MarkVIIDieselGuy
New LVC Member
On my 1985 Mark VII LSC 5.0, I am having the "hard pedal" syndrome, and in addition to that, the front calipers grab. There are no brake or abs lights on. I took it to Pep Boys that is close to me, complaining of the caliper grab that would almost jerk the car off the road at highway speeds. They told me I needed new calipers, rotors, pads on all four corners and two front tires, as they were old. After that it seemed fine around town, but when you brake at highway speeds it becomes a scary ride. Sometimes it pulls hard, as if one wheel is braking drastically more than the other three and other times while driving one of the calipers seems to grab causing the whole car to shake so much you have to pull over. I took it back they said everything it fine, that I was obviously not used to a vehicle while airbag suspension (I knew I was in trouble from that point) and that what I was reacting to was the dive of the front end that more severe in an air bag suspended vehicle. After going around and around with the tech, I asked for the service manager. Took him for a ride and he agreed it was some other issue. They looked at the car (or pretended to) then said I needed a $1,200 master cylinder plus labor(yes, I know they can be had for less). So feeling like I had just spent hundreds of dollars on all the brake work I didn't think it needed anyway, I left pissed off. I found a used master cyl assembly that was supposed to be working and installed it (I am far from a mechanic), it worked well for a day, then everything went right back to the same way. The car has been sitting for a year now, only starting it and driving it around the block when I remember to. I know the accumulator can cause the hard pedal, but can it also or is it likely to cause the caliper problem?