RI951

Hi all,

Am considering buying a friends 1986 951. Has low miles... <30K. Has sat in the garage the last few years. Bone stock. All seems in order, save for the brakes. There are none to speak of, which made the test drive impossible. I think both circuits are gone (front and back). The reservoir seems full, no puddles in the floor, and clutch is strong, with no play. Any ideas on how I can do a cheap/quick check to determine what the problem might be? The hoses that I can see seem OK. No warning light on the dash.

Thanks in advance.

Hopeful, Pat

MHT

when you say no brakes, do you mean that the pedal goes to the floor, or that the pedal is hard but the car doesn't stop? If the pedal goes to the floor, I would first try bleeding the system. Brake work is reasonably inexpensive, I would not let a brake problem dissuade you from buying the car if that is the only problem and the price is right.

RI951

The pedal goes to the floor. I was thinking along the lines of doing a brake bleed first... I found the chapter in the FAQ's on how to do it. I also thought about a vacuum leak, but not sure where to check... Just seemed strange that if there was a leak, that BOTH halves were affected.

Thanks for the feedback.

pete944

The pistons may have frozen in place from inactivity.

RI951

Frozen pistons... I hadn't thought of that. I'll check for that tomorrow. Thanks Pete. BTW, I used to live in Englewood, just north of Dayton, a few years back, before the Navy. Live in Rhode Island now.

Pat

IceShark

Another possibility is that the master cylinder seals are shot. Besides just aged hard rubber you can get rust and pitting on the cylinder walls from moisture in the brake fluid. Then you push on the brakes and the rust cuts the seals. Make sure you cover the bellhousing inspection hole so you don't drop a nut down in there.

snappy

is there pedal pressure? if not could simply be the linkage from the pedal inside the cabin to the brake booster connection of the master cylinder.

RI951

Snappy, there doesn't seem to be any pedal pressure at all. And IceShark, good point about the seals. I would think that would show itself as a puddle of brake fluid, no?

I'm going to try to make it over to her house tomorrow to scope the car again.

Pat

snappy

even without the seals there should be pressure right even just a tiny bit. My guess is the complete brake booster and master cylinder either came loose or unhooked at the firewall.

RI951

Finally got back to the 951 yesterday. An hour spent bleeding the brakes seemed to cure the ills. Honestly, I think the car had been sitting so long that the brakes just needed to be pumped a couple dozen times to exercise the system, if that makes sense. A little fresh brake fluid didn't hurt, either.

I think I'll buy it...

Pat