Brake issues

[mikephillips]

It was mentioned that if the pedal was hit hard everything seemed to work fine and if it was pressed easily then it went to the floor. If the rears were out of adjustment or there was air in the lines how hard you hit the brake shouldn't make a difference as the amount of air or adjustment wouldn't be changed by that.

 

[agmason54]

How about a collasped flexible line?.......
Al

 

[pdq67]

A collapsed flexible line would more likely cause that brake to not release. Sounds to me like an internal leak. I would take the master cylinder apart and take a long hard look at it. Also, I don't see how it could be rear brakes out of adjustment if there is good pedal when the brakes are pounded hard.
These problems don't get better by themselves, they only get worse. Buy a six-pack, pull the master and either repair or replace it. There are enough things to worry about when driving a 40 year old car. That 1.5 seconds it takes to pump the brakes could mean the difference between a pleasure drive and a nightmare.

 

[agmason54]

I have seen the rubber lines act as a one-way valve that will lock the brakes and I've seen them buldge like a baloon.If you're not loosing fluid ,the rears are adjusted,and there is no air in the line what else is left?
agm

 

[jumpinjan]

Here's something that I forgot to mention: If I hit the brakes hard, everything works fine, but if I press gently on the pedal I can get it to go down to the floor without any real resistance

This is not air in the system, this is not rear cylinder mis-adjustment, its not a collasped line. It is fluid leaking past the M/C rubber piston seal. It needs replaced (3 hour job)
(I have seen the same thing happen to my series V, years ago)
Jan

 

[Armand4]

Well, Jan, I was encouraged by the authoritative tone of your message and it turns out you were right on the money. I just finished replacing the master cylinder, and the braking system seems to be working beautifully now. I took apart the old master cylinder to see what was wrong, and I could see that the little piston seal was all torn up and I found some little bits of rubber just sitting in the cylinder bore. I suppose there's a lesson here-- be careful with parts that have been sitting unused for a long time, even if they appear to be functional.

 

[Dr.NO 007]

jumpinjan mobile service

I have an idea. wouldn't it be great if JumpinJan were to equip a modern cube van with all the required tools , etc and put his Rootes Service on the road. Alpine owners far and wide could get reliable and correct repairs across the northern States of USA and southern Provinces of CANADA.
wake up Chuck, shake your head, you are only dreaming. Oh well get another bottle of good Canadian beer and learn how to fix your own Alpine.