no brakes on my 69 Barracuda

Valcuda · Post by **Valcuda** » Thu Apr 06, 17 5:59 pm

After the Barracuda's winter hibernation, I went into the garage today to take it out on this nice sunny day for the first time this year. I'm glad I didn't--after I slipped the gearshift into reverse, I pressed the brake pedal and it went flat to the floor. So no brakes!

I checked the master cylinder. The reservoir to the windscreen was empty, the other one was at a normal level. I topped the reservoir up and tried pumping the brake pedal with the engine on (to get the booster working) but no difference. Clearly I should've been checking the reservoir regularly over the 20 years since new master cylinder repair kit was put on.

What to do now? The car can't be driven anywhere now except slowly on a hand-brake. The car is face-in into a narrow garage so in-situ repair is going to be difficult. There's no obvious pool of brake fluid on the floor that I can see, so perhaps it's a master cylinder repair kit job but that's not something I particularly want to do myself......

shovelheadrob · Post by **shovelheadrob** » Thu Apr 06, 17 7:33 pm

It's obviously lost some fluid, you might be able to just top up, bleed the brakes & get it moveable. Being South African I don't know what parts it shares with American or Australian variants. Where are you? Might be someone near who could help.

Steve Chapman · Post by **Steve Chapman** » Thu Apr 06, 17 8:05 pm

Has it got servo brakes, fluid could have leaked into servo vscumn unit, hence no obvious leaks on the floor.

greeny · Post by **greeny** » Thu Apr 06, 17 10:00 pm

Hi chief i had a smilar issue. Fluid level in resevoir kept dropping slowly but no obvious leaks anywhere . Eventually got alot of smoke out of the exhaust. I thought now i have an engine problem as well as dodgy brakes. Took me awhile to figure what was going on but then i realised what the smoke was. The main seal inthe master cylinder was failing allowing fluid into the servo , this eventually reached the leve of the inlet manifold connection . The brake fluid was been drwn into the engine through this connection. Had to replace the servo and the master cylider . All sorted now . Do know how this will help you but it might be something to consider. Hope you solve it soon and quickly not to mention cheaply. Good luck.

Valcuda · Post by **Valcuda** » Fri Apr 07, 17 4:43 pm

Today I checked the rear drum brakes and there's no sign of wheel cylinder leakage inside. Also no leakage inside the footwell behind the pedal and pushrod or around/below the master cylinder unions or on the firewall. Nor any signs around the front callipers.

I have noticed that when I started the engine in the garage from cold last year and yesterday, there was a black patch formed on the floor beneath the slightly downward-facing tail pipe. I had always attributed this to the manual choke being fully out, giving an excessively rich mixture. On the basis of "Greeny"'s post, perhaps this was burnt brake fluid instead.

I've propped the brake pedal fully down with two blocks of wood, hoping that this might force some air bubbles to float to the surface in the reservoir over the weekend and thus restore some braking power. (I remembered to disconnect the battery so I don't flatten it with the brake lights being on!)

Valcuda · Post by **Valcuda** » Tue Apr 25, 17 5:28 pm

Sorted, just about!

The reservoir that was empty, the nearest to the windshield, is that for the front brakes. I took the wheels off again and had another look at the disks. At the bottom of the LH dust cover plate was a trace of dampness not present on the RH side--I'd previously thought this was a bit of grease from somewhere and brake dust. There were definitely no fluid drips and I guess there's been just a slight weep over the past twelve years since I last had cause to check the master cylinder fluid level. This weep would have eventually drained the reservoir. The area is concealed by the wheel rim, which explains why there's never been a warning at my annual MOT.

A pal came over and we bled the brakes, then took the car out for a run round the block. Everything was OK. Provided I keep checking the fluid level before every journey, I should be able to get through the summer with the car. I've got a couple of spare calipers somewhere and I'm sure I can get them reconditioned ready to get put on.

The calipers are Girling and the seal kit is obtainable, I believe. But where would I get the calipers reconditioned? Are there any recommended places in Surrey?

Post by **MattH** » Tue Apr 25, 17 9:58 pm

I heard good things about this company in the UK BiggRed

http://www.biggred.co.uk/

I haven't used them myself but the guy I spoke to was full of praise and said about Â£49 for a rebuilt caliper.

I seem to remember someone on here mentioning them for Escort calipers too?