Single Jug Or Dual Jug MC

[55 Fargo]

It may seem like it and in all probability, a dual would be a better piece of equipment.

Having said that, there are many cars on here with or without disc, with only a very well maintained single jug MC.

These single jug MCs were used till about 1967 with most auto manufacturers, was there a lot of malfunction and/or accidents because of this, what was it like then. I had a number of vehicles with single jug MCs, never had an issue,at least that I was aware of.

These are some of the vehicles I had with single jug MCs, 63 Pontiac, 64 Chevy 2, 65 Impala SS Convertable(not sure if that was single or not), 64 Chev 1/2 ton, 65 Chev 1/2 ton, 66 Chev 1/2 ton, 55 Pontiac, 60 Chev Impala.

I never had a failure on these, but I did get in accident with a friend in his 70 Cougar, because of the MC. I also had a brake failure on a poorly maintained 1990 Nissan 240, the rear calipre started to leak. I als had brake faiure on cold winter night with my 1970 Pontiac Lemans, the front right brake hose started to leak.

I am pondering all of these things myself, currently my brakes are stock, they are new, but 1 rear wheel cyl has a slight leak, plan to replace before spring. But if the fronts start leaking it will be disc brake conversion, end of subject.

I find these brakes not bad, wouldn't want a panic stop at 50 and above, but my legs are strong, I would no doubt push out the brake fluid somehow, by jamming my foot down too hard, but maybe not, I would at this point cuz the back wheel cyl has a slight leak now.

I am running Dot 5 , I am happy with this product so far........Fred

[Joe Flanagan]

I too would like to know what others have to say on this subject. I converted my 49 Plymouth to disc brakes in the front and plan to keep the original drums in the rear. Will the original single reservoir MC will do the job safely? I'd like to rebuild it and keep it as it was. What are your opinions? Don't want to go to all the expense and trouble of a dual reservoir if I don't have to.

[55 Fargo]

My point is this, the dual would be a better piece of equipment, it's margin of saftey better also. But in limited experience with brake failure it is with a brake hose, wheel cyl etc. Bu the dual MC would allow you to brake in that event, but the single would not. The ebrake would thus be the back-up. These stock brakes, I would not leave uninspected, I check them often, behind the backing plates, lines, hoses, fluid level in MC

[Norm's Coupe]

I've driven and owned several cars with just a single pot MC in the old days. Never had a problem with any of them. That's all they had then. As Fred points out, you really don't have that much of a problem with them if you pay attention to the vehicle and what it's telling you when you drive it.

Master cylinders and wheel cylinders very seldom just all of a sudden stop working. Most of the time when they start going bad, if you pay attention to your vehicle while driving, you will start to notice a pedal that is softer, or it goes further to the floor when you stop. When that happens, your car is telling you it's not feeling well in the brake system and needs to be seen by a doctor (mechanic). If you ignore it, then it will all of sudden one day stop working. So.....when the pedal needs pumping, or is soft, it's time to be checking for leaks somewhere in the system. Do that and you shouldn't have a problem stopping the car when you need to.

All that said, I've only had one master cylinder go bad on me in all my life. Interestingly that was a more modern dual master cylinder. So, dual master cylinders can also go bad. When it went bad, I was able to stop the car. However since the car was an automatic, the pull of the engine and the slow sinking of the master cylinder did allow the car to move forward.

All the above not only relates to master cylinders and brake systems. But........if you are really driving a car and paying attention to it, it will also usually tell you when something else is about ready to take a dump too. You shouldn't just turn the key on and drive. You have to pay attention, and not just to the road.