Brake Problem on a Century-55

**Jamesgarfield** · 04-28-2009, 11:08 AM

Hi

This spring I've experienced two different but very annoying problems with the brakes in my Century -55. When getting it back on the road again after 2 months in the garage, the car started to pull to the right (front end) when applying the brakes. Now I’ve had the drums of, installed new wheel cylinders and new brake hoses. The brake shoes are correctly mounted according to the shop manual and they are nearly new. There is no grease, oil or other slippery substance on the shoes or drums and everything has been thoroughly cleaned with meth. The surfaces on the shoes have been “buffed” with a rough abrasive. Springs, struts, anchor pins, adjusting screws are all in good shape and freely moving. Wheel bearings are in good shape and adjusted. The king pins are okay and the car doesn’t steer at any direction when driving without holding the wheel. I’ve had the left front side brake pipe taken of, inspected and cleaned before assembled again. I’ve also bleed the system when the pipe was disconnected to ensure there was no dirt in the front connection joint. With everything mounted again I’ve done a bleeding of the system, filled the reservoir and adjusted the shoes BUT the car still pulls to the right? There are nearly new radial-ply tires on all 4w. Anyone got any idée to solve this mystery?

The second problem is really serious. When cruising last Friday everything seemed normal (except for the to-the-right-pull-effect) but suddenly when applying the brake the pedal “fell” all the way to the toe board and there were no brakes what so ever. It was sort of stuck in this position for a couple of seconds and then slowly raised again. Thereafter it was totally normal again, as if nothing had happened? Could there still be air stuck in the system or is it something wrong with the power brake booster?

HEEEELP

**sledhead** · 04-29-2009, 06:06 AM

your master cylinder may be sticking mite have rust in it.take off and overhaul it, flush out complete brake system, do not us the new style brake fluid (silcone). Right tire may have broken belts in it. Jack up car spin wheel to see if tire has run out. Tire will be pulled out on either side of tire look very close or put something close to tire as you spin it. so you can see if there is run out.

let me know if all works out hope this helps!!!!

**BigRivy** · 05-01-2009, 02:04 AM

Look for a worn out or damaged steering or suspension component that would allow the wheel to toe out when the brakes are applied. A shot outer tie rod end or brake reaction rod bushing,if it has them, might do this. I'm not totally sure how the front ends on '55 Buicks are put together, but that's where I'd start looking. Is this something that just started out of the blue after a period of sitting? Or was some work done on the car and then it started. Having both primary shoes on one side or having one drum that is larger in diameter than other can cause problems. But these things usually show up right away after the work is done. If you've been driving the car awhile with no problems and then just let it sit and these problems developed on their own you can probably ignore my last two suggestions. Good luck.

**RiKi5156** · 05-14-2009, 08:00 PM

after two rebuilds in 5 years of the treadle-junk brake booster on my 55 century i went to a street rod catalog and got a 7inch dual booster/1" master cylinder from Master Power Brakes.I had to fabricate a simple L shaped bracket which i welded to the frame.I used the original long pushrod and it mounts in the original space.This car now stops so hard it will suck your eyeballs out!!!!!!!!!!! The only thing undesirable about it is the m/c lid is close to the floor making it hard to fill and the bracket is welded which of course is not original. When making a panic stop from 50 with my wife beside me in our 99 Sedan De Ville[w/abs] the 55 was dead even. If i can generate enough vacuum in my 40 special to run the booster I'll do it next.

**Airy Cat** · 05-15-2009, 07:30 PM

Check out the stoplight switch. They can leak. It is located on the left side of the frame just ahead of the master cylinder.

**Jamesgarfield** · 08-12-2009, 01:24 PM

I actually ended up changing a brake pipe on the left side but it didn't cure the "pulling-to-the-right-side-effect". BUT after a couple of weeks driving the problem was gone. After talking to a lot of friends it seems like "pulling-to-the-right/left-side-effect" is a common problem on cars beeing garaged for a while.

The problem with the falling brake pedal was cured by an overhaul of the master cylinder. I didn't bother to even open the Delco Moraine Brake Booster, just reinstalled everything and the "falling-pedal-problem" was gone!

Now I've got a new problem instead!!! When driving with the caravan this summer I had to slam on the brake for a big lorry. Then the brake pedal stuck against the toe board for a while and the car couldn't be moved at all. Suddenly I heard a sucking sound from the air vent valve in the Power Brake Booster and the brake pedal slowly came up again. This has occured a couple of more times BUT only when driving with the caravan connected and ONLY when the enginee and tranny are very hot after hours of driving. Could it be that there has been some fluid introduced into the Air Vent valve in the PBB and it vaporize and build up a "look" in the valve? When the problem occur and the PBB sucks down the pedal, its always cured by it self after a minute or two and one can always here the sucking sound from the AVV. It would be a disaster if the pedal were sucked down while driving! Anybody experienced the same problem?

I'm soon preperred to follow the advice from RiKi5156!!!!