The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks no stopping power

I'm finally getting my truck back on the road. My brakes will hardly stop the truck. I have plenty of pedal. It's real hard, very little give when I depress it. If that makes any sense. I really have to stand on the pedal to get the truck to stop. The truck is a 1960 C-10 with a 283, four speed. No power brakes. It has a hydraulic clutch. I replaced the MC, new drums in front, had the rear drums turned. I've replaced all the lines, shoes, brake cylinders etc. I haven't replaced the rubber hoses yet. That's next. I've adjusted the brakes from very loose to slightly dragging. Not much effect. Occasionally I hear a thunk coming from the front and the drivers side seems to stick for a while. Other than that it just doesn't have much stopping power. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

This sounds like a problem I had with a 68 Olds. The brakes were hard and would lock up one drum. After burning out a couple sets of brake pads (not to mention the drum), I found that I had TWO problems.

Problem #1. I used a power brake master cylinder with a non-power brake car "because a bigger master cylinder had to be good" right? wrong.

Problem #2. One of my brake hoses had degraded on the inside, a flap of rubber was acting like a one way valve, fluid would go in to the brake cylinder, then the little flap would block the fluid from returning!

I replaced the brake hoses and put my original master cylinder back on, and the brakes worked great!

I have the correct MC. A friend of mine said something similar to what you said about the brake hoses. I will get those replaced right away. I hope that does it. I've been too afraid of driving the truck so hopefully I haven't burnt anything up yet.Thanks for the response. I appreciate the help.

It sounds like you've got a mismatch between the master cylinder and the wheel cylinders like Rod suggests. If the master cylinder diameter is too big, there will be a very short pedal stroke and not enough hydraulic advantage between the MC and the wheel cylinders. Make sure your replacement cylinder is correct for the vehicle application- - - - -some low-IQ computer jockey at the local auto parts store might have tapped in the wrong info on his keyboard!
Jerry

The master cylinder I purchased looks exactly like my old one. Could it still have a larger diameter? I guess I don't know what you mean by diameter. How would I go about checking to see what diameter it is compared to what it should be? I guess I could call somewhere else and see if they come up with the same part number. I have a hydraulic clutch and it works fine. Maybe that doesn't matter even with the larger diameter MC.

Fixed the problem. My rear hose was completely clogged. When I cut the hose to remove it there was no fluid. Bingo! Thanks guys. I haven't road tested it yet but am confident that was the problem.

Thanks for follow up. Glad you discovered the issue. Good lesson for us all.
HB

I’m having exact same problem. Hoping new rubber hose will fix this.

Me too. It was an easy fix. I'm still having some issue with the rear brakes. The rim's are hot after driving a while. I hope it's just a matter of adjustment. They don't seem to be dragging when I raise the truck. Guess I'll just keep backing them off. The front is fine.

Brake drums are designed to get hot- - - - -that's how they convert the energy you put into the vehicle to get it moving into heat that gets blown away by air passing over the drums. Unless the drums are changing color or you can smell hot brake linings, you're probably good to go. Make sure the adjustment is correct- - - -Bendix brakes need to be adjusted to get a firm drag when the tire and wheel is turned by hand (NOT locked up) and the adjusting star wheel is then backed off one full turn- - - -10 clicks on manual-adjust brakes, or 20 clicks on automatic adjusters. On automatics, release the one-way locking pawl by pushing it away from the star wheel with a small punch or screw driver.

A stop from 60 MPH of an average size vehicle dissipates enough heat to MELT a 9 inch cast iron skillet!
Jerry

I sometimes detect a slight odor. The front rims are never hot. I will pull the drums and inspect for color changes. I will adjust as you described, front and back. I did this initially, front and back, but backed off the rear because of the heat.

Thanks Jerry

A secretary at the high school where I taught auto mechanics used to need at least three brake jobs a year. I followed her down the road one day, and it looked like her emergency flashers were on- - - -gas/brake/gas/brake/gas/brake/gas/brake- - - -etc. I finally wired up a loud buzzer that sounded every time the brake lights came on to show her how much time she was spending riding the brakes!
Jerry

That's funny. I see that frequently. Hard to do with a four speed.

Thanks