The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks 61 chevy brakes

Im just getting my 61 road worthy and have a question about the brakes. they stop the truck fine enough but the brake pedal will not return when i take my foot off. the actual brakes arent locked up as the truck will roll easily even with the pedal stuck down. i can reach under it with my toes and pull it back up easily enough also. this leads me to ask if there should be a return spring to pull the pedal up or if maybe it is just some thing sticky elsewhere in the system. any knowledge will be greatly appreciated.
Randall

Yes, there is a return spring for the brake pedal so you may want to check that. Also, I would be concerned about the piston in the master cylinder sticking. I say that because even without the return spring the pedal should come back up some when releasing pressure off the master cylinder. How much free travel do you have at the brake pedal once the pedal is back up all the way?

Thanks Mike,
I took the master cylinder off and completely disassembled it and then I bead blasted the housing and cleaned all the seals and springs and whatnot. Now I have a master cylinder that looks brand new and also works like it too. But the pedal is still staying down so I guess Ill have to look at the pivot point on that as Im sure it is rusted up and sticking as well. I dont think the master cylinder piston was sticking before as I had very little free play when I would pull the pedal up manually but I knew that it could use a good cleaning anyway.

Most definitely take a look at the pedal. Even if the return spring is there perhaps it is weak. Or, like you said, maybe it's binding up under the dash. It is kind of strange. With the pedal stuck down, if you depress the pedal further do the brakes work normally? Also, is the pedal good and firm or is it spongy?