[AT] OT--Farm Truck brakes

[william.neff.powell at comcast.net]

Agreed, pull the wheels and see whats going on. Brake dust can soak up a lot of fluid. Plus, if it has been leaking the pads will soak up some of it.. Do you park it on pavement or on dirt? If you park it on dirt then it may just be leaking into the ground and you can't see where its coming from... 



I would not rule out the master cylinder leaking... My new master cylinder on my truck did not last a year... 



I  find it highly unlikely that an air pocket that bled out would take up that much fluid... If that much air was in the line I don't think the brakes would work that well. 



Will Powell 

Pennsylvania 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve W." <falcon at telenet.net> 
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com> 
Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2009 7:37:08 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: Re: [AT] OT--Farm Truck brakes 

John Hall wrote: 
>  I have a problem with the brakes on my F-600 Ford grain truck. I have had 
> the truck for a about a year but have never put it on the road. We have been 
> making some odd and end repairs to get it roadworthy. The guy I bought it 
> from had tags on it through 2007. He put a master cylinder on it some time 
> back. I noticed an empty can of brake fluid in the floorboard when I bought 
> it. While using it around the farm last summer we needed to add some brake 
> fluid. Then this winter while sitting under the shed untouched for a few 
> months, all the fluid disappeared from the master cylinder. We refilled it 
> but had no brakes. Parked it to work on another day. When we went to get it 
> to take to the shop, we had full pedal/brakes and the master cylinder was 
> still full. I have looked on every wheel and cannot find a leak (didn't pull 
> the wheels--with this much fluid missing it should be easy to find). We also 
> pulled the vacuum line of the booster to see if it was leaking into it and 
> burring the fluid--dry. Don't see anything leaking from the master cylinder 
> either.  What is the chance that when the guy changed the master cylinder he 
> got a huge air block in the line and was able to drive the truck for a 
> couple years and not know it--and then it finally worked its way out sitting 
> under the shed? If that is not a possibility, then where could all this 
> fluid be going? 
> 
> John Hall 
> 
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> 
> 

John, 
 Well it is possible that is what happened BUT I doubt it. What you 
probably have is a leaking wheel cylinder that leaked, then rusted up 
around it and the fluid drew in enough water to cause the cylinder to 
lock up from the rust. 
I would pull the wheels, clean the brakes and check them. Brakes are one 
item I do NOT play with. They either work or the vehicle gets parked 
until I get them repaired. 

-- 
Steve Williams 
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