Brakes Went Out

[Chris Codd]

My '64 Cadillac DeVille had been sitting for awhile while I was travelling this summer and when I came home it had some issues starting. After replacing the plugs and the ignition coil, it was running better than it had in a long time but the brakes were sticking. I noticed the brake pedal was traveling a little farther than usual when slowing down. Soon after I noticed a hissing noise coming from around the brake pedal. Then I lost the brakes pretty much completely. I couldn't find any leaks from the brake lines or the master cylinder when I took a look around. Is my master cylinder the culprit, or does anybody have any ideas on what to do next? Is it possible I cracked the brake line removing the plugs?

[Jason Edge]

It is odd how The Blog made a comeback! We all seemed to be using the Forums (i.e. General, 63/64 Specific, Restoration, etc.) then in the last few month it seems everyone is finding their way to the old Blogs. Even yesterday after removing Blog from the drop down under Forums, (which I had left to help find things not on the Help Page) I still see people posting new Blog entries! 

My gut instinct would be if I came to the 63/64 Cadillac site home page, looked at the header, and wanted to discuss something my eyes would be drawn to Forums. If you click on the link and then click +Add, and do not select any of the 8 discussion forums,  it will default to 63/64 Cadillac Specific discussion.  I must be missing something! LOL

[Chris Codd]

Thanks Jason, I'll post in the discussion forums from now on. Hope your recovery is going well after the surgery. 

[Jason Edge]

I took Blogs off the drop down option from the menu and existing Blogs are still there, but you can still get to and create a Blog if you are at an existing Blog.

Everyone use the Discussion Forums instead of Blogs.  

[Jason Edge]

Chris, It is because it is a Blog. I wish there was a way to turn off Blogs without losing the tons of info originally posted. A Blog (web log) just a running post of things and pop up at the top as posted. Forum's are much better as they provide chronological posting and nested forums. Blogs are just a linear "throw it out there and see what is up next" type format.
For those wanting to start a new discussion topic I would strongly suggest that you post as one of our tailored Discussion Forums seen below and steer clear of using the Blog feature other than to read what is already out there.

Here are the Discussion forms available.:

• 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion
• Restoration Discussion
• General Discussion
• Chapter Discussion
• For Sale
• Wanted to Buy
• Newsletters
• Suggestion Box
• Trivia

[Chris Codd]

No idea why this blog is posting in order of newest post first, which can make it slightly weird to read through. For anybody wanting to replace their booster and master cylinder, I just wanted to mention that the Delco and Bendix do not mate well without spacers between the booster and master cylinder. The brakes kept overheating and sticking to the point where there was no pedal, but luckily I found a classic car mechanic who knew exactly what it was. A few spacers between the master cylinder and the booster was all it took. Don't mix and match these parts if you're able to. I didn't have a choice as it was all I could find available. 

[Chris Codd]

Times like these, I wish I had a lift to put the car on. The weird thing is the brake pedal seem to move more in the morning and after driving the car all day the pedal seems to have less and less travel which is what made me think it was some sort of vacuum issue, but I wouldn't really know without driving somebody else's car. 

[Chris Codd]

Thanks Tony! I was worried there was something wrong with them, but I guess my brakes never worked the way they were supposed to. My brake booster must have been leaking for a long long time. 

[Chris Codd]

[Chris Codd]

You guys might be bored hearing about this project, but I'm just posting an update. Just received a fresh rebuilt booster back from Booster Steve. The one I had was not the stock one for 1964, but he had a core handy that he rebuilt for me. It's all installed and I finally have brakes again and can drive the car, but the pedal seems stiff and only has about an inch of travel it seems. I'm going to be looking for vacuum leaks tonight and see what I can find. 

[Chris Codd]

Yeah, the paint laid out really nice. I had to paint the rest of the master cylinder while it was hooked up in the engine bay and it was a tight squeeze, but now I won't have to bleed the system again.