I bought a 1935 Ford pickup in parts. The previous owner put juice brakes in it. A 1940 rear end and drum brakes front and back. When I push on the brake pedal, it won’t build up pressure. I’ve bled the system several times, but still can’t get any pressure. The master cylinder is new. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Did you bleed the master cylinder on the bench first? This is a mandatory step as its almost impossible to get all the air out because all that happens is you just push the air bubbles in the master cylinder back and forth....
Go to the parts store and pick up a master cylinder bleed kit, about 20 bucks at most. Pull off the master cylinder and bleed it according to the instructions either with the kit or the master cylinder as both mostly come with instructions to do it. I bet it cures your problems !! ..
There were no instructions, the previous owner didn’t send them with. I’ll se what I can find online. Thanks!
If it's a single bowl master, you don't need to bench bleed, in fact some come with a tag the reads DO NOT BENCH BLEED. Why I do not know. Are the shoes adjusted correctly? That is the first thing to do before bleeding. Is there free play between the rod that goes into the master? If no free play it may not pump up. Also you need a return spring on the brake pedal.
I believe that it is a single bowl master. The shoes are adjusted. There is no free play between the rod and the master cylinder. I’ve installed a return spring. How much distance should there be from the end of the rod and where it contacts the master cylinder?
Adjusting 40 brakes can be quite difficult. Especially if the shoes don’t fit the drums perfectly. But that shouldn’t mean there is no pedal. I suggest popping a front hub/drum off and looking for fluid leaking out of the cylinder past a cup seal. Some repro cylinders are manufactured wrong so the fluid inlet hole will be on the wrong side of the inner cup lip unless the shoes are adjusted out where they should be during operation. Basically if the cup is pushed too far in, the fluid will leak past.
Also if you are still having issues after following the above directions. I’ve found that a lot of times you have to extend the brake rod into the master farther to engage the cylinder slightly. I’ve made my own air bleeder. Drilled a hole into an old master lid and attached a quick release on it. I apply no more than 5lbs at the air compressor.
Pete, do you have a dryer on your compressor? I have one on my Plasma cutter that I use when I need dry air.
Another quick check is to disconnect the line (gotta to bleed anyway), hold your finger over the hole and slowly press the pedal. You should get a nice fluid push out of it. If not, bleed and recheck. IF it's a nice solid stream of fluid, bleed each corner and make sure you are getting only fluid. Inspect each rubber hose. Then dive into each corner and adjust. Here's the front. I'm sure there are other threads. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/frt-drum-brake-adjustment-1940-ford.1280511/
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