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By 58rancho - 15 Years Ago
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I replaced all the brake hoses on my Ranchero this weekend. While bleeding, I inadvertently let the master cylinder run dry. The pedal was very soft, so today I rebled all four wheels and still have very little pedal. Can the master cylinder be damaged by letting it run dry? All brake fittings were dry this morning w/no leaks apparent. This is the original type master cylinder. Thanks for any help! James
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By oldcarmark - 15 Years Ago
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Possibly what has happened is this.Assumung its a master thats been in use for a long time the bore develops a wear area .When you bled the brakes the piston moves past the regular wear area and damages the rubber sealing cups.I dont recall for sure but is that master a single?You might come up with a kit which gives new cups and pistons.OR you might take this opportunity to switch to a newer dual master.Just my suggestion on what has happened.
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By 58rancho - 15 Years Ago
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Mark, thanks for the reply, it makes good sense. I do have a single master cylinder. I see ebay has a dual w/booster for my application offered regularly for $200. Has anyone used this and what would be the pitfalls?
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By 314 - 15 Years Ago
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you probly still have air in your lines.sometimes it takes several tries.
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By 55Birdman - 15 Years Ago
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You may want to get a newer single M/C. Mustang,Granada etc non power brake . The brakes dont care what type of M/C sent the fluid to the shoe. May consider a dual cylinder. easy to install . I have 78 Granada dual cylinder in my bird.Didnt cost 200 either. I had the same problem with my install. It was just air and took several bleeds to remove it.
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By oldcarmark - 15 Years Ago
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As suggested before you replace it try bleeding again.I did mine recently.To work by yourself get a clean jar and a piece of hose to fit the bleeder screw.Fill the jar with enough clean brake fluid and stick one end of hose in the fluid and open the bleeder and attach hose.Keep the master full and pump each line starting with longest.As long as the hose is immersed you wont draw air back in.Close each line as you finish it.
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By 58rancho - 15 Years Ago
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Thanks for all the replies. I will try another bleeding or two before I replace the master cylinder.
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By Hoosier Hurricane - 15 Years Ago
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If the front of the car is jacked up appreciably higher than the back, air may be trapped in the forward end of the master cyl and cannot be expelled into the line to be bled out, nor be able to come out of the feed hole in about the center of the bore. Had that happen to me on a non Ford once.
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By Joe 5bird7 - 15 Years Ago
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If you ran the master cyl dry, I'd bleed it as well.....bleeding it via the wheel cylinders can take a while. Just use the m/c output fitting as you would the wheel cylinder bleed valve----open and close as though it were a w/c bleeder. Once you do that, then bleed the w/c's as you normally would.
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By charliemccraney - 15 Years Ago
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Almost a year ago I learned the value of bench bleeding.
http://www.y-blocksforever.com/forums/Topic25673-3-1.aspx?
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By 58rancho - 15 Years Ago
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Charlie, excellent thread! I had noticed that there was no "fountain" in the m/c while bleeding yesterday, so I will bleed it first. I am not quite as handy at fabrication as you, though! Thanks to all, James
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By Frankenstein57 - 15 Years Ago
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James, I bought the 200$ power master cylinder kit on ebay. It was one of my first transactions on ebay, the company was called fatrodder. They took 1 & 1/2 months to ship it, and didn't answer phone calls or emails. I bought it for my 57 ranchero which is still under construction. I since have bought a 58 ranchero that is close to being done. I used the kit on the 58, the exact bolt on needed to have the linkage cut and welded to fit properly. The booster had no piston movement, further inspection showed the piston and packing glands were broke due to poor packaging. So rather than dealing with these idiots, I bought a replacement booster from speedway motors. It seems to work ok, but I get some hard pedal, still need to get all the air out. Have you checked out the 57 fords forever website? 58's welcome.
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By 58rancho - 15 Years Ago
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Mark, thanks for the info on the e-bay deal. I will check out the 57 site as well.
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By kevinwalshe - 15 Years Ago
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I bought a dual master off ebay with a new booster. $200 wasn't bad and I got mine in a week. Just be sure that they send you the correct proportioning valve for it whether you have 4 wheel drums or front discs/rear drums. The dual master is the way to go because with a single, if you lose a wheel cylinder or snap a brake line, the whole braking system fails since it is all linked together. With dual, one line to the front brakes and another to the rear so you should always have some stopping power.
Kev
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