Spooky Brakes

Oh great Guru's of Jeepdom...

"Gertie", the '73 CJ5 has suddenly adopted possesed brakes. When I pull out of the driveway, the pedal will almost go to the floor. Pumping does nothing. It does stop, you just have to plan ahead....
I'll run into the local coffee shop, come out and the brakes work fine....
No puddles under her, other than those that are expected
This has been happening for a couple of weeks.

Thoughts?

 

More than likely an internal leak on the master cylinder. New ones are cheap. Not rebuilt, new. If new costs a little more than the rebuilt, its worth every penny in reliability...

 

Remove the wheels and inspect all cylinders. My YJ did the same thing and it was a busted cylinder in one of the rear drum

 

I suspect it's something like that, because they "free up" after a little use. I'll try that, then move to the master cylinder...it's supposed to be a balmy 39 today...

I need to move south...Thanks for the input guys

 

When Bob writes "remove the wheels" I think he means "remove the drums." YOu'll probably have to back off the self-adjusters a bit to get the drums off. Use a small screwdriver to hold the lever away from the star wheel, then use a big screwdriver or adjusting tool to loosen the adjuster.