brakes

[DukeGnarley]

ok, I've finally got my baers hooked up, and i think i have them bled properly. when i open up the bleeder and someone pushes on the brake, i don't get any air bubbles coming out. I'm also running the Baer (late model mustang) MC that came with the kit in front of a vacuum assist booster. The car seems to stop ok, but I'm having a hard time locking up the brakes. Also, the car doesn't seem to want to start stopping until the brake pedal has been pushed a little more half way down. this is also the part of travel where the pedal starts to firm up. It seems to me that the car should start braking while the pedal is still higher up in it's travel.

has anyone had this problem or can give any suggestions?

BTW the car looks awesome with the discs.. I will get pics in a bit.

 

[67FBack]

Did you check the length of the brake push rod between the pedal and the MC?

Also, are you bleeding them properly? Pump up the brake pedal and with a small amount of constant pressure, crack open the valve with your hose attached. Make sure and close the valve before the pedal is all the way down.

New pads can sometimes take a little bit to wear in, but I would not try to "lock" up the tire with new pads. Wear them in slowly. Also, check to insure you put the correct pads on the correct sides. Some are different. Also, some pads require more heat to start functioning properly. Especially the race pads.

Good luck!

 

[pabear89]

ok, I've finally got my baers hooked up, and i think i have them bled properly. when i open up the bleeder and someone pushes on the brake, i don't get any air bubbles coming out. I'm also running the Baer (late model mustang) MC that came with the kit in front of a vacuum assist booster. The car seems to stop ok, but I'm having a hard time locking up the brakes. Also, the car doesn't seem to want to start stopping until the brake pedal has been pushed a little more half way down. this is also the part of travel where the pedal starts to firm up. It seems to me that the car should start braking while the pedal is still higher up in it's travel.

has anyone had this problem or can give any suggestions?

BTW the car looks awesome with the discs.. I will get pics in a bit.

Check the pushrod lenght from the booster to the master cyl,
with that much travel before braking is felt your running past the boosters assisit level. (moving the inner diaphram past the midway point)

PB

 

[DukeGnarley]

I went back and re-read the bleeding instructions, and did it again. it helped out a little but, but i still have to push the pedal in a couple of inches before braking begins. Before we started bleeding the car this time around, i opened the bleeder and had my dad push the pedal in only an inch from the top, and fluid does come out, so i think i have the pushrod set correctly.

 

[67FBack]

Also, did you use some kind of cleaner on the rotors before installing the pad?

A small amount of any grease, oil, foreign matter can affect the brakes more than you think.

 

[DukeGnarley]

brakes were cleaned... maybe not as well as they should have been. I've got the brakes now where they will stop the car very fast, but the pedal just seems to go down too far before they start to brake. perhaps i just need to spend more time bleeding them to get the pads closer to the rotors or something.

sorry the pics look like crap, it's getting dark around here.

 

[mustangdave]

Do you have an adjustable proportioning valve?

 

[DukeGnarley]

i sure do. runs to the back brakes.

 

[mustangdave]

Actually it should regulate the amount of fluid allowed to the back brakes. Have you tried adjusting it toward the frt.? This may seem rediculous at first but the frt. lines are shorter and theoretically would require less pedal movement to engage. Just something to try... you may have a poor match on m.c. size, vacuum problem,pushrod length, or pedal geometry. Rear drums and rear discs also require different amounts of fluid retention. Best to call the manufacturer and walk through it with them as they are usually well acqauinted with their systems.

 

[lauras70mach1]

Get a vacuum bleeder. $35 at NAPA.

 

[DukeGnarley]

I have one, but when we tried it, it just pulled air through the nipple threads, or around the nipple itself.

 

[Hack]

I agree with the advice of talking to the manufacturer. Since you have new parts, everything should work together. It's possible they sent you a manual system rather than a system designed to work with the power booster you have installed. Is the booster the correct one for this application? How about the MC?

Are the hoses new? Old hoses can flex, not allowing the brake pressure to get high enough.

Another possibility is if the rotors are a little warped, they can push the pads apart. Then too much pedal travel will be required for the pads to get all the way back in to where they are supposed to be. This shouldn't be a problem with new rotors, though.

If the brake pushrod is too short, you'll have a low pedal. The length doesn't affect the distance the pedal must move to engage the brakes. If your pedal height is correct, I wouldn't look at the pushrod as a possible cause.