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Discussion Topic:
Best left front wheel cylinder ?
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Grant |
01-03-2014 @ 6:17 AM
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Senior
Posts: 535
Joined: Oct 2009
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Our '36 has been converted to hydraulic brakes using 1939 parts. Front brake shoes were installed in June, but now the left front wheel cylinder is leaking. The backing plate as well as the rear sidewall of the tire are wet. Which supplier would be best to deal with? I would like to purchase the highest quality product available for this application. Should the right front wheel cylinder be replaced at the same time? Or would it be better to leave well enough alone, since that side is dry and not leaking?
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TomO |
01-03-2014 @ 9:41 AM
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Senior
Posts: 7250
Joined: Oct 2009
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C&G Ford parts is a good supplier, but you may not need a new wheel cylinder, just a kit. If you put in new cylinders when you installed the brakes, the wheel cylinder casting should be fine. Dis assemble the cylinder and look for pits or score marks. If there are none, order a repair kit and hone the cylinder to get a nice crosshatch pattern, lubricate the bore and the rubber parts with brake fluid and reassemble the cylinder. Put the drum back on, adjust the shoes and then bleed the cylinder. I would also check the shoes to make sure that the tang that fits in the wheel cylinder is not too long as that can cause the cylinder to leak also.
Tom
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supereal |
01-03-2014 @ 12:47 PM
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A leak of that size means something is very wrong with that wheel cylinder or something close to it. Take a close look at the rubber brake hose and where it is threaded into the cylinder. The flare at the ends of the hose may be damaged, or the connector was cross threaded. That would explain why the fluid is on the outside of the backing plate. Most leaks occur inside the drum, and pulling that should tell you if the leak is actually the cylinder. Any brake fluid leak is an accident waiting to happen.
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TomO |
01-04-2014 @ 8:29 AM
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Good catch Supereal. I missed the part about the backing plate.
Tom
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trjford8 |
01-04-2014 @ 9:21 AM
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I wonder if they forgot the copper washer on the hose?
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alanwoodieman |
01-04-2014 @ 11:22 AM
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some of the new reproduction wheel cylinders that come from china are made wrong!! the holes drilled for the fluid in the cylinders are not in the correct location--when the wheel cylinders are forced in by the ends of the shoes the rubber cup washer goes past this hole and allows the fluid to gradually leak out. the people having these reproduced are aware of the problem and seem to have trouble convincing the mfg (china) to do them correctly. one solution that has been used is to grind a little off the end of the shoe that goes into the cylinder, so the cup is not pushed back beyond the hole-crude but effective. the wheel cylinders (42-48 sizes) that I purchased from auto zone do not have this problem and of 4 cylinders two were made in Isreal, one in Italy, one in Argentina
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trjford8 |
01-05-2014 @ 9:27 AM
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Now you have a multi-cultural brake system!
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Grant |
01-06-2014 @ 2:15 PM
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Joined: Oct 2009
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Gentlemen, thank you for your comments and advice. Happy New Year to you and everyone else on Forum. Our garage isn't heated. The weatherman has decided that it's going to be minus 35 here tonight and tomorrow (100 miles east of Detroit). When the thermometer decides to warm up a bit I'll get under the '36 again and take a better look at what's going on. Maybe the problem is really the old hose rather than the left front wheel cylinder. Definitely the backing plate and the entire backside of the tire are wet. The wheel cylinders have not been changed. Worldwide Automotive in Albuquerque New Mexico installed the set of four front brake shoes for us on June 28th while we were en route back to Canada from the Golden Jubilee meet in Tahoe. Multi-culturalism is definitely not an issue in this case. Those shoes were made up using genuine Ford parts.....including New Old Stock linings......by Louis Cote in Fallon Nevada on June 20th while we were changing the left water pump in his shop which he had graciously allowed us to use. I'll let you know what my closer examination reveals.
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Grant |
01-11-2014 @ 3:50 AM
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Posts: 535
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I have been back under the front of the car. The flex lines look pretty old to me. Since this '36 has spent most of the last sixty years in storage, it appears that the best approach would be to change both of those flex lines and both front wheel cylinders as well at the same time. All brand new top quality stuff. Since the vehicle is being used as a long-distance roadrunner (see page 65 of the November December V8 Times), I'm also thinking about installing a Bob Drake EC-410 1939-1940 master cylinder adapter kit along with a C9AZ-2140-D dual master cylinder so that the braking system will be safer. Those parts are shown on page 387 of the current Drake catalog. Is this a proper approach to upgrading brakes on a '36 ? Has anyone else out there done this conversion ? Or a similar one ? If so, how did it work out ?
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Grant |
01-11-2014 @ 3:55 AM
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Senior
Posts: 535
Joined: Oct 2009
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Tom O has recommended C&G as a supplier for front wheel cylinders. Would that be a Grade A source for the front flex lines as well ? I do understand that a repair kit might work just fine for the wheel cylinders, but the lengthy storage issue does cause me some concern and all-new parts don't seem to be a terribly expensive proposition.
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