Brake System light revisited

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inertia said:
Why does the lite go off when the linelock is released
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Apply pressure. Front and rear systems have equal pressure.

Piston is centered.

Turn on line lock still equal pressure.
Piston is centered

Release pedal and now one side of system has pressure and the other does not.

Piston moves to the no pressure side, light comes on.

Release line lock, both front and rear systems have no pressure,

piston self centers, light goes off.

if you put the line lock down stream of the distro block this should not happen.
 
Dana67Dart said:
Apply pressure. Front and rear systems have equal pressure.

Piston is centered.

Turn on line lock still equal pressure.
Piston is centered

Release pedal and now one side of system has pressure and the other does not.

Piston moves to the no pressure side, light comes on.

Release line lock, both front and rear systems have no pressure,

piston self centers, light goes off.

if you put the line lock down stream of the distro block this should not happen.
Click to expand...

It was a redundant question to hi-lite a point .

Good job !
 
Because the system is once again in balance. The front brake pressure is zero and so it the rear (or very close to it). The reason the light comes on when you apply the front line lock is there is imbalance - the front lines have pressure and the rear have none.
 
str12-340 said:
When you start the car the Brake System light comes on on the dash. When you put moderate pressure on the pedal it goes out.
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Replace the distribution block, preferably with a good used one.

If the brakes work well and the pedal feels good, it must be a faulty distribution block. The piston/spring assembly centers with the absence of hydraulic pressure. It should only light up when you step on the pedal and there is more pressure on one side of the piston than the other.
 
LO23M8B said:
OK so here's the deal. Do this with the key on. You'll need 2 people. First crack one of the rear bleeders loose and push and hold the brake pedal down. Tighten the bleeder and release the pedal. Now go to the front wheel and crack the bleeder and slowly push the pedal down till the light goes out and stop! Tighten the bleeder and release the pedal. Fixed. You just centered the valve. ps either side of the car will work but the driver's side works better, because you can talk to each other and not scream.
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Did you try this?
 
not yet... need a second person at the right time. I will give this a try and if it doesn't work go ahead and bleed the brakes again. Seems to me that it could be weak spring in the new unit, or something hanging up and holding the piston off center. I have the original distribution valve. Is there anybody here that can test/clean/refurbish it?

I take it if you can bleed the system without the piston being centered (post#22) then all the brakes work even if the piston is off center?

Dana67Dart said:
Do you have the ports plumbed correctly?
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They are prebent lines and (thank God) really can only be installed one way.
 
str12-340 said:
not yet... need a second person at the right time. I will give this a try and if it doesn't work go ahead and bleed the brakes again. Seems to me that it could be weak spring in the new unit, or something hanging up and holding the piston off center. I have the original distribution valve. Is there anybody here that can test/clean/refurbish it?

I take it if you can bleed the system without the piston being centered (post#22) then all the brakes work even if the piston is off center?


They are prebent lines and (thank God) really can only be installed one way.
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If there's any air in the system it will need to be bled out. But try this first. I've been doing it this way for xxxx years. Ya like 50+, it will work. To check for leaks use both feet and push as hard as you can for at least 10 seconds then check everything. ps Do you have a posi in it?
 
Does your distro block look like this?

Screenshot_20230103-205837.png


Or this

Screenshot_20230103-205910.png
 
str12-340 said:
I have the original distribution valve. Is there anybody here that can test/clean/refurbish it?
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It can be disassembled and cleaned.

The only thing that would be an issue are the O rings inside.

They might be a special shape and composition


But as my dad always said...

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

Clean the outside, clean the inside.

As for cleaner... Be carefully what you use. The cleaner can't damage the O rings

Put it in and see how it goes.


Yes you can test it.

You could test it by plugging the ports except one on each side.

Apply pressure to one side and check for continuity between the switch post and the body of the block.

Remove pressure and check again, there should be no continuity between the switch post and the body of the block

Apply pressure to the other side and it should have continuity between the switch post and the body of the block

Anything else and it is not functioning correctly
 
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Perfect.

I Just wanted to rule out that you didn't had the newer style distro block with the old style proportioning valve.

It also looks plumbed correctly. And the parts look to be correct.


You mentioned you had a hard time getting the lines to seal.

What if anything did you do to get it to seal.


BTW love the color!
 
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I got stainless lines from Fine Lines. I did this on one of my other Darts several years ago and had no sealing problems at all. There were 2 fittings this time that just did not want to seal. loose tighten loosen tighten loosen tighten check loosen tighten loosen tighten loosen tighten check... the one that gave me the most grief was the fitting between two blocks at the distribution valve. I finally called Fine lines and he asked me how many times I loosened and tightened the line and I told him a dozen and he suggested that I do it another 12 times. He explained that the flares on the stainless were MUCH harder that original mild steel lines. After another dozen tries, I called them again and they were happy to send that 18 inch line to me in mild steel for free. After 2 or 3 tries it sealed right up.

Eye candy (my wife actually picked the color and I'm really glad she did)
DSC04504.JPG


DSC04501.JPG
 
Dana67Dart said:
What is all this about?
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So that is a lower steering sector support from Firm Feel. Even with the steering box properly installed and tightened, the design of that box puts a lot of stress one the mount welded to the K-frame because the pitman arm is so far from the mount that it makes the whole steering sector shaft act as a big lever. Just get a friend to get in your car while you put your hand on the pitman arm at the box and have them reef back and forth on the steering wheel. You will be surprized how much play there is. You can improve that by welding stuff on the steering box mount on the k-frame, or you can secure the bottom of the steering sector to the k-frame at the bottom to eliminate almost all the play. The devise uses a long sleeve bolt in place of the pitman arm nut and that sleeve goes through a planetary bearing with the housing secured to the lower lip of the K-frame.
 
I used to buy stainless lines...then one I day I realized they were one of those 'upgrades' in the hot rodding world that is actually a downgrade.

Yes, they will last forever (assuming that today's SS which is probably made in China is actually to spec). But other than that, they are inferior. They are harder to bend, harder to flare, and as noted above, harder to get to seal properly. They also are more expensive.

As for the lasting forever part...what difference does that really make? The stock lines last 50+ years - we've all seen proof of that - and I certainly won't be around in another 50 years. Whoever owns my cherished A Body in 50 years will most likely yank all the brake lines anyway because, well, they're 50 years old. As we all know, nothing lasts forever but the Earth and sky. And a diamond. A diamond is forever.


As for the brake system in question, I wouldn't sweat it too much until the car is driven a bit.
 
440 Mike said:
Your first picture is a 73 and up disc/drum distribution block
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Right.

I was trying to rule out that the OP didn't have the later distro block that includes a proportioning valve then plumbed to another proportioning valve.


Still trying to figure out why the self centering is not working.

But OP has the correct parts.
 
str12-340 said:
I finally called Fine lines and he asked me how many times I loosened and tightened the line and I told him a dozen and he suggested that I do it another 12 times
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Any chance you got burs or other contamination into the distro block during the loosen tighten / installation process?
 
There's always the possibility the block is faulty...poorly machined or debris left in it. On any mass produced part, a certain percentage will have flaws. I'm guessing, too, that these are made in China which doesn't help matters.
 
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