I should have known better. Today was to have been the day of my
drive from South Carolina down to Athens, GA to see some NCAA tennis.
The Spitfire did fine in a drive in the mountains last week except for
a little squeakiness in the front and slightly soggy brakes. So I
ordered front wheel bearings and front brake piston seals since I
was going to be pulling the calipers off anyway. Last night, after
a day and a half of really dirty work, I bled the brake lines and . . .
NO BRAKES AT ALL! The pedal went right to the floor. My first
thought was that the Eezibleed thing hadn't done its job, so I
dragged my wife out to pump the pedal while I bled it again.
Everything seemed fine except that at the end there still was no
resistance at the pedal.
This morning I pulled the master cylinder, cleaned it out, and
replaced all the seals. It is one of the later tandem types with
two lines. Everything looked clean and smooth, so I was pretty
confident I would be on the road this afternoon. But, after another
Eezibleed, I am left with very little braking power. It's a little
better than it was last night, but not really very good. So what is
the problem? There doesn't seem to be any leaking, either at the
wheels or the MC. There are no bubbles in the reservoir when I pump
the pedal. Does it take some time for the seals to seat? Man I am
tired of this; I've gone through three cans of Castrol already!
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Tim Gaines
Clinton, SC
1980 Spitfire
1974 TR6
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