I have two question about the brakes on my 1966 BJ8 and am hoping for some
advice from the list. I'd like to remedy both situations before Conclave.
1)When I slow or stop my car with average to light foot pressure, the brakes
usually don't release completely immediately following release of the brake
pedal. If the car is still coasting it will continue to slow down and stop.
If I start up again, I can feel (and sometimes hear (from a slight squeal)
that the brakes are still lightly applied. But usually 3 to 10 seconds after
I start accelerating I can feel the brakes release completely and (if
traffic is quiet enough) I can hear a muffled "flump" coming from the right
side of the bonnet.
If the brakes are stuck on when I park the car and turn it off, I could
leave it in neutral and not need to set the handbrake.
But anytime I push on the brake peddle hard and then release it, the brakes
release immediately and completely. This has become my standard operating
procedure, before pulling away from a stop. I was hoping this delayed
release phenomenon would go away once I started driving the car more, but
although the problem may not now happen at every stop, I don't think it will
go away.
The car always stops quickly without pulling to one side or the other. And
last month we blead out all the dirty fluid trying to achieve a more solid
feel to the brake pedal (which felt a bit spongy to another BJ8 owner). The
brakes may have gained a more solid feel, but the pedal currently feels much
spongier than does the brake pedal on my TR6, but when I maintain heavy foot
pressure , the pedal will only go down so far. The car doesn't consume any
brake/clutch fluid.
2)My brake lights only come on when the brakes are applied with a heavy
foot. They don't work during average to light braking.
Has anyone ever experienced either phenomenon? What were the cures? Because
the car stops straight and true, I think the wheel cylinders are OK. And the
"flump" I hear sounds like the vacuum booster to me. Can either the brake
booster or brakelight switch be easily "repaired", or must i invest in new
ones? Or might one of the problems be caused by the master cylinder or lines
or hoses?
I appreciate any and all thoughts.
Sincerely,
Dave Murphy
Dearborn Michigan
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