> > No shims, pedal sinks to the floor. Two shims, pedal is >> high but dragging. One shim, everything seems fine. > >WHAAAA??? Okay, now that's just freakin' weird. And it doesn't make sense.
My sentiments exactly. One of my non-Alfas requires some shims, without which the brakes will seize up after a few minutes of driving. Brian's Milano's behavior seems backwards, and I always thought the Alfa master cylinders were entirely conventional in design. Actually, the behavior we're experiencing seems normal, yours seems backwards! Adding shims essentially lengthens the rod between the brake pedal and the MC, which reduces free play. If you have no free play, it's as if you never fully release the pedal, and you'll experience drag. Too much free play and you will need to pump the brakes to get pressure. That's pretty much what we're experiencing. As an aside, I happened to take a look at a Spider booster yesterday. The rod coming out of the booster was threaded, with a round headed nut on the end. That's how you adjust the free play on a Spider. Looks like the Milano/GTV6 was cost reduced, I'm sure they saved a penny or two by dropping the nut and not threading the rod.. bs -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected]
