Brakes

Includes handbrake, cylinders, shoes, discs, rims and rubber.

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noremac52
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Brakes

Post by noremac52 »

Hey all

It's been a very long time since I've been on her but i have just acquired another fb sedan. It's going to take a little work for road worthy but main issue is brakes.

It's running all stock parts apart from someone has replaced the master cylinder with an HQ one. The brakes work but the pedal is very stiff and had to push. Could this be the master cylinder size and lack of booster?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Cheers Cam
camstuart52
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Location: Hobart, TAS

Re: Brakes

Post by camstuart52 »

Anyone? Anything? Please....... :boringg:
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WayneXG95
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Re: Brakes

Post by WayneXG95 »

Brakes are an importnat issue as they stop the car and the car should be taken to a specialist.
But if you wish to persist maybe if you post some pics that might encougage someone to reply. :)
Wayne Chambers
President
FB EK Holden Car Club of N.S.W
camstuart52
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Re: Brakes

Post by camstuart52 »

Understood and I will work on getting some pics.

Cheers
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Craig Allardyce
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Re: Brakes

Post by Craig Allardyce »

You need to look at the size of the master cylinder piston relative to wheel cylinder piston size. Are you running disc or drum?
Is or was the master cylinder off a boosted or non boosted HQ (disc or drum)?
Probably need a little more info.
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Harv
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Re: Brakes

Post by Harv »

From memory, the early Holden masters are all the same bore (1")... I could be wrong though. Changed around UC/VB to metric. The HQ will be split (tandem circuit) though (whereas the FB/EK are all single circuit), with a proportioning valve for disk/drum. Pedal effort should be relatively easy, booster or no booster.

Could be poor alignment between the pedal assembly and master, misadjusted pushrod, manky seized master, or an issue on the drum side.

Troubleshooting a standard early Holden brake system is not too bad, but if someone has cobbled it together it will be harder. Need to be pretty confident that the master is the only thing they changed.

Cheers,
Harv
327 Chev EK wagon, original EK ute for Number 1 Daughter, an FB sedan meth monster project and a BB/MD grey motored FED.
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Craig Allardyce
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Re: Brakes

Post by Craig Allardyce »

Yep I agree Harv. Just wondering what the rest of the set up is or why someone has fitted split circuit master cylinder with the rest all stock. You'd think it would be a softer pedal with the FB EK front cylinders being larger than HQ :problem:
camstuart52
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Location: Hobart, TAS

Re: Brakes

Post by camstuart52 »

Thanks for the discussion

This is the best pic I have......
Image

Everything is stock bar the master cylinder.

Should I look at boosting this setup or Removing this and going back to standard?
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Craig Allardyce
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Re: Brakes

Post by Craig Allardyce »

what does it actually brake like? IF its the same size as standard then I wouldn't think it would be any different in braking from standard.
Maybe you just have a good firm pedal with minimum free travel or as Harv suggest there something wrong pedal/linkage wise.
Boosting is ok for the initial stop but you still get brake fade after multiple applications unless you change to discs. I'm not a fan of boosted drums, especially old drums.
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Harv
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Re: Brakes

Post by Harv »

It's interesting that this thing has split circuit brakes, a heater and windscreen washers. These are three of the requirements for most engineering certificates. I didn't see a collapsible column/red motor/ etc in the photos but wonder if the previous owner was getting geared up for a new driveline.

If it was mine, I'd take it to a (trustworthy) brake place and get them to run their eyes over the brakes. I'd ask them to tell you what needs to be done to get rid of the stiff pedal. If they go over the top (rebuild/replace everything, $2000 job), then find another brake place. The forum is not a bad place to find a reputable one. I'd especially keep the split-circuit brakes if you are ever dreaming of an engineers certificate.

If the price quoted was silly (say more than $600), I'd consider buying a reco'd standard master and going back to bog-stock standard.

One mid-way point is to borrow a known decent standard master and piping (say from someone near by midway through a resto), and trial fit it. If the pedal issue goes away, you know where the problem is.

Cheers,
Harv
327 Chev EK wagon, original EK ute for Number 1 Daughter, an FB sedan meth monster project and a BB/MD grey motored FED.
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Rusty EK
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Re: Brakes

Post by Rusty EK »

Have you pulled the wheels and drums off and had a look in there to see if anything is seized ?
camstuart52
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Re: Brakes

Post by camstuart52 »

No worries.....the closer inspection is to come, everyone I go To get there the wife has a job for me haha

It does gave mounts welded on to suit a red so your all over it.....I'm not interested in that though so it doesn't matter....working brakes do.

Once a further inspection has been done I'll up date you all.....I'll stick with this dual circuit master cylinder condition allowing and not worry about a booster.
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