Decided to go for a Hoon today, went to slow down for oncoming traffic and no brakes, pedal went straight to the floor, the car did eventually slow down and stop. managed to get home with no problems though.
I've checked the master cylinder and there was no fluid in the rear bowl, no leaks visible on the drive either. from under the car though the back of the drum on the passenger side rear wheel is wet, I don't have time to check further but I'm guessing that the brake cylinder is leaking, if this is the case is it better to renew the cylinders on both sides or to renew all four of them (drums all round)?
Last edited by Rebel on Sun Apr 23, 06 6:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
'68 Dodge Charger
‘75 Ford Ranchero
'93 Toyota Hilux Surf
I'd do both rear ones and change the shoes if they have got wet. I'd have a look at the front cylinders, pull back the rubber boots and if there is any signs of dampness then I'd replace them, if not I'd leave them alone. You might want to change them anyway for peace of mind, it's really up to you.
Reminds me of many years ago when a rear cylinder went (not in the Dodge), the brake shoes were covered in fluid, but I reasoned I could reuse them if they could be dried out. Put them in my Mums oven while she was out (Gas mark 5, 20 mins per pound ).
The smoke that came out!!! Had to air the kitchen but didn't get rumbled!!
Worked a treat though!!
Gavin Chisholm - 414ci W2 Stroker SmallBlock Panther Pink '71 Challenger convertible - in bits Car progress can be viewed here
got a pair of replacement wheel cylinders from Wil ( thanx Neil) all arrived safely, decided to fit them today. Everything was going well until it came to putting the shoes and drums back together, I've attached a couple of pics to show the problem. The spring that's hanging loose at the bottom of the pictures is the problem, It doesn't seem to fit anywhere and the pictures in the manual aren't that clear. Can anyone tell me if the assembly looks right or have I missed something, I didn't have any parts left over so I'm guessing that as this is the first time I've worked on brakes that I've overlooked something
TIA
'68 Dodge Charger
‘75 Ford Ranchero
'93 Toyota Hilux Surf
The one dangling at the bottom is a top spring...the top right spring is the lower one, it goes on the right shoe and fits to the adjuster, the cable works against it to tension it all and hold the adjuster against the ratchet.
The springs look right to me except the right hand side of the bottom spring goes in the larger hole to the right. The other end fits into the adjusting lever just above the letter R, the same hole as the cable fixes.
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