Hi everyone.

I have been having a lot of trouble with the brakes on my 73 Dart Sport, and thought I would ask here to see if anyone has had a similar problem, or knows of a solution.

The car has a front disc / rear drum setup. It has power brakes.

Last summer, everything except the proportioning valve, lines, and booster were replaced. The brakes were bled, and the pedal would only go down about half an inch. A couple of months ago, my slant six was dropped in. As soon as it fired up, the brake pedal went straight to the floor, and the brakes would just barely grab. Ever since, the pedal goes straight to the floor, whether the engine is on or off.

We have checked all the vacuum lines and brake lines for leaks, pressure bled the front and rear brakes (several times), and replaced the master cylinder (again), brake booster, and proportioning valve. Still, the situation is the same.

I cut the lines coming from the master cylinder off a junk Dart I had, crimped the ends, and hooked them to the master cylinder to see what would happen. The pedal barely moved at all. So, I'm sure the master cylinder is working. But, I can't figure out where to go from here, other than replacing more parts (which may not even solve the problem).

If you have any ideas, please let me know.

Thanks in advance!

-Jashen

Have you checked the wheel cylinders for leaks?

When the pedal hits the floor which set of brakes grab, just the drums in the rear or also the disks in the front?

Also, out of curiosity, when you said that upon startup the pedal went to the floor, was that by itself (as if the booster sent the pedal in motion) or after attempting to apply the brakes?

_________________
'66 Dodge Dart

Thanks for the reply, Josh!

The brakes for all four wheels grab when the pedal goes to the floor. It is enough that I can't turn any of the wheels by hand when the car is jacked up, but just barely enough to slow the car down when it is just barely rolling.

The pedal first went to the floor when attempting to apply the brakes. The thing that gets me is that they seemed fine before the initial start up.

I am sure I checked the wheel cylinders for leaks, but I'll check again tomorrow (I guess later today, lol).

Again, thanks for the reply.

Thanks again for the reply, and thanks to those that viewed the post to try and help out!

Turns out, there was air stuck in the front calipers. When the pressure bleeder was used, no our came out at all. A mechanic friend suggested we try bleeding them the "regular" way, and we were surprised to see a LOT of air come out.

Now that I've got brakes, I can get it to the exhaust shop, and FINALLY start driving it. I've been driving a junk Ford Tempo around (TEMPO-rary vehicle), so I'm really looking forward to this!

Jashen: I can see why!!!

_________________
67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC