Hi everyone, long time reader and recently joined. Not sure if im posting this in the right section. I bought a 1953 Chrysler New Yorker with a 331 Hemi a few weeks ago. The actual question, brake pedal went to floor with zero resistance after sitting about 2 weeks, no pressure, was working fine before sitting, ideas of why? Longer background and what happened. I bought the car running and barely driving, Some reason the previous owner did a 12 volt conversion but hadnt changed out the generator yet so it lot drove just on a charged 12v battery, had ok power and stopped fine. Had to get the title and inspection since it was out of dmv system so drove it to the dmv with 2 charged batteries to swap out(only 2 miles away and ya i know that wasnt the best idea) and that was about 15 days ago. Today I finally mounted a 12v alternator and got it wired up, put on new spark plug wires, checked the plugs and rewired a few areas with frayed wires. I jump in the car and start it up, starts first crank but running a bit rough and the brake pedal goes straight to the floor with no resistance. There is zero fluid that I can see under the car, does this sound like the master cylinder went out? kind of weird that it would just completely go out, even when i pulled the car into the driveway 2 weeks ago it stopped fine. Zero brakes right now, only can stop with the e brake. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Sounds like a leak somewhere! I'm gonna be honest here; I struggled with the stock brakes on my 53 Dodge forever. Call AAJ brakes and save yourself a lot of headaches. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I rebuilt my '47 brakes then let the car sit for a long time. The master cylinder went completely dry, and there were no obvious leaks. But it sat for years.
I say fill it with fluid and bleed bleed bleed....if you have further issues there is a leak that you may not see or the master cylinder is sh*t. I agree with 53 hemi. I struggled for a long time with my stock brakes and called Roger at AAJ Brakes and did the disc brake upgrade all the way around. Best of luck!!! Keep us posted.
If you are planning to keep and drive the car then look real hard at a disc upgrade, either just the front or all 4. In addition to AAJ, check out www.rustyhope.com For the rear it will be easier \cheaper to replace the axle assembly with a Cherokee or Exploder piece. The stock brake system, when fresh and properly adjusted, is decent, but leaves a lot of room for improvement. .
The only pressure the pedal has is to bring the pedal back up. Wont build any pressure for the brakes, the ebrake is the only thing that can stop it right now. Ill try to add some fluid to see if it adds any pressure. Im not very familiar with 50s/older cars, what is the easiest way to get more fluid in there?
btw, thanks everyone that has responded so far, I do really appreciate it. Learning as I go on this one
There should be an access panel on the driver side floor board to add fluid to the master cylinder. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
I found the access hole and decided to remove the whole cover piece to see whats going on down there. Reservoir was bone dry. Greasy crud everywhere. I think im just going to pull the master cylinder and do the rebuild instead of trying to patch it back together, too dangerous if it fails again. Any recommendations for where to buy the rebuild kit?
I finally picked up some brake fluid today and put it in. Regained the pedal right away. About to bleed it once it cools down a bit. Sent an email over to oldmoparts.com to see how long til they can get me the rebuild kit, weird they don't have online ordering yet. Napa also said they can order the rebuild and would only take 3 days
Most of the time you can get a rebuilt master cylinder for about the same price as a kit. With a rebuild if it doesn"t work you can take it Back
Napa is good. After a while I did get a complete mc from Andy Berbaum but he required a core. They're good people on the phone. When it gets time I highly recommend speed bleeders. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
I need to get my master cyl off the frame. Those bolts are rusted solid as hell too. I'm probably going to use an under floor master with remote reservoir. I hate the floor plate. But first I gotta grind off them rusty bolts.
Hello all. I am new to car restoration and this site, hope I am posting right. Have 53 New Yorker. MC and Power booster need rebuild. Got MC out ok with clutch and brake pedal attached through floorboard. How should the pedal shaft be removed from MC? Doesn't want to budge with medium taps with hammer and large punch. Surely don't want to damage. How is it secured in pace? Also, has damaged clutch pedal bearing seal, where can that be found?
If the vehicle has power brakes, it probably has a "Vacu-ease" brake booster. The seal on mine went out and started sucking brake fluid into the engine. This might be your problem.
Yes it does have power brakes. I am looking for safe way to remove the pedal shaft from the master cylinder.
I pressed mine out with a cheap Harbor Freight press. Went super easy. The 20T press is cheap, and comes in handy. Just don't expect it to be 20T. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Andy Berbaum Oldmoparts has rebuilt MCs. They might have the bearings. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Wow, a possibly record. A post from 2014, hijacked in 2017 (post #16) and now an FNG asking a question from someone who has been a ghost since 2015....
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