Rear Brake Cylinders not Fitting Hand Brake Lever

[Dave Richards]

Greetings -

I purchased two new AP rear brake cylinders from British Northwest and finally got around to fitting them. I became frustrated when neither would seat tightly against the backplate. Upon close comparison of new to existing it became apparent there was more clearance for the parking lever studs on the existing than the new. I measured the distance on each - there was a whopping 1/8-inch difference, 5/8-inch on the new and 3/4-inch on the existing. I considered forcing the lever into the cylinder, but didn't want to risk damaging the cylinder assembly.

I've sent an email to Northwest asking for suggestions.

I'm thinking my best option might be to Drumel enough clearance. Does anyone have a better solution? Has anyone encountered this issue with the AP parts, any other brand?

Thanks,

 

[steveg]

Greetings -

I purchased two new AP rear brake cylinders from British Northwest and finally got around to fitting them. I became frustrated when neither would seat tightly against the backplate. Upon close comparison of new to existing it became apparent there was more clearance for the parking lever studs on the existing than the new. I measured the distance on each - there was a whopping 1/8-inch difference, 5/8-inch on the new and 3/4-inch on the existing. I considered forcing the lever into the cylinder, but didn't want to risk damaging the cylinder assembly.

I've sent an email to Northwest asking for suggestions.

I'm thinking my best option might be to Drumel enough clearance. Does anyone have a better solution? Has anyone encountered this issue with the AP parts, any other brand?

Thanks,

Not sure what you mean by "studs". This is what my stock rear cylinder setup looks like:

 

[Dave Richards]

Thanks for asking - by studs, I mean the pins that prevent the hand brake lever from passing through the back plate. The cylinder has two hollow spots to accommodate the pins and sit flush on the back plate. There is a difference between the original cylinder and the replacement, both shown in the attached picture.

I've spoken with Northwest British Parts. They have an original cylinder there and compared it with a half dozen of the new - there is indeed a difference, and in the case of a BJ8, (at least mine anyway), the replacement cylinders won't seat in the backplate. They have several hundred of these in stock. They've spoken to someone closer to the manufacturer, and they are aware of the issue. It might be that my pegs are longer than others, but that doesn't seem likely.

At any rate, after speaking to Northwest, I've decided to ease some of the casting away via Drumel until the casting can accommodate the pins. I would guess others are going to have similar issues while distributors work their way through the existing supply.

If you look closely at the right side of each cylinder leg in the attached picture, you can see a difference in thickness in the casting. The original casting is thinner than the replacement.