pavesema

I'm having problems when the car warms up. It runs perfectly fine for approximatly 30mins. Once it gets hot, the break pedel rubs or squeaks and the breaks themselves, seem to seize. I can still drive the car, but when I come to a stop, the car doesn't roll anymore.

The break pedel is also hard to push down. One thread suggested: "Has the brake booster ever been replaced? I'm asking this because there's an adjustment for the push rod length on the brake booster that's quite sensitive. A couple of turns the wrong way and you get brake drag when the brake fluid heats up."

What can it be? One guy pulled up beside me yesterday and told me I didn't have any break lights.

I'm hoping this is a common problem with an easy fix.

Cliff Harris

There is a switch that needs to be adjusted for the brake light function. It is self adjusting. You push the brake pedal down and then push the switch toward a metal "flag" on the brake pedal. Then you pull the brake pedal up as far as it will go. This is what you will see:



One of the switches is for the brake lights and the other is for the high mounted brake light.

Wendell Allen

Have you figured this out yet? I've had the problem with the extra firm brake pedal for quite a while now, but I've not driven the car except around the block for about 4 years now. I'm getting it back on the road again and ran into this last night, except more extreme. I drove it to Home Depot last night which is about a mile and a half from the house. Same thing as yours, the car would go, but took some extra gas to get it going. I had to use both feet on the pedal to get it to stop. On the way home, the problem continued to get worse until about a quarter of a mile from the house, I barely had enough throttle to get it into a parking lot and had to leave it over night. I guess once it cooled down, I was able to get it home this morning. But I'm still trying to figure out what it is. The car doesn't pull one way or the other, so I'm wondering if it's the master cylinder. I don't know anything about an adjustment, so I'll explore that. In the mean time, if you figure this out, let me know and I'll do the same with you.

Regards,
Wendell

Mike1985

My master cylinder just quit on me, left me with the slightest amount of brake. Had to drive 5mph home the whole way.

Wendell Allen

That's what I'm thinking because it doesn't pull one way or the other like I would think it would do if it were a caliper. I'll check that first.

maddogwyatt

That could be it. Many years ago I replaced the master cylinder on my Jensen Interceptor. Being a very low volume British car, they used parts from all sorts - Chrysler Motor and Trans, Austin front suspension, Jaguar rear axle. The brake system was Jaguar too, so I used a Jaguar part (it was cheaper!). My pedal felt fine but the more times I braked, the harder the brakes remained on. Turned out the push rod was a fraction too long. I cured it by grinding a few millimetres off the end. Hope this may help.