79 X Brake Question

jss1591

jss1591

79 X 1/9
Recently my brake pedal has stopped returning. My "brake" light on the dash has been going on and then off. The car is stopping fine and no strange noises but not sure what to do.


There is fluid in the reservoir but not too high.

The car wasn't driven for a few long periods because of snow and cold.

I have noticed that the leak I thought was a oil leak has stopped. The drip was happening from the passenger side rear middle side. Not sure if that may have been brake fluid.

Advice?

As always,

Jeffery
 
First, check if you still have a spring in the correct position at the slave cylinder. But even if it's not there, a lot of car are running without them and the pedal still return. You may still have enough fluid but if the master or the slave are giving up, then the brake pedal won't return. It also may cause the light to lit. Check also if the wires connections on the cap of the brake fluid reservoir are good.

A long swinter leep may require a few miles before everything went right. But it is also possible the seals in the master or slave are disintegrating.

Be sure to have enough brake fluid in the reservoir and do some caution driving to check if your brakes are satisfying or not.
 
Daniel Forest said:
check if you still have a spring in the correct position at the slave cylinder
Click to expand...
That would be the clutch pedal, not brakes as in this case.

Another possibility is the pedal pivot bushing at the "pedal box" gets sticky. Corrosion prevents it from moving freely and could cause the pedal to hang up. Unfortunately it can be a rather big job to remove it, clean and lube, then reinstall. If you are going through that process I'd consider replacing both masters while you are at it.
Also there is a large return spring at the pedal (perhaps what Daniel was referring to) that brings the pedal back up. However many X's no longer have that spring and it does not seem to have any real effect on the pedal returning. So I would not be too concerned about that.

The brake light switch is activated by the movement of the pedal. So if the pedal is sticking then the brake lights will act funny. But that would not necessarily be the brake warning indicator on the dash. I believe you are saying the brake fluid is correct, but not sure what you meant by "not too high"...is it low? Perhaps check to see if the switch in the reservoir cap is working properly. They also can get hung up and sticky.
 
There’s a return spring on the brake as well, it’s a concentric one fitted around the pivot shaft, not as strong as the clutch though but is should ‘return’ the pedal.
 
My brake master cylinder lost a seal a few months ago. Pedal felt fine starting out and then got softer and softer until it was almost to the end of it's travel with reduced stopping power. Quite scary but I got it home.

It doesn't sound to me like that is the OP's problem though because only two things make the brake warning light come on: low reservoir switch or parking brake switch. It sounds to me like a leak, perhaps intermittent, at the reservoir or the 5 foot looooong hose to the master, maybe a corroded hose clamp, that caused the fluid to drop and the switch in the reservoir cap to activate. The leak toward middle of car sounds like fluid dripping out of the front scuttle drain. Look for signs of wetness around reservoirs. You can inspect by removing the clutch and brake reservoir brackets and lifting the reservoirs up to check connections. They are known to crack. If the hoses and clamps are original they are 40 now. Also, check for leaks at the other end of the hoses. If there is a leak it will look wet in the upper part of the pedal box with probable corrosion. My hoses were just starting to weep when my master went out. Paint stripper (aka DOT 3) and Fiats are a bad combination.

There may also be a broken return spring at the pedal but I'd tackle the leak first!
 
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