1979 Ford F150 4X4 brake job

[crabtruck]

Originally Posted by ErwinRommel

.... We started with the right rear brake. ...The brake got hard.
He then went to the left front brake and tried to get the air out. It went ok.
Fluid came out but the brake is still spongy.
Had to put brake fluid in the master cylinder...

Hopefully you meant you bled the RR, then LR, then RF, and then lastly LF.
To remove the air, the entire system should be bled in sequence.
You must keep the master's level up to avoid sucking air in from top.
Remaining air will make brakes feel spongy and eventially
lead to failed seals in system. Air attracts water to system (bad).
BTW this job could easily require more than a quart.

OK, so hotrod types faster than me, LOL.

[ErwinRommel]

Originally Posted by hotrodpc

If the calipers are not leaking and the pistons are not froze in their cylinders, by all means go ahead and use them. Replace the pads, turns the rotors, and call it good. Might be a good time to pack your bearings too. Not sure of your bearing type in that truck though, may not be necessary at all. When you say you went from right rear then to left front, does that mean you did the others ones too? You will need to bleed all the brakes, starting farthest from the master. RR, LR, RF and end on LF. Once you do all that, you should have a nice firm pedal if the master is good. Get that thing running so you can go find Elly May Clampet !!!

That's what I was telling my brother but he don't listen.

Yeah. I'm gunna find me an Elly May Clampet. You want her on the weekends?\

THANKS TO YOU CRABTRUCK for helping me out as well.

[hotrodpc]

Right on Crab, at least when we see it from 2 he knows its true. Could you imagine the cost of the education Erwin is getting doing this job and all the proffesors he has here in the forum? You wouldn't have learned all of this in a semester class at a Vo-Tech. Its going to be a great thread will lots of details and great pics for someone to find someday when they get in jamb. Had some good real life pics of the specimen vehicle, some great diagrams and instruction from the best in the forum.
When you find Elly May Clampet, you will have deserved to have her all to yourself. Take her out critter hunting in the woods in that fancy fo buh fo truck and then take her for a swim in the cement pond !!! That's Git'n er Done Now, Ya Hear !!!

[ErwinRommel]

Update:
Got in the truck. cranked it up. Let my brother bleed the lines. Pumped the brake pedal 5x's, and kept on, until the brake pedal got hard. Went to the next brake, pumped the brake 5x's and he bleed that one, kept on until the brake pedal got hard. Did this to all of them. Brake still felt loose. Checked the fluid. Was out on the front brake. Looked like the brake fluid came out from under the seal. Cleaned the seal cause rust particles was on it.

Had to run to town and get more fluid.

Came back. Cranked up the old Ford again. This time pumped each brake 5x's and then let him bleed the line and close it back up and went on to the other brakes with this process. Turned off the truck. Checked the fluid. Still full in both sides. Looked like fluid came out from under the seal but don't know if it was from the last time. But the master cylinder was still full with brake fluid unlike the first time.

My brother said the brake fluid came out fast and went far every time he loosen the bled plug.

Got in the truck. the brakes felt hard. Cranked the truck up. Brake got loose but the brake light didn't come on. Drove forward. Felt like the rear brakes were catching but I doubt it....it's just a big truck and needs more gas to go. Went in the field to test the brakes. Pushed in the brakes. Took it a little bit to stop but they seemed to work. Put the truck in reverse. Pushed the brakes. Seemed to catch ok.

I don't know if the lines need to be bled some more or if I just need a new brake booster.

I know I need to get new front brakes and get the rotors turned.

[hotrodpc]

Not likley your front brakes are going to affect pedal height or firmness. If they are there and working, then they should be fine if you have pad left. Unless you have a caliper piston hanging up and not returning all the way. Then that wil cause some low pedal next time you hit the pedal. Not likley you need a brake booster. They usually either work or they don't. Shouldn't be anything intermittant about the booster. If it is not working your brakes will feel the same when the truck is not running as when it is running.

[ErwinRommel]

I know when the truck is off, that the brake pedal is hard but when I crank it up, it gets real loose. I know the vaccuum may came on but I know the brake pedal shouldn't go that low.

I got another questions. My rear drums don't have the parking brake link. Will that affect them?

[hotrodpc]

The park brake shouldn't affect your brake pedal, but it can. Are you sure you have the rears tight enough in the drum? I usually adjust the rears to where I feel the shoes dragging in the drum a bit. Still able to turn them by hand, but still giving some resistance. Why isn't the park brake hooked up? You know if you and Elly May Clampet get up yonder on the hill under the stars and the moon, you might want that E brake. You get to rockin and not realize it, you may just take off for a roll.

[ErwinRommel]

Originally Posted by hotrodpc

The park brake shouldn't affect your brake pedal, but it can. Are you sure you have the rears tight enough in the drum? I usually adjust the rears to where I feel the shoes dragging in the drum a bit. Still able to turn them by hand, but still giving some resistance. Why isn't the park brake hooked up? You know if you and Elly May Clampet get up yonder on the hill under the stars and the moon, you might want that E brake. You get to rockin and not realize it, you may just take off for a roll.

How do you tighten the rears? The adjustment screw?

I don't know why the parking brake ain't hooked up. There ain't no parking brake link and I don't know why. Elly May don't want to do it in the truck. She likes the trees.

[hotrodpc]

You better hold on tight then. She has been hanging around Tarzan's Jane a bit to long.
That star wheel on the brake adjuster is how you make them tighter. There should be a access slot in the backing plate so you can do it with the truck assembled also. Jack it up, spin the wheel. Feel the resistance. If there is none at all, then likley the shoes could stand to be tightened a bit. From the rear side of the back plate, you will want to lift the star teeth UP to tighten the shoes. In the front you will turn them down. Tighten then just enough to where you feel just a little resistance and the shoes are barely dragging the drum.

[crabtruck]

Originally Posted by ErwinRommel

...THANKS TO YOU CRABTRUCK for helping me out as well.

We all try to help where and as we can, nice thing about this group.
Don't get the idea I'm smarter than someone else,
may be that I have played this game before, that's all.

Good questions get better answers. Even from yourself.
I've noticed yours showing not just that you are learning the brakes,
but that you are also learning how to see what you're looking at.
It's turning up here and is what 75 is guiding you with on the steering.
That will stick with you no matter what rig you have.
Don't assume anything, remember "knowing" is the enemy of learning.
And you are doing good, never heard "give up" in your posts.

FWIW I joined this forum because I had a brake problem too.