Brake system issues, 86 Diesel Ford VAn

[TDW]

I finally received all the documentation to register my van yesterday, and when I was driving it to the DMV (got it insured too) I started to loose pressure on the brake pedal. I initially checked the fluid levels and the front master cylinder reservoir was empty, and the rear reservoir was pretty much brown. I expected that after topping it off I would need to bleed the system, but I ended up jumping the gun before doing so.

So a buddy and I started bleeding the system when I got home, and I began to think that maybe I should just go ahead and buy a new master cylinder and flush the whole system to remove any corrosion or contamination particles. Auto zone has a rebuilt one for 20 bucks, and a brand new one for 50 bucks. I'll probably go with the new one, since stopping a 20 footer van is a good idea.

1. What part brand should I be buying?

2. I've read that there is some adjustments to make on the vacuum pump. Is there a tried and true method to brake master cylinder swap?

I do have a few repair manuals that I borrowed from the library, but I wanted to come here first to hear from the experience side of things. Thanks for any help.

 

[nyteshades]

Knowing AutoZone, the new one is prolly their Duralast brand. I haven't had any major issues with Duralast. Remember to bench bleed the master before you put it on.

 

[TDW]

Knowing AutoZone, the new one is prolly their Duralast brand. I haven't had any major issues with Duralast. Remember to bench bleed the master before you put it on.

Bench bleed? I'm assuming that means filling and bleeding the master cylinder before hooking in lines?

 

[nyteshades]

Here's a decent article on bench bleeding.

http://www.superchevy.com/technical/chassis/brakes/0509sc_bench/index.html

 

[TDW]

Aha, good to know. Thanks.

 

[nyteshades]

np