HELP NEEDED (brake problems)

[Dirty Harry]

Hi There, to all the brake gurus please help :!:

I'm a Dutchie so if my typing is not perfect....
I have a big problem with my brake setup, all the parts from drums, wheel cilinders, brake shoes, hoses, brake lines and master cilinder are NEW!
But the problem is that the pedal is very low to the floor before it builds up presuere (see pic in cm).
All the parts that i purchased are the right parts for my year of van.
There is no air in the system for that i'm sure, and the brake shoes are proper adjusted and there is no slack in the pedal, but this is the highest point (pedal) that i can get.
One thing is strange, my original ATE master cilinder had 2 inline valves 1 for the front and 1 for the back, but these types are not available anymore so i have a mastercilinder (22mm) without inline valves.
The function of these valves is that they keep the wheel cilinders a little presuerised.
Could the missing of these valves be my problem, anyone on here with the same problems :?:
How high should the pedal be when presuerised :?:
Oh yeah my van is a 1970 US import westfalia.

 

[ronmidg]

Hi Harry

I suspect with all new parts you will need some movement to get pressure, when the new shoes are bedded in you should be able to adjust the clearances tighter without dragging. You will be able to get the handbrake adjusted tighter also which helps the movement at the rears.

There is a change to the master cylinder piston rod adjustment, early has the adjustment at the brake pedal stop, and later has the adjustment at the piston rod. With your new MC have you got two clearances where you should have one?

According to the manuals the check valve is there to ensure the lines are full of fluid, but abandoned with later models which stay full of fluid despite not having a check valve. Have never seen an explanation of what is entering the system to replace the fluid that might move back to the reservoir if a check valve was not fitted. Maybe because the splits had the reservoir on top of the master cylinder under the floor, so could easily be below the level of the wheel cylinders, especially if jacked up for maintainence. I suspect the later models anticipated future disc brakes and the need to ditch the check valve and all have raised reservoirs which ensures the lines are full but not enough pressure to make disc pads rub. So I dont expect your lack of a check valve to be the reason you have a lot of pedal travel at the moment.

 

[dubdubz]

if you operate the brakes do they work [ignoring the pedal position for a minute!]

if the brakes operate fine but the pedal is lower than before? or than you think then the prev reply is probably the answer
the adjuster on the linkage could also as mentioned need slight modification - are the 2 MC's of similar size?

post some pics [ I love pics and esp of your bus!! ]

 

[six]

exactly same problem here. Ive converted to late bay discs on the front, late MC (non servo) new lines, no air sounds same as yours.. im getting approx same amount of travel before my brakes bite.. ive adjusted the rod, and left slight movement there as required..

ill keep looking also..