Hi James, 4 wheel drum brakes can be a bear to get right. Several things can
contribute to a soft pedal and tracing and eliminating them can be very time
consuming.
I would recommend gently clamping off each of the 3 brake flex lines with
vice grips and then trying the pedal. (Be careful not to damage the hoses by
clamping too tightly).
With the hoses clamped off the pedal should be rock hard. If it isn't there
is air in the master cylinder or brake lines. To get all the air out of the
master cylinder it often helps to raise the front of the car slightly.
Once you have achieved the hard pedal hold the pedal down while someone
releases the vice grips one at a time. Often you will find that one has more
effect that the others so you know where to concentrate your efforts
I have on occasion resorted to removing the front drums and shoes and then
bled the fronts after clamping the wheel cylinder pistons all the way into
remove any air from them.
Another contributing factor can be shoes which are not correctly arched to
the drums. If you have new shoes on the car it may take some time before you
can get a good pedal without having the shoes accurately matched to the
drums.
Good luck.
Michael Salter
100 (1953) #174
AHX12 (1953)
Bugeye (1961)
http://www.netbug.net/blogmichael/?p=432
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