hard to stop

[Roman Tasel]

I finally got to drive my 620 for the first time:D The l18 pulls pretty good! Its a fast little truck. Anyways, when i want to stop, i have to floor it to get a comfortable stop. Maybe a leak in my break lines?

[lynchfourtwenty]

sounds normal... :lol:

[datzenmike]

Does the pedal feel firm or does it feel mushy and go down to the floor?

[lynchfourtwenty]

also what year rig we talkin here? we talkin all drum or front disc?

 

 

my truck stops better then it did when i had all drums but with my big ass 2 piston calipers my pedal travels pretty far down... an some times one or both the rear tires will drag a little

 

im usin the 79 620 MC

 

with 88 pathfinder 2 piston calipers

[datzenmike]

L18 but I checked the sig and it is in fact an '74 so drum. Now that's a bitch to stop if they aren' ALL adjusted.

Edited January 11, 2009 by datzenmike

[ggzilla]

Er, that's dangerous. Like Mike says, get out there and adjust the drum brakes. Get 'em fairly tight.

[Roman Tasel]

its all drum and the pedal feels soft and easy to push.

[ggzilla]

properly adjusted and bled, drum brakes won't feel soft. The pedal should move down a tiny bit then be firm.

[datzenmike]

If the brake shoes are not adjusted properly, they will have to travel much too far before contacting the rims. This means the pedal will travel too far pushing extra brake fluid. Adjust all four brake drum adjusters to spec.

 

The brake system should be air tight. If the fluid has been allowed to drop too low in the master cylinder reservoir, air could have gotten in. Air is very compressible and the pedal will travel further to compress any trapped air and feel spongy. Bleed all air out and replace with NEW fluid.

 

Old or leaking wheel cylinders can be the cause of low fluid or constant refilling. If leaking air can be sucked back into the dystem when releasing the pedal. When adjusting the brakes, take the drum off and look at all the break shoes and parts while looking for any wetness.

 

There are flexible rubber brake hoses between the body and the moving suspension and wheels. Inspect them, looking for bulges, damage or cracking. Soft hoses will also require more pedal travel and have a spongy feel.

[mike]

If you pull your brake drums and everything is dry and all your hoses and fittings throughout the system are dry also it is most likely your master cylinder. If your rubber brake hoses are cracked and dry rotted REPLACE THEM!!! It is way cheaper than an accident, it hurts less too.

 

Its been my experience that when I only replace one wheel cylinder inevitably another one will start leaking fairly soon (within a week or two) so you might want to replace all 4 or at least the 2 on that axle...

 

If everything appears good, flush the brake system until all the fluid looks good and try bleeding/adjusting them again. Also (I know this one from experience:rolleyes:) take your emergency brake off when bleeding your brakes... it makes adjusting the rears way easier too:lol:

 

Good luck getting her figured out.

[fisch]

I think these guys have you covered. But One more thing to check, I thought my 521 was properly adjusted, and it was, but still wouldn't stop well. BUT, it turns out the rear cylinders were frozen solid, so even though they adjusted out fine, they did nothing to stop the truck!

 

To test this, jack up the back of the truck, spin the wheel with your hand, and hit the brake and see if the wheel stops.

 

I doubt this is your issue cause you have a soft pedal. Mine was firm, naturally, cause the fluid wouldn't move out in the rear cylinders.