Chrysler Newport Brake Issue!!

A man ain't a man till he survives a complete no brakes situation at 60 mph going downhill.
It was a very exciting 10 seconds.

Soooo right! Yes, stopping a couple tons of Detroit Steel from hurtling to perdition without hydraulic brakes SHOULD BE part of any Driving Exam! That's when folks learn what the phrase "EMERGENCY BRAKE" means. Using the engine to brake also helps plenty here. That's another aspect of the old 2 pump design early Torqueflight trannies had; that the rear pump helped a transmission work sans the engine MAKING EMERGENCY BRAKING MORE PRACTICAL!
 
A man ain't a man till he survives a complete no brakes situation at 60 mph going downhill.
It was a very exciting 10 seconds.
been there done that in my 65 Imperial towing a trailer, went across a 4 lane highway and up the other side replaced the shoes with metallic VELVETOuCH
you had to warm them up by dragging the brakes for a block
for them to work the work better hot and do not fade You can get your drums red hot if not careful , can melt the wheel bearing grease
Veletouch is not "fully metallic" like the Corvette Race drum shoes I do not think they are still available. Velvetouch also made clutch lining
 
When they were working previous they were fine! It was terrible brake fluid and Brakes cooked that caused it
Name brand brake fluid DOT4 flush yearly if in a humid climate or at least use a turkey baster suck out the resavour and refill, check the colour of the removed fluid and if brown do a complete flush boiling water in your fluid is deadly
 
been there done that in my 65 Imperial towing a trailer, went across a 4 lane highway and up the other side replaced the shoes with metallic VELVETOuCH
you had to warm them up by dragging the brakes for a block
for them to work the work better hot and do not fade You can get your drums red hot if not careful , can melt the wheel bearing grease
Veletouch is not "fully metallic" like the Corvette Race drum shoes I do not think they are still available. Velvetouch also made clutch lining
I didn't experience quite such an event as that.
It was more of a look for an opening and then wait for the long roll out on the emergency brake.
The first 5 seconds was a very nervous time.
 
Been there, done that. Short of removing the master and bench bleeding it, this next part requires 2 people: one to watch the pot under the hood & a 2nd person to work the pedal. You want to soft tap the pedal and only "Bump" it, no more than an inch of travel, repeatedly. Don't use your foot, use your hand ✋.

What happens is there is a bubble of air that parks directly behind the piston. When you bench bleed, you short stroke it and you can see little bubbles leak up from the tiny fill hole in the bottom of the pot. Once it's on the car it's difficult to get that bubble free, but not impossible. Being how it's right behind the piston, it doesn't want to travel the length of the brake line to the bleeder screw on the slave cylinder. You are going to want to park it on a level surface and bump it repeatedly until no more bubbles come out. This can take as much as an hour, so be ready and patient. Once you think all the bubbles are out of it, keep at it for another 5-10 minutes more, just to be sure! Brakes are mission critical, everything else can be half assed functional and still get you home again but brakes have to work good no matter what or you (or someone else) may DIE!!!

Short stroking it is key and it helps tremendously if you have a spotter provide a second pair of eyes as you tap the pedal a couple thousand times to work that cursed last bubble out. You might have to move it slowly to get that last bit of air out. I've had this process last as much as an hour, so it may be necessary to bribe your mate with a beer or three to hang with you long enough to complete the job.

Good luck!
 
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