1968 Pontiac Bonneville brake problem

TATOOWEENY

MEMBER
1968 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE
V8
2WD
AUTOMATIC
100,000 MILES

I just got a great deal on a '68 Bonneville, & the only thing wrong (so far) are the brakes. They seem fine when you start from a stand still, but when you brake at a light, the pedal goes to the floor & the brake light comes on. The car has power brakes & it feels like the "power" part goes away when you brake. You have to press hard to stop, dipping the front end! The fluid resovior under the hood is full and there doesn't seem to be any leaks (that I can see). What is the problem? Also, my hood latch suddenly broke and I'm unable to open the hood. Is there a secret way to get past the broken latch? Thanks in advance! -Jake

3 Replies

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,885 POSTS

Hi:
Cool Car!

As far as the brake pedal going to the floor, it sounds like you may have a maste cylender problem. I would lift the car one wheel at a time to check if the brakes are working at each wheel. Also, does the car have 4 wheel drum brakes or does it have disc on the front? If you're getting a bad dip in the front, make sure the rear brakes are properly adjusted.

As far as the hard brake pedal, make sure the brake booster is getting vacuum to it. The hose could be bad, or not connected. Or the booster itself may be bad.

Let me know what you find. If you have other questions, let me know. I love working on the oldies!

Joe

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Friday, November 7th, 2008 AT 9:25 PM

ROCKNROLLER_G

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Hi,

idd nice ponti btw
i drive a 67 pontiac bonneville 2 doors convertible :)
maybe you could trying to get your grill out and dissambe the lock from the hood?
Or from underneeth the car?

And for the brakes, I cant help you with hat but I had some major problems to with my front brakes.
The cilinder where my wheel bearings are in my drum where out of center. So my wheel bearings always get broke after several miles.

Grtzz

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Friday, November 21st, 2008 AT 2:06 PM

TATOOWEENY

MEMBER
5 POSTS

Hi Joe!
Well I figured out the problem. It was water in the master cylinder/brake lines, along with bad drums in the rear. I replaced the master & all wheel cylinders, along with new pads all around & it stops on a dime. Now I have a click, click, click sound coming from the front drums when I brake. Should I replace them as well? I'm gonna start a new thread because some electrical [problems are starting as well. Thanks.
-Jake

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Thursday, November 27th, 2008 AT 4:42 PM