Has anyone else installed a Classic Performance Products power disk brake conversion kit? I got this kit through Year One and so far I'm having a rough time getting them to work right. The first thing I noticed from this kit is that the brake pedal doesn't seem to come out as far as I would think. For reference I assume that the brake pedal should be about even with the clutch pedal, but it is an 1" or 2 closer to the firewall. The real problem though is that the pedal moves a lot when actuating the brakes and seems very spongy. It will stop the car, but it's a little scary. The kit comes with everything you need to convert the front brakes from drum to disk. I installed it on a '70 Cuda. I bled the master cylinder before installing so that is in good shape. The only line that isn't new is the one between the connection near the firewall and the rear end connection. There are no leaks in the system...well it's not losing any brake fluid anyway and nothing is wet. The rear brakes are still drums and I have adjusted those out so they don't have to move hardly at all to touch the drum. I bled the brake system twice now. I have pumped so much fluid through there it is ridiculous. The first time I bled them with someone pumping the pedal while I operated the bleeder and the second time I sucked the fluid out of the bleeder with a pump. When pumping we got the back brakes bled good, but the fronts seem to always have small bubbles no matter what. We never ran the master cylinder out of brake fluid. Seems weird that we got the back brakes good but the fronts not so much. When I sucked the fluid out it was hard to tell if I was getting air out or if it was coming from around the bleeder. I tried to put thread tape around the bleeder, but that wasn't perfect either. The bleeders on the front calipers are at the top. Anyone have any similar experience with this kit and/or brakes in general?
CPP Power Disk Brake Conversion Kit
- Thread starter Hellcat
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Adam
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If you do a search on "Cuda brake pedal height" you will see many posts where the brake pedal is lower than the clutch pedal. It could be because Chrysler used parts bin pedal assemblies or maybe it was on purpose... in either case the brake pedal appears to have been lower than the clutch in many cars from the factory.
My 71 Challenger had a lower pedal too, with stock (Midland Ross) power brake set up. I welded an extension on the brake linkage to bring it up... I have read only Challengers had the Midland Ross system, not Cudas. Odd because Ford used Midland Ross boosters also.. I also went with a hydraulic clutch, and had to lengthen that rod as well, to keep the clutch pedal at the stock location.
My 71 Challenger had a lower pedal too, with stock (Midland Ross) power brake set up. I welded an extension on the brake linkage to bring it up... I have read only Challengers had the Midland Ross system, not Cudas. Odd because Ford used Midland Ross boosters also.. I also went with a hydraulic clutch, and had to lengthen that rod as well, to keep the clutch pedal at the stock location.
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moparleo
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There are several different kits. Did you get the kit that includes a new booster and master cylinder?
Chryco Psycho
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Look for loose fittings or leaks anywhere , if you constantly get air bubbles there is a problem , are the calipers on correctly ? the bleeders screws have to be at the upper part of the caliper , if they are lower down you may have the calipers reversed & you will never get the air out . What proportioning valve are you using , was it working before the swap if it is the factory one ? The master will vary in travel depending on the diameter , larger diameter moves more fluid with less travel for example .
moparleo
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One thing I have found over the years is that sometimes air bubbles get trapped in the calipers. Sometimes tapping on the outside of the caliper piston area will dislodge air bubbles. The brake pedal will feel different after a power disc conversion. Be careful when altering the length of the push rod. Too long will cause the brakes to drag.
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The calipers have the bleeders at the top so i believe I have the calipers on the correct side. The proportioning valve came with the kit so I hope it is working ok. CPP also has a install/troubleshooting guide on their website so I will have to start plugging through there as well. I think I will concentrate on the calipers first and go from there. Maybe the bleeder isn't quite at the very top of the caliper well so i will have to loosen it and tilt it so it is at the very top. If that is the case I suppose it could be trapping air up there.
Chryco Psycho
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calipers should be designed so the bleeders are at the top but custom brackets could have the caliper tilted slightly so good place to start
