Alrighty, I went to a salvage yard and picked up a Toyota brake-T today and swapped out the proportioning valve for that on the car.

Still having problems, though. Here's where I think it all may stem from at this point: not bench bleeding the master. I bled it on the car, but it might just require a bench bleed. So I'll do that tomorrow. (Reach through the computer and slap me, I know I should have done it, but thought I could get away without doing it.)

The brakes make a slight wheeze when I press the pedal in, which says to me that there's still air in the system. There are no leaks in the lines, though.

And if that doesn't work, it could be the vacuum booster, because that's all that's left!

On the bright side, all the things I was doing wrong and didn't plan on replacing (proportioning valve) this ridiculous problem has forced me to do, so congrats to you guys, in a sense.

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1fastben
Alrighty, I went to a salvage yard and picked up a Toyota brake-T today and swapped out the proportioning valve for that on the car.

Still having problems, though. Here's where I think it all may stem from at this point: not bench bleeding the master. I bled it on the car, but it might just require a bench bleed. So I'll do that tomorrow. (Reach through the computer and slap me, I know I should have done it, but thought I could get away without doing it.)

The brakes make a slight wheeze when I press the pedal in, which says to me that there's still air in the system. There are no leaks in the lines, though.

And if that doesn't work, it could be the vacuum booster, because that's all that's left!

On the bright side, all the things I was doing wrong and didn't plan on replacing (proportioning valve) this ridiculous problem has forced me to do, so congrats to you guys, in a sense.

Bench bleed doesn't have to be in a bench.
Use the car as a vise Pum pump pump hold--crack the line, repeat.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Like John said, you can do it in the car; bench bleed is just bleeding the MC (can be with the fluid routed back into itself, or cracking the lines at the MC port if you can catch all the fluid). Sometimes it goes faster on the bench.

The 'wheeze' may be the air being let into the atmosperic side of the booster diaphragm, which is often via a port beside the shaft from the pedal to the MC. That is normal.

Dumb question: Are the front brakes hooked up and bled too?

This brake problem stuff is sure going around; it must be a virus in the fluid they're selling these days....

Mark B.

I did bleed the master on the car by using a self-bleeder from Autozone with the line cracked and just pumping away until I needed to refill the fluid until the it turned non-bubbly.

Yeah, the fronts are connected and bled as far as I can tell. I actually installed the brake tee...wait, I already said that.

This is getting to the point where I'm about ready to just take it somewhere. But I won't give up just yet!

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1fastben
I did bleed the master on the car by using a self-bleeder from Autozone with the line cracked and just pumping away until I needed to refill the fluid until the it turned non-bubbly.

Yeah, the fronts are connected and bled as far as I can tell. I actually installed the brake tee...wait, I already said that.

This is getting to the point where I'm about ready to just take it somewhere. But I won't give up just yet!

So to bleed the brakes by yourself (not the best idea) you do need to put a fairly thick grease on the threads of the bleeder so air doesn't suck in thru there.

Quote
1fastben
I did bleed the master on the car by using a self-bleeder from Autozone with the line cracked and just pumping away until I needed to refill the fluid until the it turned non-bubbly.

Yeah, the fronts are connected and bled as far as I can tell. I actually installed the brake tee...wait, I already said that.

This is getting to the point where I'm about ready to just take it somewhere. But I won't give up just yet!

You want to waste a lot of fluid?
Then do it how i said. Assistant's foot pumps and then hold--you crack it just a hair, and close it before he hits bottom--no air in that way. Repeat.

You're doing something fundamentally wrong, this is no different from any other car.
Something is missing from the info.
That's the problem with one line ask---one line answer format.
Gotta find what is not been revealed so far.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Capt. Vanlandingham adjusts the single hanging light in the dark room. The perp squints and covers his eyes from it's blinding radiant glow.

"Where were you on the night of the fifteenth?"

"I was-" Started the perp.

"Liar! I'll have you gassed for this! Don't lie to me! I know there's more to this story than you're telling!"

Captain Vanlandingham had unusual methods, but they were methods that got results, so the DI never gave him much guff about it. Results are results.

----

Anyway! I'll bleed the brakes with a friend tonight, and report back.

The only other thing I've neglected to mention is that the front right has a bit more pressure at about 3/4 of the way down on the pedal when bleeding it, which seems like it might actually be bleeding right.

When I replaced the MC the other day, I still went with a Datsun 210 MC. It's bigger than the handbrake MC, but I was told by a friend at work who used to build and race sandrails that, at least with splitter brakes (similar), you sometimes need a bigger MC to counteract the MC of the splitter because the regular MC isn't pushing enough volume. I don't think this is the case here, but I've been wrong on occasion...

Whelp, I got 'er all sorted out. After much questioning of my fellow mechanics at work, I found that I was actually bench bleeding the master wrong on the car after install. It wasn't totally wrong, I just didn't start with bleeding the lines themselves, then moving to the bleeder after they were fully bled and hooked up.

Also, here's the *learning experience* part, I stopped bothering starting the car after a time because I thought the brakes would just have enough pressure to push back on their own, TOTALLY forgetting about how a vacuum booster works. So with both of those issues resolved this afternoon, it is not bled and operational.

Btw, John, here's the measurements of the rear shocks:

Load: 18.75"
Fully Compressed: 14.25"
Fully Extended: 22"

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1fastben
So with both of those issues resolved this afternoon, it is not bled and operational.

I hope you meant "NOW bled and operational"....if so, good deal! Glad that's behind you. It's a learning moment that will help you the rest of your car buidling career; we've all had those.

Mark B.

I have never liked bleeding the brakes by myself! I like to see with my eyes if there are any bubbles exiting the system. Cant really see that if your pumping away on the brake pedal! Of course on the other side of that coin, my wife hates helping me with that being its always in the dead of winter I seem to be working on brakes!