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Old 01-28-2014, 06:02 PM   #1
Heard
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 587
Default Almost a disaster, a reminder,...and a question

Hi Folks. I've been working on my '36 trying to straighten out some wiring issues and other odds and ends. I've only driven this car a few times since I bought it several months ago. The brakes have been marginal at best in my opinion. The pedal seemed firm, but there was a lot of play at the top of the pedal. I'm talking 2 or 3 inches or maybe more.

So today I decided to start getting into this brake issue. Here is what I found after pulling up the plate on the floor and popping the cover on the master.

[IMG][/IMG]

As you can see, the right cylinder is pretty much empty. The other has about 3/8" inch of brake fluid. This could have been VERY EXCITING, but not in a good way. Especially since my e-brake is not hooked up right now.

So the reminder is to check those levels often unless you want a few moments of real excitement in your life.

My question. Actually 2 questions.
1. If one cylinder is empty like this, could that cause all of this play in the pedal? I haven't had a chance to fill it and check it again because....
2. I'm not sure what brake fluid is in there. I extracted a little and dropped a couple of drops in a container that had Dot5. The Dot5 I have is purple. Is all DOT5 purple? It didn't seem to mix very well. I then dropped a couple of drops in some DOT3. It was a little different color, but it acted like it mixed better. Is there a simple way to know for sure?

THanks!
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