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Tips
Tips

Brake/clutch pedal frozen

JonnyRotten

Senior Member
Offline
linkage moves to the brackets going through engine compartment.but the brackets are frozen.Is that the master cylinder that needs to be rebuilt.
 
A little more information. What car is this? Do both pedals move together? How long since it was last used?
Unusual for both the brake and clutch master cylinders to be solid like that.
 
Its a 60 tr3a.It hasn't moved in 30 years,but its been garaged.both pedals frozen.They move independently.The brackets going through engine compartment are frozen solid.
 
Johnny has just received his dads old tr3 and it's been sitting for a very long time. He just stared it first time yesterday.
 
Probably the clutch and brake master cylinders on the bulkhead are rusted solid.

I am sure that you are investing in new hydraulics for the car anyway, so I would remove both cylinders and see if after the pedals will move when they are not hooked up.

I supposed the bushings could be rusted in the pedals themselves?

Cheers,
M. Pied Lourd
 
I have movement to the brackets.Can rusted solid master cylinders be rebuilt.Im redoing the whole system.the lines and calipers are easy,I figured Id start with the hard stuff.
 
It is possible to hone them out and re-seal them if they are not too bad. But I would be inclined to fit new cylinders as they are not that expensive and you should then have a reliable system. If they have been sitting for 30 years the liklihood is that they will be beyond economic repair.
 
I had Sierra resleeve my brake and clutch MCs last winter. They did a great job -- I did quite a bit of searching on the 'net and talking with folks on this board before I chose them. While you can buy replacement MCs for the same price, I was advised by quite a few knowledgeable folks that the resleeved original MCs are of much higher quality than the current replacements. Plus, the replacements available are not exact matches for your OEM MCs, so you have to do some fabricating to make them fit and you lose the original appearance, if that's a factor that's important to you.

Sierra is at: https://www.brakecylinder.com/
 
:iagree:

I second the resleeve option for the brake & clutch masters. Slave/wheel cylinders can be replaced cheaply, and the calipers likely rebuidable youself.
 
Your car won't have the twin cylinder MC, that was found only on TR2-early TR3 with Lockheed brakes (and front drums). Girling MCs (P/N GI64067854) are currently on sale @ TRF for $75 each. And while they are visibly different, fitting them is trivial. They come with the adapter for the outlet, so at most you just bend your existing lines slightly to match the outlet location.

PS, before deciding anything, I would disconnect the linkage at the MC pushrods (remove cotter pin then unscrew funny threaded clevis pin through hole in side) and re-evaluate the situation. I have seen TRs with both pedals rusted to the pivot rod. And your existing MCs may be repairable without sleeves. TS13571L is still wearing it's original cylinders (though I may try my hand at resleeving them someday).
 
I believe Apple Hydralics is near you in Long Island. They do rebuilds I think along with White Post Resorations in Virginia. It might be worthwhile if you have the ORIGINALS resleeved.
Gordon
 
So for re-sleeving there is Sierra, White Post, and Apple? Is there any consensus in the LBC world about which does a better job? I've heard that some of these vendors won't honor warranties if you use DOT-5 brake fluid. Is that true of all the re-sleeving firms?
 
JR,

I just did this job last week and replaced the old mc's with new ones from TRF. Agreed, if you can rebuild/re-sleeve your originals these can be more dependable in the long run than the new repros.

Here are a few pics of the masters and reservoir on my 60 3A.

P1060762.jpg


P1060758.jpg


P1060774.jpg


P1060779.jpg


P1060780.jpg


Cheers,
M. Pied Lourd
 
Thanks for the pics.my mistake.Its not the MCs.Its the linkage thats frozen.How do I get to the linkage that the clevis pin is attached to. .After getting under the car it appears to be IN the body.(sorry for the wrong info)
 
The pedal setup is behind the firewall under the dash.
 
Now comes the fun part ! There is a series of bolts & studs that hold the pedal assembly to the body. 4 or 5 bolts from inside, plus 4 studs that stick up into the box that holds the MCs. Probably best to remove the box first, as things are likely to be rusty and need attention under there anyway.

Once all the nuts & bolts are out (plus the clevis pins of course), the pedals should pull away from the body, along with the brackets, pivots, etc. If they are reluctant, some taps with a brass hammer above the clevis pins should help.
 
Here's a shot from the factory SPC that might help too.
 
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