The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Brakes

Time to move the 46 1.5 ton from my old residence. The landlord decided to double our rent December 1st of '04, or we had to be out by the 31st. Needless to say we had a great Christmas and New Years. I had taken so much apart on the big fella and it was so darn cold here that there was just no way to move her until Spring. We went over to try to get her running today, and no brakes at all. When I bought it a year ago, I drove it home down from the mountains and the brakes worked great, but the owner mentioned that the master had to be topped off every so often.

Well, dummy me of course neglected that and now the peddle goes to the floor. I really need some advice because the truck has to be gone in 3 weeks and is parked on an incline( in gear with the parking brake locked back good).

Please understand brakes are something I really want to learn about, and I will rebuild them properly, but right now I know nothing, I mean nothing about them. The only thing I've ever done is relace pads on new cars a few times...no bleeding or anything. And I've got to move the truck before our written agreement expires.

So wise gentlemen, how do I get them to work enough to drive said truck five miles in Denver to our house? Please, any advice is welcome, but please explain things explicitly. I'm kinda hoping I can just add fluid and bleed them, but how do you bleed brakes? On a big truck?

Thanks in advance, I sure appreciate any help I can get!

I use the 2 person method, and here's how I do it. First find all of your bleeder screws, they are located on the wheel cylinders right next to the brake lines on each wheel. They should require a 3/8" wrench, and probably have a small screw on the end of them which requires a 5/16" wrench. Make sure all screws can be opened freely. Fill the master cyl., replace cap, and have #1 person pump the brake pedal several times until it begins to build pressure. When there is some pressure on the pedal #1 pushes and holds the pedal. #2 then goes to the wheel furthest from the m/c, meaning the wheel that has the most brake line between it, and the m/c. On my 48 that would be dr. rear. With the small screw in the end of the bleeder removed, crack open the bleeder screw about a 1/4 turn and have #1 tell you when the brake pedal goes all the way to the floor. #1 holds the pedal to the floor and #2 closed the bleeder screw. #1 pumps brake pedal until there is pressure and then holds pedal. #2 opens the bleeder screw and #1 tells #2 when the pedal is all the way to the floor, #2 then closes bleeder screw. Repeat this process until only clear brake fluid comes out of the bleeder screw, no air, no bubbles or foamy looking fluid. Then work your way around the truck hitting the next wheel closest to the m/c each time, and repeat at each wheel. On my 48 2ton I went dr.rear, pass.rear, dr.front, pass.front. When you are done replace the small screws in the ends of the bleeder screws. Throughout this process, check to be sure that the m/c stays full of fluid, and remember to recap the m/c before you start pumping the brake pedal.

Did I miss any thing? That's how I've always done it, other guys might have easier or different ways.

Put some fluid in the master cyl. & pump them several times. They will probably come up enough to drive it a ways.

Why are you worried? Even if you don't get the brakes working yourself, call a tow truck. And if you are unsure about your work, a tow truck bill is a lot better than getting in a wreck and hurting someone or yourself- and I'm guessing since the truck is just sitting, you don't have insurance on it. I'd have it towed and not worry about it anymore.

Last time I needed to move by big trucks instead of sweating the brakes (which have problems) I used a wrecker. It cost less than $100 to move two trucks about 4 miles.

You might add fluid and bleed the brakes and do just fine. The cost of loosing the brakes while under way could be far more than the cost of a wrecker...

I'm with the tow people on that one, man.

I'm of the opinion that a sealed brake system shouldn't loose pressure or fluid.. so if your brake fluid level seems to be dropping, and the truck is just sitting there.. that means the fluid is going SOMEWHERE, right?

Ok.. so if it's going to vanish with the truck just sitting there.. whats going to happen when you put some PRESSURE on those lines?

Murphys law says you'll find out.. right about the time your rolling up on a red light doing 35 MPH going downhill.

Brakes aren't any place to roll the dice, my man.. bite the bullet and find somebody to tow the truck to it's new home, and don't put the truck on the road till you have the brakes fixed, and fixed right.

If you can't afford to pay the $50 to $70 it costs to get it towed, you probably can't afford the lawsuit you'll be facing if you take out a busload of nuns while blowing thru a redlight.

An alternate method would be to use tow chains, and pull the truck home.. that way, if the brakes do happen to crap out, the only thing the truck will be slamming into is your own tow vehicle.. and if you tow it with something that the bumbers line up with decently, the damage wouldn't be that bad, if at all.

Use the chain in a thick tube trick. The tube absorbs the push without requiring the two vehicles to touch. Also, make sure the tow rig has enough brakes to stop both trucks...

But it could cost more to buy the thick tube or pipe and chain than to have a wrecker do it for you.

Thanks for the replies fellas. Since the previous owner said it's had a slow leak for the last twenty years since he owned it, I'm going to do the bleeding first.

Keith, thanks for the response, I'll print it out and do as instructed...doesn't sound all that difficult.

The cheapest tow bill so far is $150, no one wants to touch it.

Thanks and I'll let you know how it goes!

Dan, I re-read your post, if your only going 5 mi., I'm with Wrenchbender, first just try filling up the master cylinder and see what happens, you have to fill it to bleed anyway. Does your parking brake work? If so you've always got that to fall back on if they give out in 4-1/2 miles.

Hey Keith, the parking brake is all that's holding it on a 9% grade right now...seems to work great. My Dad was out to visit just after I bought it, and I just talked to him yesterday. He says I should have the wrecker tow it....right to the junkyard. Ye of little faith.

If you don't have to move it too far have you considered the use of a tow dolly attached to a truck with really good brakes? Just another option.

I've got a Chevy Impala with really good brakes, and some rope. Does that count?

Can you make this drive never exceeding 15 mph?

That truck weighs at least as much as your Impala, and the brakes on the Impala were designed to safely stop at most 1,000 lbs more than the weight of the car. The truck must weigh 4,000+.

An early 70's big block Impala wagon with a towing package would be different than a '62 two-door post, but it still scares me.

Kinda kidding about the car...it's a new one, and I'm pretty sure the insurance man would laugh at me.

Most of the wrecking companies have those flat bed deals.. I don't know that a 1.5 ton '46 would fit on one!

I pulled my '46 2 ton home with an old Dodge Power Wagon, with the 318 in it, it pulled that big ole truck (with a bed full of scrap, I might add!) like there was nothing behind it at all.

Of course, I only had to pull it about 4 miles down a gravel road out in the middle of the sticks.. tooling around thru town with it might have been a different story.

I'll second the tow truck option! I've managed a couple of heavy-haul towing operations, and most of the people who do this type of work will be pretty reasonable if you explain what's going on. I've even been called upon to drag a bulldozer out of a pond once, where it was buried in mud up to the top of the tracks! Even with a 35-ton winch, that was a pretty challenging job!

If you decide to bleed the brakes and drive it, here's a sneaky bleeding trick. Open all the bleeders, and fill the master cylinder. Gravity will force trapped air toward the wheel cylinders. Once a little fluid is dribbling from all the wheel cylinders, close the bleeders and proceed with the bleeding operation like usual, starting with the cylinder furthest from the master cylinder. Don't get too energetic with the pedal pumping, or you'll break the air up into tiny bubbles. Just a couple of strokes on the pedal, then hold it down and open the bleeder screw. Close the bleeder before allowing the pedal to retract, or you'll siphon air back into the wheel cylinder.
Jerry

Hey Dan, I dont know about the big rigs, but on my 1/2 ton I installed new MC and all new wheel cylinders bled and adjusted all cylinders and shoes just like the Shop manual says and still NO PEDAL. Finally I just madem drag a little, then I had good pedal. I also rigged up a mason jar and clear hose to stick over the bleeder with a little fluid in the bottom of jar- so you dont suck air back. Works good you can watch the bubbles come out of the brake lines and cylinders and then turn to clear fluid. Then just close bleeder like the guys are saying. Its less messy also If you are in garage. Thats my 2 cents worth.