mike morrison
New Member
recently purchased this dart with no info , brake conversion was done but I have no front brakes , ssbc cal on front, new M C, New Porp vale new brake lines . Any suggestion /// order vacuum pump to try HELP
brake conversion
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green72
Well-Known Member
Post some pics of MC. Have you measured manifold vacuum? Are the rear brakes working? Proportioning valve plumbed correctly?
jbc426
Well-Known Member
Drum or disc rears? pictures of distribution or proportioning valve please.
Professor Fate
Push the button, Max...
Hard to tell with no pictures or at least a better description, and a basic "year, make and Model" of your car; but-
Since you're asking about a vacuum pump, I'll assume you have power brakes with a vacuum booster. Lack of vacuum has NOTHING to do with "no front brakes", since power brakes will still function without a vacuum source; ie if the engine dies, check valve sticks, or a hose cracks... it will just lose the power assist, requiring more pedal effort. You also need to explain exactly what you mean by "have no front brakes"- does the pedal go right to the floor, do you have sufficient pedal feel but no front brakes, or seemingly excessive effort needed for any braking?
My guess is that the system simply needs bleeding, most people think once they have fluid at the calipers/cylinders, they're done. Not so. It requires quite a bit more bleeding to remove any remaining air pockets from the system.
You also say it's just the front brakes, so I'll assume the rears are functioning satisfactorily; which also confirms that it's not a lack of vacuum, since the booster assists both front and rear equally.
So here's what you need to do:
You say "brake conversion was done", but that doesn't mean it was done correctly.
Make sure the master cylinder is fully bench bled.
Then make sure the lines are all routed correctly- front master cylinder fitting (controls rear brakes) to the correct inlet port of the prop. valve, and the rear master cylinder fitting (controls front brakes) goes to the corresponding inlet port of your prop valve. Then make sure the front brake lines are connected to the correct outlet port(s) of the prop. valve, and the correct outlet of the prop valve is connected to the line going to your rear brakes. Failure to have the correct connections made will result in brakes that will never work right.
Once you confirm that the routing is all correct, bleed the brakes starting at the right rear, then left rear, then right front, and left front. Then bleed them again. once you think you're done, bleed them some more.
Once you have a high, firm, consistent pedal (running or not), you may be done.
If you can't achieve a high pedal, it may be a result of an incorrect pedal rod length- depending on the kit used, it could be an adjustment of the rod, or a different length rod included in the kit may need to be installed. Can't say without seeing which kit you've got.
mike morrison
New Member
I will, thank you, under the weather now //// rear brakes are locking up , vacuum is at 13 in that's why I ordered a pump and sure the port. is in correctly but I will post some pics. of everything. I live in nova scotia canada and it is tough to get any help or service for old cars , in my location
I dislike brake problems. It sure does look like a proportioning issue. Good luck Mike.
Sounds like the push rod for the master is not releasing all the way. Common issue. To check loosen the master cylinder nuts evenly and let them loose see if you can get the front brakes to apply. If so you can adjust the booster for power brake. Manual brakes you will need a different push rod or a spacer on the firewall. See this a lot on conversions there are different pushrods for manual brakes and many mix them up.
mike morrison
New Member
Good morning and thank you all for your comments and information have a doctors appointment today so hopefully back on my feet soon, so in the pictures you’ll see my car, the engine bay proportioning valve from SSBC and the new portion of valve installed. so when I got the car very little break that started a year ago just back brakes. They would luck if I had to come to a sudden stop so over the winter I started researching got some help from different people that did not work now I replaced the SSBC proportion valve, and that didn’t seem to work the gentleman helping noticed particles in master cylinder so I replace that and being careful to make sure the plunger was the correct size that didn’t work so we reversed the lines on the master cylinder that didn’t work in between all of these changes lines were all bled first by gravity and then with some pumps one thing that was discovered my pedal will only go down so far I’ll estimate halfway when we bled the front calibers. It would go to the floor not sure if that makes any difference soul got a text from SSB on the phone he says the vacuum should be at least 20 and that would increase the pressure at the calibres which need a substantial amount of pressure for them to work properly so my car sits today after all of that and no luck I believe I’ve covered with the exception of the rod for the pedal all of the scenarios that were suggested to me again thank you thank you thank you, so I have ordered a vacuum pump which is not here. That would be my next try for brakes. Also, I would like to add on the original SSP proportion of valve that was installed on the back brakes only during this whole scenario we have a upgraded lines and hoses. like many people who have purchased a classic this can be so frustrating as I am up in years. This may be my last classic car but I would like to get some enjoyment and safe enjoyment anything anybody wants to add I would be thrilled . Thank you, Mike.
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