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Brakes on an old Chevy Pickup

Printed From: Unofficial Allis
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Forum Name: Shops, Barns, Varmints, and Trucks
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URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=160760
Printed Date: 19 Aug 2025 at 11:47am
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Topic: Brakes on an old Chevy Pickup
Posted By: steelwheelAcjim
Subject: Brakes on an old Chevy Pickup
Date Posted: 07 May 2019 at 2:04pm
I still use my Dad's 1979 Chevy C-30 pickup around the farm as a service vehicle. It is a single-wheel 1-ton with only 80,000 miles on it. We only put around 200 miles a year on it. This Spring, we got it out of the shop and it had no brakes. The pedal went to the floor and the dash light came on. It is full of fluid in the master cylinder. It has a Vac booster. I don't see any sign of leaks in a line or the wheel cylinders. They worked when we drove it inside last Fall. Where should I start to look?? Any help is appreciated.

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Pre-WW2 A-C tractors on steel wheels...because I'm too cheap to buy tires!



Replies:
Posted By: jaybmiller
Date Posted: 07 May 2019 at 2:10pm
the cups in the master may be allowing the fluid to circulate within the master and not go to the wheel cylinders. I had that happen on a pro rebuilt master once. great fun comin gdown a steep winding hill with over a ton of topsoil in the old Willys PU...


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3 D-14s,A-C forklift, B-112
Kubota BX23S lil' TOOT( The Other Orange Tractor)

Never burn your bridges, unless you can walk on water


Posted By: DaveKamp
Date Posted: 07 May 2019 at 2:50pm
Aside from air bubbles, it's got a leak somewhere, or a wheel cylinder pin that's dislodged.

I'll bet that if you keep lookin',  you'll find a leak.

Now that said... some are darned hard to find... because they might spray out into an area where it doesn't wet the frame rail, axle housing, or a wheel.

It also may be that the master cyl is leaking into the booster, and under just-some-certain conditions, mebbie the booster is pulling the fluid into the engine and burning it, it'd be hard to tell.

More than likely, you have some old seal somewhere that dried out.

Typically, that BRAKE light will have one of three things that turn it on.  First is the parking brake pedal switch.  Second is the proportioning valve (located down on lower of the cab, or on the chassis rail or crossmember), and the third is on the master cylinder.

The proportioning valve maintains balance between two braking circuits- typically one front, and opposite corner rear, and the other pair.  the proportioning valve typically doesn't 'proportion' fluid flow or alter pressure, it simply is a shuttle piston in a cylinder, that in the event that one side experiences excess flow, the valve shuttles to 'cap off' the leaking side, and provide all flow to the remaining two corners.  There's a switch contact on that shuttle that trips any time the shuttle isn't in the neutral (center) position.  Once you find the problem and fix it, the shuttle must return to center before the system can be operated... typically, a light spring in the shuttle will do it automatically, but they can be gunky sticky when old.

The master cylinder switch usually trips when the piston is bottomed, as this is the indication of a serious problem.

Best way to handle it, is to get a replacement rebuilt set of calipers and wheel cylinders, front and rear flexibles, and expect to replace some hard lines as well.  You'll find that the fluid in there is really cruddy nasty, so plan on running a fair amount of new fluid through 'till it's clean.

Don't short-cut it... if you have a line in there go bad in a year, you'll be tearing it all apart again, which sucks.


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Ten Amendments, Ten Commandments, and one Golden Rule solve most every problem. Citrus hand-cleaner with Pumice does the rest.


Posted By: steelwheelAcjim
Date Posted: 07 May 2019 at 5:11pm
I don't lose brake fluid. The master cylinder stays full. I have not added any fluid, just have no brakes. It is equipped with disc front and drum rear brakes.

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Pre-WW2 A-C tractors on steel wheels...because I'm too cheap to buy tires!


Posted By: DMiller
Date Posted: 07 May 2019 at 5:27pm
Master is failed, buy a reman, bench bleed then install.

And if you need to ask, have seen this at LEAST a hundred times on my own trucks and when worked in a garage, simple failure.


Posted By: DaveKamp
Date Posted: 07 May 2019 at 8:14pm
Yeah, if it's going to the floor, but NOT losing, then the master cylinder has lost a seal, or possibly had the center of the piston corrode and break through.  Once the pushrod hits full depth, the switch trips.

It's actually a blessing when that happens... while you're sitting still in the driveway...

I HAD a '99 Chevy 1/2t pickup that ventilated one brake line, and the ABS pump went nuts and pumped out ALL the fluid, promptly leaving me with NO brakes.  I'm not certain who the brainchild was that thought that system was safer than the split system that prior trucks had, but dumping all the brake fluid in an emergency is NOT what I call a safety-conscious design...  kinda like mounting an aircraft engine on an ejector-seat...


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Ten Amendments, Ten Commandments, and one Golden Rule solve most every problem. Citrus hand-cleaner with Pumice does the rest.



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