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    Results 1 to 10 of 10
    1. #1
      Join Date
      Oct 2009
      Location
      CT.
      Posts
      738

      Very little pedal, I'm struggling......

      Good afternoon all,

      I am at that stage in my project where I am now putting fluids in the car. Stainless brake lines all bent up. Wilwood master, non power, Engineered Components 13" brakes at all 4 corners. They use GM calipers and rotors. I put in Dot 5 fluid and have no leaks. Bled the brakes and am not getting any more air out of them. But, I still have a soft pedal until I give it a few pumps. Then it gets rock hard. Let it sit for 10 seconds, and the pedal is soft again.

      Any ideas? A friend suggested it might be a bad m/c. I haven't heard or read on line of Wilwood having a reputation of that.



      Glenn

      1955 Chevy BelAir
      1951 Chevy 3100
      1987 Chevy Silverado

      My last project....
      https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...my-72-Maverick!!

    2. #2
      Join Date
      Oct 2007
      Location
      Georgetown/Austin, TX
      Posts
      307
      Country Flag: United States
      Sounds like you covered most of your bases. I would also agree with you that Wilwood masters don't typically just go bad.

      How well did you bench bleed the master? Maybe try gravity bleeding for a bit to see if it helps?

      Also, take the handle of a screw driver and tap on the length of the hard lines to knock loose any trapped air bubbles. I once thought I had all the air out of the clutch hydraulics in a Ford Ranger, but it still had a very soft pedal. I tapped on the lines with the master open and air bubbles came pouring out.

    3. #3
      Join Date
      Oct 2009
      Location
      CT.
      Posts
      738
      Quote Originally Posted by CliffsBlueCamaro View Post
      Sounds like you covered most of your bases. I would also agree with you that Wilwood masters don't typically just go bad.

      How well did you bench bleed the master? Maybe try gravity bleeding for a bit to see if it helps?

      Also, take the handle of a screw driver and tap on the length of the hard lines to knock loose any trapped air bubbles. I once thought I had all the air out of the clutch hydraulics in a Ford Ranger, but it still had a very soft pedal. I tapped on the lines with the master open and air bubbles came pouring out.
      Thanks for the input. I also just found this thread and see a good way of testing to see if I did a good job bench bleeding the system with a closed port method. This will be tomorrows project.

      https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...aster-cylinder



      Glenn

      1955 Chevy BelAir
      1951 Chevy 3100
      1987 Chevy Silverado

      My last project....
      https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...my-72-Maverick!!

    4. #4
      Join Date
      Sep 2010
      Location
      Beach Park IL
      Posts
      2,838
      Country Flag: United States
      It pumps up, there is air in the system.



      Which calipers? What size master?

      Dot 5 or 5.1?
      Donny

      Support your local hot rod shop!


    5. #5
      Join Date
      Sep 2012
      Posts
      208
      Country Flag: United States
      Sorry to hear of your troubles, I'm going through the same thing except I get no pedal at all, tried every type of bleeding known to man. Waiting on wildwood to take the master back and using an S10 for now. 25 hours wasted so far. Good luck

    6. #6
      Join Date
      Feb 2015
      Posts
      15
      Country Flag: United States
      I gave up with DOT 5. I chased that down forever it felt like and got nowhere. I ended up taking everything off, cleaning thoroughly and using DOT 3. Got a firm pedal much more easily. (I just make sure i don't spill anything)

    7. #7
      had same issue many years back with Wilwood and CCP masters, the issue was my installer wasn't bleeding them properly. i now suggest to take time to do it, does take long. they now use the hose method and after they are done with that they remove the plastic hose fittings and hoses and let it gravity drip out then they plug both ports, then they push the piston in until it pretty much doesn't move more than 1/16 inch. after that they mount it on the car and Motive Power bleed it 2 complete times and perfection.

      also note do not start bleeding any master until you gravity bleed some fluid out both ports, if you don't do this the chamber is dry and you ruin the piston seal and this can also be an issue some of you are having, i learned this the hard way trying to do this myself years back.

    8. #8
      Join Date
      Aug 2007
      Location
      Jonesboro, Arkansas
      Posts
      2,506
      Country Flag: United States
      I also had this problem a few years back wound up being that I needed to take my rear calipers loose and tilt them a little, seems there was a void in the top of them that was holding air. Like to have driven me nuts..

      Carl Wilson
      1968 Camaro - T-56 6 speed - 383 Stroker, 2014 Mustang GT seats. FiTech EFI, Tanks Inc. Tank with Deutschwerks fuel pump.

    9. #9
      Join Date
      Aug 2010
      Location
      now In Dandridge, Tn.
      Posts
      1,301
      Country Flag: United States
      I agree that air is most likely the culprit. Next. GM rear calipers, if these are the type with the E-Brake built into the caliper, they can give you a headache. These have a 'ratcheting' mechanism that keeps them adjusted for the E-Brake to work. So, you MUST hook them up and use the E-Brake from time to time. Also, in the beginning, you need to adjust before the final bleed. If the cables are not connected, you can grab the lever with some pliers and work it back and forth, fairly hard on the pull, to get the piston out to close the gaps to start with. Worth checking.

    10. #10
      Join Date
      Apr 2004
      Location
      OKC, OK
      Posts
      3,739
      Country Flag: United States
      DOT 5 will aeriate real bad if you are pumping the pedal to fast. It also won't give as firm of a pedal as DOT 3/4. I quit using it several years back, too much of a headache.
      Mike Redpath
      Musclerodz & Customz
      405-288-0189
      pro-touring parts specialists
      Musclerodz.com

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