My 63 dart wagon had been in a storage a long time with shot brake lines. 1 year before I pulled it out of storage, I got it out, ordered a new brake line kit, and had new lines installed, along with new front brake shoes. That was a couple years ago. Right after he replaced the brake lines and front shoes, cleaned rust from the rear drums, and put in new fluid, I put the car back into storage another year. Then, in Aug 2010, I pulled it out, trailered it home here to LA.
I've been slowly going through the car piece by piece, as I Sunday drive it. The brake pedal keeps getting low, and the fluid in the master cylinder keeps disappearing. But I can't tell where. I've inspected the wheel cylinders, bleed valves, hoses, junctions, etc. for leaks and I'm coming up with nada. The master cylinder itself probably needs replacement (it's rusty on the outside, and I have noticed a "moist" appearance, + a small drip from the brass plug directly underneath where the line exits the cylinder). But I tightened the cap and plug, and that seemed to help with the leaks.
Just to experiment, I keep putting new fluid in, bleeding the brakes, and the pedal always firms up again. The first time I had to do this, it wasn't a month and a half before I had to do it again. But the last time I bled the brakes and put in new fluid was December/January, and (with weekend driving) it's lasted until now before the pedal has lost it's height and firmness.
After the first month and a half when I had to add fluid and bleed the brakes again, I thought I surely had to replace the MC, but this last time, I wondered, because I saw no drips, and the pedal stayed high/hard. But a week+ ago, it lost it again.
I have never done a brake adjustment on the car: I figured my mechanic did that 2 years ago. I don't know how, or how often it should be done, but have a FSM and will go through the process if people think that's what I should do before replacing the MC. But I do know my brake pedal performance shouldn't be doing this, this frequently. What do people think I should check or adjust/replace, and in what order?
THANKS FOR THE HELP!
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