Brake Pedal won't Return

C

Colonel

Senior Member
Have been driving my A all summer without any brake problems. This week I had to do some repairs under the hood on the engine but did not involve the brake system. When I went driving yesterday the brake pedal would only return half way by itself. I can pull it back with my foot. What is going on that I need to look at?

I did put an aftermarket brake return spring on the brake pedal and it was not stuff enough to pull it back into correct position.

Thanks for all comments and help.
 
Does it have return springs on the brake rods?Are they on the right side of the stops?
 
Remove the rods from the service brake shaft..
Now move everything individually to see what's tight incuding the cross shaft. I have a feeling it's in this area.. Next remove the rod from the brake pedal to the service shaft and see if it's from the pedal assy to the shaft, the shaft itself, or something out to the wheels.
Get rid of that Mickey Mouse spring
 
yea if they were fine one day but messed up the next id suspect a broken return spring somewhere possibly one of the main springs inside a hub. the return springs on the brake rods dont offer a whole lotta help in retracting, mostly to keep some tension on the rods to keep them from rattling and wallowing out the brake hardware like miniature air hammers...

My advice is to pull the rods off the cross shaft and make sure the pedal and rod between pedal and cross shaft and cross shaft itself moves freely.(remove your "helper" spring -see below). Should flop forward and back pretty freely with no slop.

Then I would inspect each brake and move each lever - should be rather hard to move the arm to apply the brake and spring back to resting with some force. That force is what does the pedal retracting. If you find a soft one or one that you push and it just kinda stays there or feels gritty/rusty I would pull the drum and see whats going on inside. Also take note that the brake should just start to grab about 15* off center OPPOSITE of the direction the brake rod would pull it. At straight up and down the wheel should be locked solid. (might need a helper to do this) If not then you have internal brake issues that need addressed.

That aftermarket brake return spring helper is nothing more than a bandaid for improperly setup/worn out/ rusted up brakes.
 
Mitch//pa said:
Remove the rods from the service brake shaft..
Now move everything individually to see what's tight incuding the cross shaft. I have a feeling it's in this area.. Next remove the rod from the brake pedal to the service shaft and see if it's from the pedal assy to the shaft, the shaft itself, or something out to the wheels.
Get rid of that Mickey Mouse spring
Click to expand...

Agree with Mitch and Slea slugs that you need to find/locate the problem. The additional return springs that hook on the pedal are mickey mouse and need of those indicate you have other issues. Do as Mitch prescribed and you should hopefully find the problem. It was noted in a post about the brake light switch. Many repro intermediate brake rods from pedal to shaft have a small pad which actuates the switch on 30/31's. Check it's contact at the switch as well. If possible recruit someone in your area who is Model A Brake schooled as when properly restored they can stop on a dime!

I've done many and is one of my specialties.
Larry Shepard
 
Colonel said:
Have been driving my A all summer without any brake problems. This week I had to do some repairs under the hood on the engine but did not involve the brake system. When I went driving yesterday the brake pedal would only return half way by itself. I can pull it back with my foot. What is going on that I need to look at?
Click to expand...

What work did you do under the hood? It may not be directly brake related, but if the brakes worked fine before this work and didn't after, it may be a clue.
 
When I had this problem I discovered the long brake spring on the inside of the DS rear brake had become jammed between the backing plate and the e-brake carrier. I'd never seen that before. I replaced it with a new spring, but it will probably happen again. I can't see how or why it is happening, but for now it seems OK.
 
Dick Steinkamp said:
What work did you do under the hood? It may not be directly brake related, but if the brakes worked fine before this work and didn't after, it may be a clue.
Click to expand...

This:

I once replaced my sagging rear motor mounts with float-a-motors and when I replaced my (homemade) floorboard the pedals no longer came all the way up and dragged against it.
 
Thanks for all the great comments. Today we followed your advice and started disconnecting parts of the brake system to see what might be rubbing. The pedal was free on the shaft. As I started to pull the cotter pin on the front brake rod on the passenger side at the service brake, I noted it was jammed against the side of the muffler and had put an obvious mark on it about 1 inch long. We had removed the muffler for our work under the hood on the engine and had trouble putting it back in place correctly. We thought it was good and had the back bracket on it but it was not. We corrected the tail of the muffler and that opened proper spacing for the brake rod. All is working fine and didn't use the helper spring.

Thanks for everyone's help. The systematic approach you recommended took us down the right path.
 
Hey super! thanks for the update. as a side note the '31 style brake rod return springs work much better and don't break like the flat style springs. Put those on your shopping list some day if you don't already have them.
Larry
 
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