My little baby girl doesn't want to stop! I have a '29 Stutz Blackhawk that has full brake lining's fluid coming out of each wheel when bleed but still no brakes. My "expert" friends say it's the master cylinder. Can anyone tell me how to check and rebuild? Thanks alot

How are you bleeding the brakes? Is somebody pushing the pedal for you or are you using a "one-man" bleeder? Those vacuum bleeders will pull air right past the diaphragms in the wheel cylinders and the pedal will remain very soft. If you've got somebody pushing the pedal and you have a steady stream of fluid, then it might be the brake adjustment at each wheel. Is the pedal solid when it is held down before you open the bleeder screws?

Eddie

Hi Eddie, thanks for the reply! We were not using the vacuum bleeder, I was on the pedal and my buddy was doing the bleeding. The pedal was not solid, it went almost to the floor and barley (at best) moved when he opened up the bleeders, enough to get some fluid out and no air. We adjusted the brakes as per the owners manual. There is no fluid anywhere that was leaking out of any wheel. That's when we came to think that it must be something common to all wheels. Any thoughts? Thanks again. Scott S.

Check to see if there is an adjustment on the brake actuating rod that activates the master cylinder. It is possible that you have too much play (or clearance) in the rod before it begins moving the piston in the master cylinder. Some cars have an adjusting nut on the end of that rod where it enters the master cylinder. Some may be adjusted differently. You do need a slight amount of play, to ensure that the piston moves enough to allow the brake fluid to return to the master cylinder after you let off the pedal. I've run across this several times in '30s-model cars. A classic symptom of too little play is if the brakes fail to release fully after being applied.

Just out of curiosity, how were the brakes performing before the problem occurred? Was the pedal always soft or did it happen all of a sudden and that's why you decided to bleed the system? It may be easier to pinpoint the problem if it's something that has been ongoing, or if it happened only after you had your brakes apart.

Eddie