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Rear brake cylinder leaking - just a wee bit...

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RickB

RickB

Yoda
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I noticed my drivers side rear tire looked a bit wet this morning, thought maybe a dog had passed by. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/blush.gif

At lunch the brake pedal felt just a little off so I got out & checked the fluid in the master - low in the rear half.
Added fluid, seemed OK. Just got home, called NAPA & they will have a new cylinder for me tomorrow morning.
After I pull the old one off I'll determine if it will make a good rebuild, if so I will buy a kit & rebuild it so I have a spare.

It's always something isn't it?

Anything I should be aware of when doing this job?
 
I've got my new cylinder - pulled the wheel and saw the two set screws.

They seem to be stuck in there (of course) - any good ideas on a graceful removal procedure?
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]pulled the wheel and saw the two set screws.[/QUOTE]

You mean the ones holding the drum in place? Get one of those little hammer screw drivers - put a posi bit in it & hit a couple of times with hammer.
 
Thanks Tony, I wne across the street to the True Value - they don't carry it. I'll have to put the wheel back on & drive to the automonkey store.
I hope the front brakes work independently, seems to be a dual circuit. Wish me luck. Good thing the handbrake works!
 
Sears and Roebuck, non sale price right around 28 last time a friend had to buy one, with Labor Day sale stuff on, perhaps you can purchase one for less.
 
Schucks had one for $12.99 - worked like a charm.

Now I'm going to raise the front back up by about 1 inch.

When my lovely assistant went for a ride with me yesterday both sides rubbed on the tires. Time to bring it up out of the weeds a little. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
 
What's a hammer screw driver & a posi bit? Anyone have a pic?
 
https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=37530

and

https://tinyurl.com/355zfx

{explaination} Pozidrive screws answer the Phillips shortcomings. The differences are subtle. At first glance it appears to be a Phillips, but on closer examination you'll notice a second set of cross-blades at the root of the large cross-blades. These added blades are for identification and match the additional makings on the head of Pozi-drive screws, known as "tick" marks. So, the marks are for identification.

Two features of the Pozidrive screw and driver combination make it unique, and superior to the Phillips. First, the tip or the Pozidrive driver is blunt, which also helps it to seat better into the recess in the screw, unlike the Phillips which comes to a sharper point. This becomes a problem as the tooling that forges the recess in the head of the screws begins to show signs of wear. The recess becomes more and more shallow, which means the driver will bottom-out too soon and will cause the driver to cam-out.

The second unique feature is the large blades on the driver have parallel faces, where the Phillips blades are tapered. The straight sides of the driver allow additional torque to be exerted without fear of cam-out.
 
Re: Rear brake cylinder leaking - just a wee bit..

Raising the front an inch made a great difference in ride and handling. You can get too low, and my front end was too low.

I guess you have to account for driver and passenger. When that equals around 500 pounds... well you see where I'm going.

Now it feels "right" and that's a good thing!

Oh yeah, having brakes that don't leak is also a good thing.
Seems like the PO put new shoes & pads on but didn't replace any hydraulics. Oh well, at least I don't have to replace the shoes and pads /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
 
Re: Rear brake cylinder leaking - just a wee bit..

That is a great tool & I've got to get one. I wonder if that tool box I just bought has one in it. Gotta check Crafstman or Mac and see what they have.
 
Re: Rear brake cylinder leaking - just a wee bit..

Oh and thanks for those lins. I also di not know about the posi-drive tips. I hate it when these start spinning and strip out the head. Looks like the combination of these tools will help eliminate drilling out stripped screws. If I even have a slight feeling that a screw is going to give me trouble, I'll whip this out.
 
Re: Rear brake cylinder leaking - just a wee bit..

I found that my wire wheel hub knockoff hammer did a good job with the driver. That's the first time it's been out of my MGC in a couple decades!

My little 16 oz hammer didn't really have any effect. I thought: "Don't I have a BFH around here somewhere?"
Oh yeah - I have a Big Hammer out in the C. Worked like a wonder.
 
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