| 39Fordfan | -- 04-09-2019 @ 12:12 PM |
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Hi there, After a long winter I took my '39 out and found a small amount of brake fluid leaked on the inside front passenger wheel. I looked at the master cylinder and it still has enough fluid in it to provide a good stiff brake pedal. I haven't pulled the wheel off yet to inspect it. The hose looks OK, so I'm thinking its the wheel cylinder. Its been 12 years since the car came out of restoration and going on 2 years since the brakes were last looked at by an experienced old car mechanic. I was thinking of just going through the whole thing myself and doing both sides, with new hoses, wheel cylinders, and re-lined shoes. I have moved pretty far from my old car mechanic and any club members and was thinking of either doing it myself or possibly having a modern mechanic friend do it. The system has DOT 5 in it. What do think? Do I need a hub puller? If it was your car would you consider driving the car, if it were to go to a mechanic? As I mentioned, all seems to be working well at the moment. Anything else you can think of to share that I should know? Thanks! PS. The picture is my Dad as an 18 year old in 1942 with the car. This message was edited by 39Fordfan on 4-9-19 @ 12:33 PM
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| 40 Coupe | -- 04-09-2019 @ 12:49 PM |
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You do not need a brake drum puller for the front wheels they are used on the rear drums. Since you have DOT5 fluid you may consider rebuilding the wheel cylinders since there may not be much damage.
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| CharlieStephens | -- 04-09-2019 @ 1:06 PM |
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The rear hubs/drums definitely need a puller (if they were properly torqued). The fronts will come off easily without a puller. Remove the cotter key, unscrew the nut on the end of the spindle and you should be able to pull the hub/drum assembly off by hand. When you reinstall the nut it is tightened until snug while spinning the wheel and then back off to the first castle (other opinions may very). Be careful of offshore parts such as wheel cylinders, hopefully someone will suggest good sources, if not post the question on fordbarn.com. Remember you will need to have your relined shoes arced, find a place before you need them. The last time I had the problem I sent them back to the company that supplied them and they returned them to the manufacturer to be correctly arced. Remember that the prewar brake components are different than the post war ones. PUT YOUR GENERAL LOCATION IN YOUR PROFILE AND MAYBE SOMEONE WILL RECOMMEND LOCAL SOURCES FOR WHAT YOU NEED. Charlie Stephens
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| TomO | -- 04-10-2019 @ 9:38 AM |
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If you have never done a brake job, have your modern mechanic friend do the job or instruct you on doing the job or have the job done by another professional mechanic. If the job is not done correctly, you and others could be seriously injured if the brakes fail. You will probably be alright with replacing just the front shoes. The right set due to damage from the brake fluid and the left because they need to be replaced in pairs. The rear set should have quite a bit of life left in them, if your car has been driven like most collector cars. You can make that decision when you pull the rear drums. In addition to normal tools, you will need: a brake cylinder hone to rebuild the wheel cylinders, a drum puller that fits on the hub, not the wheel studs. Using one that fits on the studs could damage you unreplaceable drums. Brake spring pliers to remove and replace the springs. Brake cylinder clamps to hold the cylinders together until you install the shoes. I would not take a chance on driving the car to a service facility. A flat bed ride is less expensive than any damage that could happen if the brakes fail completely. Use CRC SL3131 to grease the wheel bearings. This grease is a must for the rear roller bearings. Order new grease seals for the front and rear drums before you start the job, the old ones will probably be destroyed when you remove them. I would supply any shop that does the job with them as the ones from the local parts house will be more expensive and not do a better job. Tom
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| therunwaybehind | -- 05-15-2019 @ 9:13 AM |
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I found that I needed to have my Ford garage pressure bleed the under floor brakes on my 1948 Ford. Having another work the pedal or using a jar was not really the answer. This was not usually for replacement of the rubbers or honing of the cylinders but due to disconnecting the rear brake line at the torque tube to roll back the rear end to replace a clutch or a transmission. This was a long time ago and so maybe the dealer no longer has such a device in the era of pendulum pedals.
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| pauls39coupe | -- 05-15-2019 @ 5:15 PM |
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Dot 5 fluid tends to seep through areas that Dot 3 will not. I would pull the hubs to see it you have a leak at the wheel cylinder. The wheel cylinders may need to be replaced or the rubber cups replaced. There is a lot of discussion about using Dot 5. Some like it for old cars because it will not harm paint and does not absorb water causing the system to rust internally. The down side is that it seems to leak easier than dot 3 and the pedal feel can be somewhat different.
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