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Brake pushrod and clevis pin repair?

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davester

davester

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I'm rebuilding all of the brakes on my '71 MGBGT and one issue I have is that the clevis pin on the master cylinder is horribly worn, plus the pin hole in the push rod is really elongated. The push rod appears to be unavailable. The clevis pins I've found have all been aluminum, so I'm concerned that they are not of sufficient strength for this application.

I have three thoughts on this:

1. Perhaps have washers welded to the sides of the pushrod and get a longer clevis pin to fit (though I'm not sure where to find a steel one). I'm a little leery of this idea because if the welding doesn't work well, then I will have ruined my no-longer-available push rod.

2. Drill out the pushrod and brake pedal and fit a larger clevis pin.

3. Just replace the clevis pin and not worry about the hole elongation, play, and aluminum.

Has anybody here dealt with this issue successfully? Are there steel clevis pins available? Are the aluminum ones sufficiently strong?
 
I have had the holes in the linkage welded shut and redrilled the to the proper size (it's easier to get new pieces if they are available). The clevis pins have to be steel, aluminum won't work for more than about a week. You should be able to find proper clevis pins in a good hardware store locally or from Moss or V/B.
Cheers,
 
Have done what Dave describes, back when proper bits were NLA for a while. Easier to just order the proper replacements now, tho. Pins are easy to find in a good hardware store (Ace, etc.) or boat rigging supply house.
 
I would contact Tony here on the boards (once he is back from Europe). I would be he has a bucket full of them. If you can get a good original, I would stick with that. Nothing is more important on cars than the brakes.
 
This is also a common problem on the brake and clutch masters of the Mini. Our master cylinders are still available as replacements (for a lot of money) but I've never seen the pushrod attached to the cylinders for sale as a service part. The common repair method when rebuilding the old master cylinders is to weld washers of the correct ID over the elongated holes (more easily/cleanly done with TIG than MIG welds).

For clevis pins, you probably have an alternative at your disposal that you're not aware of. Find a hex head bolt of the right diameter and buy one with a long "unthreaded" portion next to the head. Cut off the threaded portion and crossdrill the hole for the cotter (or hitch) pin. Grade-5 bolts are a good choice, Grade-8 are better still. Both are tougher than the standard clevis pins.
 
Clevis pins are available from Autozone or such.
 
The pushrod for MGBs was available seperately as a service item. I have one in a little Rover box ... somewhere.
 
I made an aluminum post that is the original size. When inserted into the remaining hole in the pin or pedal, I welded around it and then just needed to grind the flats and did not have to worry about drilling the new weld - hard as heck. Another trick I heard was to weld steel washers on the outside. I liked my version.
 
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