brake problems

i put a power disc brake set up on my 56 chevy 4dr and my pedal is very soft you can pump it up and it gets better for a second then soft again we have bleed them five or six times i was just wondering if not enough vacuam or bad booster thanks for any help

 

Big, I doubt its the booster if the pedal comes up when you pump it. Is this a new set up? If it is, did you bench bleed the master before you installed it?

 

Sometimes it helps alot to bleed the brakes with the vehicle running i dunno if yours is running but with it running you can create a lot more pressure in the system and get the air out quicker if it indeed is an air issue.

 

What exactly did you install?

 

Check the vacuum check valve at the booster where the vacuum hose enters the booster. Make sure the check valve is holding vacuum in the booste.r That the grommet that the valve pushes into isn't weathered and cracked.

 

Guess the problem wasn't so bad after all.........He's gone!

 

He's probably outside trying to get the brakes bled.

If you pump it and the pedal comes up there is air somewhere. I've found that a helper that doesn't know what they are doing is almost no help too. It seems so simple, Pump it slowly, hold it, pump it again "slowly" Hold it.

Brakes adjusted correctly helps a lot. Master cylinder push rod adjusted correctly helps. Keeping the master cylinder full of fluid and checking it often is an absolute must.

 

heres a pic of the set up on the firewall. thanks for all the info i will try some thing and see if it helps thanks

 

How is the adjustment on the ream drums? That will give you more pedal right away. You should also be able to bleed it all around without the engine on, then push out the front pads under power. Check for leaks at all hose and line connections too.

Bob

 

All of the above. I've had some terrible helpers that made matters worse. My sister and mom were great at bleeding brakes, just gotta educate people a bit as to what you're doing.

Bob