pedal SLOWLY as pumping it too fast can introduce air back into the system. Also check the fluid level in the master cylinder often until you figure out how may times you can open a bleeder before checking.

On the ground (earth) cable getting extremely hot. Cables get hot because there is a high resistance in the circuit somewhere and usually the resistance is on the end of the cable getting hot. Meaning that most often there is a high resistance at the end of the cable that bolts to the block. Or it could possibly mean that the ground cable is too small for the application and cannot handle the amp load of the starter on the V8 engine.
However it could also mean that you have a starter that is locking up or an engine that is locked up. have you had the starter tested off the truck? Can you turn the engine over with a socket on the crank bolt or using a pry bar on the flywheel teeth or by another method?

I would make sure that the battery cables are of the proper gauge to handle the amp load of starting the V8.

Then I would make sure that the end of the ground cable was bolted securely to a sport on the block that was scraped bare for good electrical contact.

To be positive that the starter wasn't an issue I'd pull it off and take it to an automotive electrical shop and have it tested. This is process of elimination at this point and you are eliminating the starter from the equation.

Then make sue you can turn the crankshaft of the engine a full revolution or two by hand to be sure that it isn't locking up.

That may sound like overkill but a step by step process eliminating possible issues is best with an unknown quantity.

[yoshi]

Everything is new, brake booster under cab, lines & discs all round. Engine turns over by hand, an electrician did check the starter but maybe I need to get it of but leave wired up & test it

[47 Fasttoys]

Master/booster cylinder under the cab, OK, is the truck slammed? If your master cylinder is lower then your caliper pistons you will need two 2 PSI (.137 Bar) residual pressure check valves in the circuit. One for the front and one for the rear. When I bleed my brakes (solo) I use a glass gar with brake fluid in it and just open the bleed valves a 1/4 to 1/2 turn and pump the pedal a few times. This will push the air out on the down stroke and pull fluid in on the return stroke. If you have a complete new system it can take a while.
The pressure valves will not make a lot of difference during bleeding but will make a ton of difference in pedal stroke when when you need it the most.
Rob

[yoshi]

No truck isn't slammed, it's on coil overs so it is a little lower. I'll measure up later

[Gippetto]

You mentioned all parts are new. If that's the case with the master cylinder, did you bench bleed it?

[yoshi]

Yes, followed the instructions

[67GMCkid]

Be sure the calipers are on the proper side of the vehicle, twice now I have had cars brought in where the owners could not get brakes on a complete new system, yep calipers on the wrong side.. Make sure the bleeders point upward..

[yoshi]

Thanks for that you may have just solved the problem

[OrrieG]

I thought we were dealing with a stock system. Yoshi, next time you post please give some information on what you have. This is like the sixth time we have answered the question for a system different that what you have. 67gmkid is right about the calipers, I had the same issue on mine when I swapped in a new front axle, PO had them backwards and I could not get them to bleed either.

[yoshi]

Sorry thought I had 8 posts up

[Hogger54]

The link in your signature says nothing about what you have, other than maybe you have a '49, and what your dealing with. It's about a glove box.
Try this: Fill in the blanks, and it will really help us, to be able to help you.
Not trying to be rude, just trying to help out. You don't need to post all this stuff in every topic, just what's relevant.
Example: Your asking about your engine not starting, and brakes not working. We need to know what engine you have, how is it wired, what type of ignition system, etc... What master cylinder you have, do you have discs or drums, have you re-done the brake system(shoes, lines, cylinders, etc).
The more info the better.

Truck year ______
Truck size 1/2 ton, 3/4, or bigger ______
Engine size _________
Engine year _________
Ignition system _______
Transmission _________
Rear end _________
Front suspension(stock, clip, etc..) ________
Brakes(stock, aftermarket, disc, drum) ________

[yoshi]

Truck year 1949
Truck size 1/2 ton, 3/4, or bigger ___1/2 ton___
Engine size ____SBC350_____
Engine year __1978_______
Ignition system _______
Transmission ___TH350______
Rear end __ford type9_____
Front suspension(stock, clip, etc..) ___mustang2 clip_____
Brakes(stock, aftermarket, disc, drum) __discs front & rear______

[yoshi]

After swapping over all 4 calipers so now they all have bleed screws at the top, I've been 3 1/2 hrs bleeding & sorting them out. When I press the pedal down it travels quite far but there is resistance now. All 4 discs will lock up but still too much brake travel.

[OrrieG]

Did you put check valves in the brake lines? On a lot of lowered trucks with the MC below the frame the MC ends up below the caliper. Discs work with the caliper maintaining slight contact with the rotor, without the check valves enough pressure and fluid volume bleeds back so you need a lot of pedal.

Number two= do you have any loops in your lines? First time I installed mine I put the expansion loops vertically and could not get all the trapped air out of the top of the loops. I turned them horizontally and got good pedal.

Three= assume that the stock leverage ratios and lengths between the pedal arm and acuating arm are the same as stock. I built mine from scratch and did lots or research on what the stock ratios for the mc I was using were compared to the stock pedal assy I used. If you bought a complete aftermarket system they have already figured it out and should not be an issue, but worth mentioning if it was pieced together.

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by yoshi

After swapping over all 4 calipers so now they all have bleed screws at the top, I've been 3 1/2 hrs bleeding & sorting them out. When I press the pedal down it travels quite far but there is resistance now. All 4 discs will lock up but still too much brake travel.

I just went through this on a 47 with an under cab master/booster and a stock pedal. I did not get a hard pedal as i thought I should what I ended up doing is make sure the booster actuator pin is approximately .020" from the master piston cup. Also make sure the rod from the brake arm to the booster is adjusted properly. I still don't have a rock hard pedal and it does travel a bit before its hard but I did end up with 1200 PSI brake line pressure which is whats needed on a 4 disc system and it does start to stop near the top of the pedal so I do know its working correctly and its dead stopped at about 4" off the floor.

[yoshi]

make sure the booster actuator pin is approximately .020" from the master piston cup. Also make sure the rod from the brake arm to the booster is adjusted properly.

booster pin? Arm to booster correct adjustment?

[47 Fasttoys]

Booster pin: the metal pin which pushes the piston of the master cylinder inwards when you apply the brakes. Its inside the power booster.
Arm to booster: The metal rod which attaches to the brake pedal arm and pushes on the brake booster.
Pedal ratio: If you are running a universal kit, you may need to adjust this (some are non-adjustable). Normal is around 6.5:1 This means push the pedal 6.5 inches and the metal rod which pushes on the booster is moving 1 inch.
If all is working correct except travel, I would take a close look at the 1st two items.

[yoshi]

So how do I make sure it's 0.20"?

[dwcsr]

You measure it with a tool. If you don't have the tool you can still measure it but it takes a little more effort

follow the instructions near the end of the page

http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/brake05.pdf

The document also explains a lot about brakes that may be helpful to you