Firebird 1972 Brake Problem

OCTOBER5

MEMBER
1972 PONTIAC FIREBIRD

1972 Firebird, 350-V-8, Auto, Front Disc/Rear Drum, 107,000 Miles. Car had no brakes at all so my mechanic installed 2 new front rotors, resurfaced the rear drums, installed new pads front and rear and installed a new master cylinder. They still didn't feel right as far as stopping the car. He said the brake booster was "Weak". He replaced the booster and still the brakes are not stopping the car as I feel they should. I was thinking maybe the combination valve Is bad?

1 Reply

DIRK BONESTEEL

MEMBER
2 POSTS

That valve can go bad but it is rare. Hard to say from here but sounds like he's doing something wrong. The first thing would be to re-bleed the brakes. Sometimes the bleeders seize and people just bleed the other side and hope for the best. Look for wet spots on the metal brake lines that are up in the frame drivers side. If you even see heavy rust replace the line, this is a very likely spot for your problem. After that keep in mind the rear brakes control the petal hight. You should try using the self adjusters by hitting the brakes firmly in reverse about 10 MPH. If your booster is bad the brakes will still work if you use a hell of a lot of pressure on the petal. It's important to know if brakes feel like not working, spongy feeling, or really not working try all that and see what's up.