[Ingrid1967]

Greetings -- proud new owner and learning the ropes. After sitting from Jan - mid-March (in the upper midwest), the brakes are not working. Pushing the pedal down all the way. Master cylinder was almost empty with no sign of leakage under the driver's carpet or at the wheels. I do recall the brakes started to get weaker just before she sat. I topped off the master to 1/4" of top. Unable to build pressure with car running and pumping pedal. Dead master cylinder? Thanks for any insights you can offer.

 

[Csm22]

With no external leaks, it sure sounds like your master cylinder is bypassing and needs to be replaced. Good time to flush the lines with new fluid and bleed once you’ve changed the cylinder.

Good luck!


Cheers,

Chris

 

[Ron Kwas]

Ingrid;

Welcome to this forum!

With a (near)empty MC, we can suspect the fluid went somewhere but substantially dried before you inspected for leaks (and that might tell you something about the level of [non-]maintenance/neglect the car was subjected to...)...I would retop up the MC and bleed if necessary, and check for function at each (lifted) corner before starting to replace components (sorry Chris!)...with a new (to you) car whose providence is unknown....frozen calipers, rusted lines, bypassing MC, will all contribute to a (way)less than pleasant experience, so if you want a good longterm relationship, a critical inspection of the entire Brake Sys should be high on your (I expect substantial) list...

Also right near the top of the list should be installing an Start Switch (if not already present), to address the well known fatiguing/broken Ign Key issue.

If unfamiliar with these cars, I suggest you start edumacating yourself on the various fora, and private home pages, among them my SW-EM.com page. Many of the weaknesses which come up after 50 years and countless miles have been previously expeirenced and documented, so there is little reason for you to learn things the hard/(sometimes expensive) way!

Cheers

 

[Ingrid1967]

With no external leaks, it sure sounds like your master cylinder is bypassing and needs to be replaced. Good time to flush the lines with new fluid and bleed once you've changed the cylinder.

Good luck!

Cheers,

Chris

Thanks Chris, I appreciate the timely response!

 

[Ingrid1967]

Ingrid;

Welcome to this forum!

With a (near)empty MC, we can suspect the fluid went somewhere but substantially dried before you inspected for leaks (and that might tell you something about the level of [non-]maintenance/neglect the car was subjected to...)...I would retop up the MC and bleed if necessary, and check for function at each (lifted) corner before starting to replace components (sorry Chris!)...with a new (to you) car whose providence is unknown....frozen calipers, rusted lines, bypassing MC, will all contribute to a (way)less than pleasant experience, so if you want a good longterm relationship, a critical inspection of the entire Brake Sys should be high on your (I expect substantial) list...

Also right near the top of the list should be installing an Start Switch (if not already present), to address the well known fatiguing/broken Ign Key issue.

If unfamiliar with these cars, I suggest you start edumacating yourself on the various fora, and private home pages, among them my SW-EM.com page. Many of the weaknesses which come up after 50 years and countless miles have been previously expeirenced and documented, so there is little reason for you to learn things the hard/(sometimes expensive) way!

Cheers

Thanks for the welcome, Ron, and the insights. I had a mechanic work over this car after purchase, covering off the safety items -- like braking -- so I was surprised at this development. I may go back to them first for a consult on what they did and didn't do. Wish I had my own lift. Sounds like an opportunity...

Funny you mentioned the key -- apparently the car has a new key per your warning.

I'll look up the page(s) you mentioned. Thanks again!

 

[Ron Kwas]

Ingrid;

A new Ign Key is not the answer!...it addresses the symptom and not the cause, it is maybe a sign that the last one was well on the way to twisting off!

I highly recommend you install a Start Switch to eliminate Ign Key fatigue...one of the low moments in vintage Volvo ownership this advise is intended to spare you...!

See: SW-EM Broken Ignition Key

Cheers

 

[Csm22]

+1 on the need for timely switch upgrade; the car will decide when you "get around to it."

Ask me how I know...

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Ingrid1967]

+1 on the need for timely switch upgrade; the car will decide when you "get around to it."

Ask me how I know...

Cheers,

Chris

Thank you both for the nudge on the key. I did read the link you sent prior, Ron, thanks.
It's next on my list!

 

[BF Flyers]

Hi Ingrid,

Welcome. Chris and Ron offer great advice on the brakes, and the starter key. I would only assume that every Amazon still on the road has a relocated starter button. I do not think I have seen otherwise for over a decade.

As far as brakes (clutch, or all of your hydraulic cylinders) go, I would just make sure you flush both of these systems very well. I used to do this to my car every year. It's not a bad idea regardless. If you keep this car long enough, you may want to flush the 2 hydraulic systems every season. As I said, I have done that in the past to avoid the extra troubles and expense of new parts that eventually fail long before they should. You could count on it.

But for prevention, and less annual work, what I have done (over the years) is to piece by piece, sleeve all of my hydraulic cylinders (with a stainless steel sleeve). This modification service is offered by a number of people out there (machine shops) . Some are better and less expensive than others are- google -"hydraulic sleeving". I think that most shops offering this service are pretty good. I first had a clutch master cylinder sleeved (in brass), and I was told it was "guaranteed for life". -Eleven years later, and no issue. So save your old master, slave, or wheel cylinders. If they are bad now- they can be sleeved and will last longer than they were originally designed to last. "Rebuilding" may be a waste of time and money- that's a longer tech talk, and just my opinion I would defend. A cylinder lined with a stainless sleeve is almost always trouble free. What's new and out of the box is not necessarily so.

I have slowly made my way through every alloy hydraulic sleeve on my car making this modification. This is how I have shortened my annual punch list of tasks for a 54 year old car. This is my offering of how to avoid having a leaky old car, that wont stop, and costs you a lot of money, while it's sitting there.

 

[Ingrid1967]

Thanks for this advice, Flyer. I will definitely consider all your points. Thanks again.