Update:

After the 1st MC being a dud, my buddy had his store deliver one that hadn't been opened and I swapped it out, setting the pushrod clearance and bench bleeding on the car. He also sent a loaner brake pressure gauge kit.

What I noticed, 1, the 1 1/32" cylinder is noticeably smaller in diameter and 2, the 1 1/8" cylinder holds roughly 1/2 again as much fluid and has a longer stroke. When I was complaining about the pedal only going half way down, it was the cylinder. It now goes to the same point it always has.

After bleeding the system yet again, way better initial bite and much more speed scrubbed off before the pedal bottomed out. I used the brake pressure gauge at all four corners and at each corner, the pressure spiked, then bled off as the pedal went to the stop.

On a hunch, I grabbed the flex line on the RF while wife helper pushed the pedal, the line swelled up in the middle like a snake that ate a rat. The LF and rear flex lines swelled as well, though not as dramatically. I have encountered this on other cars, but never on flex lines that "looked ok" on a cleaning and static visual inspection.

I think I found the problem. I've ordered up some flex lines, and I can't imagine they will not fix the problem.

I've had this car (3rd owner) since 1988, and it has done a lot of sitting (he fluid that I initially flushed was cloudy brown and full of little black chunks). That said, I've put about 80K on it over the years as it was my daily driver until 96. To my knowledge, only the shoes/pads have been changed until this summer when it got 2 wheel cylinders and one caliper, as well as an MC (the one I think is original puked out the rear and ruined the paint on the lower part of the booster) and the prop valve, which has given me fits since the Clinton administration. All of this started because I had to pump the pedal when braking and had no rear brakes.

I shall report back after the install and One More Bleed. I need to buy stock in Prestone.

(3) brake hoses were doing that, that is unbelieveable & could of been catastrophic. that sure explains where the psi was going!

No doubt! Particularly on the RF hose. They all look normal when not under pressure. I guess it is a testament to materials and engineering. I'm curious to see what they feel like when pinched with no fluid in them.

And, of course if I had followed THE axiom from my A&P days (always troubleshoot the likeliest failpoint 1st, I may have been done with this project weeks ago

I think the wife has earned (herself) a paid vacation (the grand canyon would be close)

She sure does! Thinking Albuquerque for the Baloon Fest next weekend.

Well, lines installed and the brakes worked great for about 50 miles, then then it started pulling hard the right. The sole unreplaced hydraulic part, the driver's side caliper, started leaking. Another $25 for an O'Rieley rebuilt. I checked the rotor thickness and runout and it was good, so put some new pads on as well.

Should be great, right? On the test drive the booster gave it up and can't stand on it hard enough. I'm sure it was going all along, as at some indeterminate time in the last few years while the car was sitting, the rear seal puled out in the old 4 bolt MC and there was fluid dripping from it for a while. I should have approached this as a brake system overhaul and I would be a lot of time ahead!

I got a rebuilt O'Rieley booster yesterday afternoon and the paint is currently curing. Hopefully, I'll get it installed this afternoon.

Unbelieveable, Mr Murphy just ain't gonna let you go on this deal. I think I'd rather be up in that balloon than with those brakes (& I'm scared of heights!). In spite of the RF leak, if it is pulling to the right there there is a problem with the left side (it ain't doing its job).

Booster installed! It is still quite tight (high effort), but loosening up nicely. No pull or drama of any sort. I still have not dialed in the adjustable proportioning on the rear circuit though.

The LF caliper was the one leaking and causing the pull, so good there!

Thanks guys for all your assistance here, despite the final outcome of the project, it was most valuable and I've learned a lot.

One questions, so I still have the 1 1/8" MC on there. I still have (can't return) the 1 1/32" MC. It has a smaller casting, and from bleeding, I recall it has a shorter stroke from bleeding 87 or so times. Clearly a smaller volume of fluid displacement as well.

Any idea what going to the 1 1/32" would do for the pedal? Ideally, I would like a shorter stroke and lighter pedal effort (though without my new booster broken in, I don't know what it will be with my current setup). I think it would increase pressure, reducing the effort, and maybe have the shorter stroke.

Thanks again
Chris

I ain't did much MC swapping but general theory says going back to the 1&1/32" from the 1&1/8" would give (1) an easier pedal & (2) a longer stroke. I'm sure you're looking forward to swapping it & doing some more bleeding! Make sure the booster round nub clearance is correct

I am reading this diligently as I have 70 bronco with all wheel drums and now have a pull to the left. No leak showing and flex lines replaced.

I had a similar issue you did on my 67 Vette. Manual 4 wheel disc. I replaced all flex lines with braided lines and the pedal got much firmer than when all stock rubber lines were good..

check lining adjustment on the pass sides & if all good then open em up for a visual. EDIT probably wouldn't hurt to check/equalize the adjustments on all 4 corners

Thanks Robert. It has self adjuster star wheels. So get under there and turn until they hang up a little? I will start my own thread once I get going as I don't have the tool or knowledge yet to pull hubs.

get it up on stands on all 4 corners and spin the front wheels forward by hand & spoon it till at one point in the tires' revolution you can hear a slight "tick". On the rears idle it in gear in drive (wheels spinning) & have a helper hit the brakes to stop the wheels & you go a bit tighter then he lets go & repeat till you hear that same "tick". do both sides and safety first of course. if the shoes etc have been replaced/R&R'd & anything in there undone its a good idea to spoon em up till locked solid then go backwards which takes any possible slack out of the parts & that is alot of extra work working with the adjuster which is always a pain but I think you will be OK as is (without that step)

Thanks. It's a 3 speed so I will do the rears like the fronts since going backwards repeatedly is not cutting it.

To the op, is your car locking them up now?

What is spoon mean?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/231266122889?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true

One of those special drum tools..

P d'ro, I haven't had opportunity to test/dial in the prop valve yet, so unknown. That said, I can't imagine they won't. I just haven't been able to get to someplace appropriate to do the deed as of yet.

Yeah, I might leave that for when I'm bored or something, or try it next time I have to open the system. I'm going to do the C-barge rotor upgrade when my rotors give it up. They're both scored pretty good, but width and runout are in spec. I imagine I'll crack one in the next year or so, now that its all road worthy. I have tried to hasten the situation by swapping out the organic pads for semi-metalics.

Hey guys, final report on this debacle. Success!!

Some details, I think the O'Rielly Auto re-manufactured booster is weak. It helped to a large degree, but with the 1 1/8" MC installed, I could barely achieve rear lockup and the prop valve had to be set to max braking and I had really be standing on it.

I installed the 1 1/32" MC and low and behold, better braking than I've ever had in this car (I've had it since 1988). I got the prop valve dialed in from 30 MPH, which I could do on the weekend in a mostly empty stretch in a commercial area. Wasn't comfortable doing 50-0 braking on the block for safety reasons. The homeless folks hanging out in the yard the Rescue Mission cheered for me though. I'll get high speed braking dialed in when I get a chance to go to a buddy's house who has a long flat access road as the back way in to his neighborhood.

Once again, thanks RapidRobert and everyone else who helped me out here. I'm going to call this project good!

Chris

Better way to adjust your brakes is to tighten up your star adjusters all the way tight and then back off.. Seems to set the brakes into the drum better..
If you count the clicks, as you back off, you can do the same with the other side....

Will this raise the brake pedal at all?