brakes suck

[lukecp]

The power disc brakes on my '72 don't seem all that powerful. As long as i have had it, it really didn't feel like it had power brakes, you have to press the pedal fairly hard, unlike most other power brake cars/trucks i have driven, where the brake pedal is pretty cushy. I have been having to put brake fluid in it about once or twice a month, and that usually helps it out a little bit. For some reason, it seems to come out around the seal of the master cylinder cap, and then make rust on my inner fender. Now, the brakes aren't working very well at all, you have to press pretty damn hard, and they stop, but not as fast as they should. I also noticed that my front rotors are scored pretty bad, they proably need to be turned or replaced i think. The front pads are about a year old and don't squeal. So, what would be causing that, a bad master cylinder or brake booster (it says DELCO on it). I have been thinking of redoing my entire brake system, new master cylinder, booster, porportioning valve, rubber lines, calipers, pads, rotors, drum shoes, wheel cylinders, and possibly the drums themselves. Any clue on how many hundreds of dollars that would cost before i go annoy the parts store guys . Should i try to do something like that myself, i don't have the first clue on how to bleed brakes, i know how to change pads, ect, but i have never opened up a brake drum....

[Don Smith]

Simple way to test your booster. With motor not running,pump brake pedal 5 or 6 times to empty the vacuum in the booster. Then apply light pressure to brake pedal and start engine. If the pedal immediately sinks one half to three quarters of an inch the booster is O.K. If not should be replaced.

[lukecp]

I checked the booster....it's fine, the pedal sank about a inch when i started to crank the engine over, and stayed that way after the motor started.

[RodC]

I replaced my master cyl when I replaced my brake booster. My brake booster was leaking vacuum causing rough idle. A rebuilt master cyl was only $12.00. All you have to do to them is bench bleed them with plugs in them. The instructions are usually included and just takes some patients.

I have often wondered how often the brake fluid should be completly replaced. I race Dirt bikes, and about every 2 races (2 + Hours of Cross Country) I replace the brake fluid. It breaks down because of the heat of the pad aginst the cyl. I bet some of the fluid in my truck lines has been in there since 71.

[Blue_71]

wheel cylinder-- $8-13 each
rubber lines----- $35 for front(each), 35ish ffor rear
metal lines-------$10-15 you bend yourself
rebuilt caliper---$25 each
drum/rotor turned-$7 each
booster---------$150-60
adjuster kit----$14 each

just the prices i run into when doing mine, still need one rubber line, metal lines, and i think booster but im going to make sure my problem isnt just air before i spend all that money