Crap that was close!!

[Kats66Pny]

Since its nice 70 outside today I thought I'd take Gert to go pick my daughter from school since all the kids LOVE seeing the mustang. Well I go to start her up, it takes a few tries since it's been cold and hasn't been started this week. I put it in reverse and slowly back out of the garage.....


and I keep rolling down my driveway into my neighbors front yard!  NO brakes!!  They worked fine last time I drove.


That scared the crap out of me. Luckily I didn't smash Gert or anything in their front yard and was able to get her in drive and get her back in my driveway and hope in the Sebring and go get my daughter. About to go check the brake fluid and look for any leaks. I didn't see any fluid on the garage floor though. 

[70_Fastback]

If it happens again, hit the emergency brake.  It'll slow you down.

[Kats66Pny]

What e-brake. LOL Previous owner never hooked it back up.

[AzPete]

That is why I always try to apply the brake before I move the car.... It is scary when that happens though. Feel like you pick up speed as you try to stop.

[Kats66Pny]

I had the brake pedal down when I put it in reverse. Felt fine. But my garage is level. My driveway is a downgrade slope. Luckily my neighbors grass is nice and thick which helped slow it down. Of course I'm sure they won't appreciate the set of tire tracks I gave them across their pretty lawn. 

[AzPete]

Good reason for converting to a dual bowl master cyl.

[Kats66Pny]

Can't find anything leaking under the car.  The guy who I'm swapping seats with, is a mechanic at Toyota ... he said there's some puddles on the floor and something about a seal near the brake pedal?

[AzPete]

Yep, looks like it is time for a master cylinder replacement/rebuild........whichever you choose.

[Kats66Pny]

Well.. I needed a dual MC anyway. Now I know what to ask Santa for. LOL Oh and the guy sent me a message ...

"check that seal under your dash to the brake booster, and also jack up the car and check all the wheel cylinders on every wheel.  your leaks gonna either be in one of those two locations more than likely......."

[AzPete]

Yep, also time to go thru each wheel and rebuild as needed. I am running a '74 Maverick manual master cylinder for disc front/drum rear. Not sure if there is the same model for drums all around.

[cmayna]

Kat,
glad to hear that your signature butt was not hurt during this ordeal.    So is that moisture I see on the floor under the dash?   Sounds like it is time for a major brake overhaul.

[Kats66Pny]

Yeah that's a puddle of some fluid on the floor. Looks like Gertrude won't be going anywhere for a long while. *sigh*

[Starfury]

Make sure to clean that stuff up.  It's pretty corrosive.

[Kats66Pny]

Would this be something to look into getting? 

65 66 mustang power brake booster setup

[AzPete]

Looks good. Depending on your engine build, radical cams lower the amount of vacuum to operate the booster. I have never liked the boosters myself. The setup on mine is manual and is easy for the wife to operate.

[Kats66Pny]

So I went out to check on Gert this morning to see if I could get the stupid lid off the MC to check the fluid (just found some vice grips this morning in the packed stuff). Got the lid off and the MC is empty.   There we no puddles in the garage before the brakes went out. So where the hell did all the brake fluid go?   


I checked under the car again..this time there was a puddle, about 12" in diameter, of something directly below the pan. While I was looking, I saw it drip from an area but didn't see a precise location. Looked like it came from the area circled in red. That area is the only area that is wet looking.

[sigtauenus]

If the cap is on that tight that you need vice grips, have you ever checked the brake fluid?  It may have been low since you bought it.  I don't think brake fluid would evaporate that quickly that you wouldn't notice it.  Based on the amount inside the car you showed us earlier, I'd say that is commensurate with a leaking seal and the empty reservoir.

The area shown on your oil pan is very common.  The base of the balancer gets a groove worn into it and replacement of the seal does during a rebuild does not fix it.  The next time the engine is rebuilt you can either replace the balancer or get the base of it machined smooth.  They aren't that expensive, probably easiest to just replace it.  The leak there isn't a big deal, more of an annoyance.  The other common leak in that area is the oil pan seal that wasn't installed properly.

[apollard]

The next time the engine is rebuilt you can either replace the balancer or get the base of it machined smooth. 

For about 8-10 bucks, a bearing house can sell you a repair sleeve specifically design to repair seal surfaces. Used them for lots of stuff, including a crankseal on an outboard that ran 5500 rpm most of it life.

[Kats66Pny]

We put fresh brake fluid and bled the brakes back in.. end of May, early June.

[Kats66Pny]

Got Gert moved over to the new house yesterday.  Friends who have a brother that owns a tow truck are awesome.   

Now the fun begins. Pulling Gert apart and not see her whole again until spring/summer.


Is there a website out there that has a list of dual master cylinders that are compatible with a 66 mustang? 

[AzPete]

I am using a '74 Maverick, dual bowl, disc/drum. If you are staying drum, there might be one for that combo from a '74 Maverick also.

Might look in here... http://www.chockostangclassicmustang.com/aboutchockostang.html

[janschutz]

I have a couple for a 68 mustang with non power drum if you want one.  I also have one for a 74 Maverick with non power disk. 

[Kats66Pny]

I have a couple for a 68 mustang with non power drum if you want one.

For now, I plan on just keeping drums all the way around so I guess the 68 one would work? What about the push rod? I think I read somewhere that it needs to be changed as well? I know I'll need to order some new lines and I saw some sets of pre-bent ones in my mustangs unlimited catalog.

[Kats66Pny]

I went to O'Reillys to see if they had something compatible to fit on my 66 and they pulled out this one they had in stock.

68 Mustang V8-302  5.0L
part # 10-1485
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/A1C0/101485.oap?keyword=10-1485
I looked under the compatibilty but don't see '66 listed.

I assume this one would work for my 66? 

[apollard]

I went to O'Reillys to see if they had something compatible to fit on my 66 and they pulled out this one they had in stock.

68 Mustang V8-302  5.0L
part # 10-1485
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/A1C0/101485.oap?keyword=10-1485
I looked under the compatibilty but don't see '66 listed.

I assume this one would work for my 66? 

Yes, it's not listed as compatible because you will have to fab lines - which you already know.