1968 Plymouth Fury Brake Pedal Feels Wierd. Help!!

[68plymouth383]

I have a 1968 Plymouth Fury with power drum brakes. The entire brake system has been gone through. My question/problem is the pedal only has a total travel of 1/2" before I feel a bottoming out like that's all the pedal will go, It feels like the rod has hit bottom. I'am wondering if something is miss-adjusted, or???? The car stops ok. My concern is I believe there should be more travel than 1/2" movement total. It almost feels like the 1/2" I'am getting is from a miss-adjusted rod in the master. Have you guys experienced this before? Is this normal. Thanks for your help.

 

[saylor]

your vacuum line hooked up to the booster?

 

[440Sled]

I agree...is the vacuum line hooked up? On my 440 the vacuum line comes off the back of the intake manifold.

 

[68plymouth383]

The vacuum line is hooked up and has real strong vacuum. I have confirmed that the booster holds vacuum. I also checked the valve on the booster and its working like it should.

 

[Wollfen]

If the brakes pull you up just fine and you got a solid pedal, well i would have said to myself, wow great job on the bleeding, no sponginess at all! ccasion14:

 

[commando1]

That's funny. Something finally works perfectly on these cars and we think there's something wrong. LMAO

 

[68plymouth383]

I just wanted to double check with other guys that have the same braking system. I have never owned a car that the pedal has 1/2" of total travel. The pedal feels like it bottoms out on a rod. No matter how hard i push there is no more movement. Usually hydraulics would have a little give with more force right? Or is it good and I'am just being paranoid? I appreciate your help.

That's funny. Something finally works perfectly on these cars and we think there's something wrong. LMAO

 

[tals]

I've spent lots of time trying to solve your exact prob. The 67 -69 power drums seem to have something inherant to have that hard pedal. My 69 Dart had the same. I converted to front disc, and guess what, hard, no travel pedal. The car stops just fine. I do not believe it is an adjustment on the master cylinder rod. You can change that rod length and all you get is a reduction in the vacuum power available when the brakes actually engage. Anyone that can solve this, I'm all in. Good luck and post it!

 

[saylor]

if your gut says it aint right, it aint right. I did what tals did ^^ I had REALLY touchy power drum brakes and put on a bolt on ECI front disc kit and it kicks ***, but my pedal feels real nice, like a 'new' car pedal, travels smooth and has decent movement and doesn't feel like you are pressing your foot against a rock. if you have the means switch to disc front.
but back to the issue - you got to take it back to basics on brakes.
you say you got vacuum to booster. get the car running then pop the hood and kill the motor. listen to the booster, hose, and intake port where the hose goes for leaks. but hard-*** pedal usually is NO booster.
air in the lines usually is squishy pedal, but id still bleed each corner - start at rear pass, then rear driver, front pass, front driver. It should pee all over you on a pedal push with no air bubbles at all.
Also - if you open a brake bleeder, the pedal should go to the floor. if that doesn't happen, maybe that clues us in to mechanical issue - pedal binding, MC linkage rod binding, etc.
in fact Im going with that - bleed your brakes and let us know if the pedal goes to the floor or not.
it should. if it doesn't, then somethings fishy in Denmark.

 

[saylor]

. . .

you got a dead rat stuck behind the pedal up in the dash?

0.o

 

[68plymouth383]

Ok guys here's an update on my car. I found out it has the factory field installed Hydro boost system. After looking through a ton of pics I found out it has the 66 power brake booster. I guess that's where my problem stems from. I have always run it off of straight vacuum and never off the high pressure power steering side like the hydro's need. I would like to find a good rebuilt 1968 Vacuum booster and replace my unit. Is there anybody on this forum that had changed to disc and discarded a recent rebuild drum brake booster? Thanks for your help.

 

[detmatt]

I have a '68 booster removed from a very low mileage car. I do not know its working condition but its available for sale. Is there any way to bench test the booster?

 

[68plymouth383]

After dealing with this problem for a while.......... There is a guy I found Named Wayne Brown TheRamman. I called him up explained my problem. He immediately set me on the right course to getting it resolved. I spoke with him on 4 different occasions. He is a great guy to deal with, and an asset to the Mopar community. He took the time out of his day to walk me through what to do. He also rebuilds, and supply's the Mopar world with Hard to find parts. All his info is free of charge. He simply wants to help you. If you have a brake issue that has you stumped don't hesitate to call him. http://www.theramman.com/

Here's an update on my car:
It's fixed!! There were several different issues going on that needed addressing. First a new completely rebuilt Booster from Booster Dewey. Second I found out my rear brake lines had obstructions in them keeping me from having complete fluid flow. and full pedal when stopping/bleeding. Third my rear rubber brake hose was old, and collapsed on the inside. I pushed fluid through it and it flowed........ but when hooked up it was so restricted. I put compressed air to it and it barely pushed 10psi. I pulled the distribution block and thoroughly blew it out and cleaned it, I also blew out the lines from the dist. block rearward. And also blew out the front metal lines from dist. block. Now there is free flowing fluid in all directions. No obstructions. We bleed all line and purged all air. Car brakes excellent now.

 

[coronet66jj]

glad to hear you found the problem. 1/2 travel in pedal would never be normal. i will be checking forobstructions on any brake problems. thanks for posting this useful info.