When adjusting master cylinder push rod, should the brake piston be all the way out or should the push rod be adjusted so the piston is in a little bit. Right now my brake pedal is going a little closer to the floor than I'm comfortable with.
You want a little clearance between the pedal rod and booster pin and also between the booster pin and the master cylinder push rod so that the MC is not being pushed on when things warm up. https://techtalk.mpbrakes.com/how-t...forget-the-booster-pin-to-master-cylinder-gap Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
If you had not altered Pedal - Booster -M/C adjustment since when you were happy with the pedal height then I would be looking else for the problem. Such as brakes out of adjustment, have found so called self adjusting brakes not working, brakes have worn resulting in more pedal travel to get them contacting the drums.
On a manual master you want like a 1/16" (read a small amount) play in the pushrod BEFORE the master piston is depressed. You want no pressure on the piston, but you don't want the pushrod to come out of it's bore when the pedal return spring is pulling the pedal back also.
^^^^ THIS IS THE ANSWER YOU WANT!!!! I've read Big Chief's answer three times and must have the wrong decoder ring on today. You want the push rod to move right around 1/16 of an inch before the end puts pressure on the master cylinder piston. I'd say that 1/8 is probably too much movement. they all have that little bit of slack to make sure that the piston returns out as far as it can go in the bore. Pedal too high? Too high in that you have to lift your foot up too far for comfort to put it on the pedal? Or you feel that it doesn't move far enough when you push the pedal before putting pressure on the fluid in the master cylinder.? If the pedal is just flat too high for comfort you will have to figure out how to modify the linkage to get the pedal closer to the floor.
It looks like I need to adjust the rear drums. If I could only remember does the star wheel move up or down.
If they are non-self adjusting, the star wheel always moves so that you hit your hand on the axle housing. An old mechanic told me that years ago and I've found it to be true on every car I've worked on. If they are self adjusting, it depends the way the adjuster lever touches the star wheel. Some are above the star wheel and some are below.
That easy keep turning one way till either the brake jam or it comes to a stop without the brakes jammed on. If it is the latter just turn it the other way till the brake jam on. Then make a note which way to turn it for future reference.
No slack means pressure is being applied to the brakes .Could lead to overheating and lockup. Take one of the back wheels and drum off and check if you are not sure which way the adjuster should go. Dang, how hard can that be ? It's a hot rod and you should know everything about your own hotrod unless you are one of those who buys instead of builds.
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