1971 brake problem

[Mike Rajchel]

Recently the right front brake locked up on my 1971 roadster. After letting it cool for several hours it seemed to free up. I tried to drive home but the pedal was very soft. I was able to pump up pressure into the system and it seemed fine for several miles before the right caliper locked up again. I had the car towed home and pulled the caliper off. It does not seem like the pistons are frozen. The front resevoir was a bit low. I have only owned the car for a couple of years and put only a few thousand miles on it. It looks as though the caliper and rotor are new. (The rotor still seems to be flat and true.)

Any ideas would be helpful. Could it be:

the metering valve?
bad caliper?
Dirt or air in the lines?

I don't want to buy a lot of parts unnecessarily. Any troubleshooting hints would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

[Terry M.]

[Roberto L.]

Re: 1971 brake problem

Hello, I had the same problem some years ago, one front hose colapsed internally and self blocked. In my case was a good opportunity to check the entire system.

Roberto, NCRS #30019, RMC

[Dick W.]

Re: 1971 brake problem

Any time that you have the caliper off, you need to inspect the rubber hoses very carefully before you toss them into the trash I have seen numerous vehicles over the years have problems with either having the brake lock or not having brakes on a wheel due to the collapsed lining in the hose. Soemwhere I remember seeing a recommendation to replace them every 4 years.

[Jim T.]

Re: 1971 brake problem

I had nearly the same experience on my 68 many years ago. It even the same wheel location. Replaced both front hoses since I knew they were the original brake hoses. I initially thought the car was on fire from the smoke coming from from the right wheel. Let it cool down and got it home with very little brake use.

[Mike Rajchel]

Re: 1971 brake problem

Thanks. I see that the response seems to be common. Hoses will be changed.

[Mike Rajchel]

Re: 1971 brake problem

Thanks for the heads up. I'll be ordering new hoses today.