Manual Brakes?

[Nathan in MI]

I don't know if this has been covered before or not, but I found a manual master cylinder for the fox body Mustangs, and I'm wondering if this would fit a panther. i.e., did box panthers and fox body Mustangs use the same master cylinder?

I'm just tired of mushy power brakes.

[boXman]

Manual brakes are horrible, esp with 4 drums.

[Nathan in MI]

Who said anything about 4 drums?

[grandpaslincoln]

Keep the power brakes mang, manual brakes are fine on vehicles that came with them origionally, but for safety reasons, I wouldn't swap one of those in.

[Archangel]

My truck has manual brakes, it stops fine, but that's the way it came from the factory - manual brakes and front discs. If your power brakes are in good working condition you shouldn't see any mush in them, how long has it been since you replaced the brake fluid and bled the whole system?

[DuceAnAHalf]

supposedly the all metal vic master cylinder are the same as a fox body SVO mustangs. If so you will need at least a manual brake spacer to replace the vacuum booster.

[gadget73]

Bleed your stock brakes and they won't be mushy. Manual brakes in a big heavy vehicle suck.

[1987LTDmasta]

i got manual brakes on my ranger and they suck horribly.

if your brakes are mushy, then you got a problem. you probably need to get them bled or something

[Nathan in MI]

My truck has manual brakes, it stops fine, but that's the way it came from the factory - manual brakes and front discs. If your power brakes are in good working condition you shouldn't see any mush in them, how long has it been since you replaced the brake fluid and bled the whole system?

How often should the fluid be changed? I haven't been able to find the information on that in the service manual. Either way, I've owned it just about a year and I've never done it, and I have no idea the last time anyone did it before I owned it, so it's on my list of things to do next spring/summer.

And I'll agree that there shouldn't be excessive mush if the power brakes are working properly, but I just don't like the feel of them. Even good working power brakes feel mushy compared to manual brakes.

Next question would be, if you guys don't think that changing to manual brakes is a good idea, would changing to a '92-up booster give me a little less assist?

[Archangel]

Nathan, pop the master cylinder cap off and look at the color of the fluid, it should be clear - if you can't see the bottom of the tanks through it it's due for replacement. Another thing that can cause mush in brakes, apart from air in the lines, is a worn out master cylinder. Then there are the brake hoses, those deteriorate with time and 1 can't resist brake pressure too well, and 2 sometimes collapse internally blocking the return of the brake fluid and causing the brakes to drag excessively and heat up.

[Nathan in MI]

Well, I'll have a look at the juice, but I've had to add a little bit (I had a pair of leaking wheel cylinders at the wheels) so I'm not sure how accurate a representation of the condition of the fluid it'll be. Anyway, I'll do it next spring/summer.

Can someone explain the method for doing it, though? I've never changed brake fluid before, and like I said, the service manual doesn't seem to be much help in that department.

[88Vic]

One of my friends has a 73 Ranchero with 4 drums and manual brakes. He says it's not too bad to stop, but that is his daily driver so he's used to it.

[p71towny]

Manual brakes suck ass! Hell, the cam I had in the chevelle made it feel like I had manual brakes. Some things I won't go without.

[gadget73]

How often should the fluid be changed? I haven't been able to find the information on that in the service manual. Either way, I've owned it just about a year and I've never done it, and I have no idea the last time anyone did it before I owned it, so it's on my list of things to do next spring/summer.

Probably every couple years, but nobody changes it. Brake fluid sucks moisture out of the air in a bad way, and the water in the fluid ends up making it boil at a much lower temperature. The boiling puts small amounts of gas into the lines, producing the mush.

If your brakes are over-assisted, the booster could be bad. I dont know if the 92+ one has less assist, but I doubt it. Even just replacing the booster and MC will give a different feel, it might be heavier, it might be softer. You could change it a dozen times and probably get slightly different pedal feel each time.

[85crownHPP]

yeay for the fluid.
It was an awesome sight to see clean-ish fluid coming out of my bleeders... my brakes are better than ever now but thats also due to the new parts and adjusting the rears.