Hydraulic Brakes went out!

S

soonersace

Member
So I’m planning on a Route 66 journey later this fall in my 34 cabriolet so earlier this week I took a 300 mile trip to see how she would do! Car ran great- no complaints but my brakes pulled a little to the right by the end of the trip. I thought I just needed to adjust.

Yesterday I went to the car club breakfast and on my way home the brakes went to the floor with no stop- my emergency brake saved me and I limped home.

Driver side cylinder is bad- I’m assuming it was leaking Tuesday which is why my car probably pulled when I was braking.

Here are my questions- does anyone have a good vendor for parts.

I’m still trying to totally determine if my hub is a 48 hub or a 34 or a 36 or whatever. I did get some seals to replace as my hubs didn’t have them… or the wire wheel spacers-which I have added.

Thompson’s garage has a rebuild kit. But they have a 39-42 rebuild kit and a 46-48 kit- if you have any suggestion of which one to buy I’d appreciate it.
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With all that in mind… I should probably update to a dual master cylinder to avoid ALL of the brakes going out next time… here is the current rig I have set up- any one know of a good version to replace it with?
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I look forward to to your opinions-


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Your drums are 46-48 so your hubs are also.Your backing plates are 39-42 as are the brakes.All are mounted on 32-34 spindles.You must have spacer rings to adapt all that to your spindles I presume. I would replace both front wheel cylinders if you can find quality ones. Rock Auto has the wheel cyl kits for a bit more than $4 if your cyls are rebuildable.
 
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deuce lover said:
Your drums are 46-48 so your hubs are also.Your backing plates are 39-42 as are the brakes.All are mounted on 32-34 spindles.You must have spacer rings to adapt all that to your spindles I presume. I would replace both front wheel cylinders if you can find quality ones. Rock Auto has the wheel cyl kits for a bit more than $4 if your cyls are rebuildable.
Click to expand...


I do have the spacer rings-

Thanks so much for your input

I found a kit with new cyls, pads and all at Thompson’s- so I’ll give them a try.


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Buy the kits by wheel cylinder bore size.
The ones on my front looked like yours.
They were 1 3/8" on the front,
(the larger bore) off the later cars. (1946-48)
If you buy new cylinders, My choice would be those.

Karl
 
Third gen has a new master cylinder with dual res that bolt to your existing 3 bolt set up .
Excellent, no modifications needed . Just have your front and backs routed to each part of the master
 
And for Henry Ford sake get some support rings on the hub surface before you put the wheels back on. I can see the contact spot on the outer edge of the hub but nothing on the inner. You will crack those wheels! Would be an awful shame to crack up the bent-spoke wires.
 
I just looked at the link from deuce-lover and it has a smaller bore than stock, 1" versus 1-1/16". This will decrease pedal effort but stroke more toward the floor, than stock. With a loss of fluid on front or back, you may run out of stroke before you have brakes. If you go with this cylinder, make sure you have an absolute minimum free stroke before brakes are applied.


I changed my original master to a stepped bore type and am pleased with the change. It is a two bolt design though.


https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2147498&postcount=5


Glenn
 
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Soonersace: You said: "Driver side cylinder is bad- I’m assuming it was leaking Tuesday which is why my car probably pulled when I was braking."

When you removed the brake drum did you? see brake fluid leaking on the brake drum?
Was your master cylinder low on brake fluid indicating a leak? Did it run dry?
Did you check the other 3 wheels for wheel cylinder leaks?
What DOT brake fluid are you using?
Is your homemade master cylinder actuation linkage set up working as it should?

First thing I suggest is to rebuild the leaking wheel cylinders. Let us know how you make out.
 
If you have one bad wheel cylinder, you should consider refurbing the entire braking system. rebuild or replace the wheel and master cylinders and the brake hoses, flush and replace the brake fluid, and bleed the brakes.

One thing I never see mentioned is that DOT-3 and DOT-4 fluid have a finite life in service. Over time, they will pick up moisture and retain it. After it reaches a certain level, it will promote rust in the system. Several years ago, I purchased an electronic device for testing the moisture level in glycol-based fluid. I have found that it gets to a critical level somewhere between 5 and 15 years, depending on storage, climate, and other conditions. Anyone with over 15 years on their brake system should consider a flush and replace. (I know this from owning my '51 for 38 years.) I can't say about DOT-5 fluid, because I only managed to get it bled properly in one car. It seems to last longer though. I had it in a Corvette I sold after 25 years and the brakes seemed fine. I'll never really know, because I had no way to test it.
 
Saw you mentioned duel bowl Master cylinder, I studied doing that but you have stroke problems with the stock peddle travel. It is safer to have single bowl with good working emergency brake.
 
soonersace said:
...............

With all that in mind… I should probably update to a dual master cylinder to avoid ALL of the brakes going out next time… here is the current rig I have set up- any one know of a good version to replace it with?
a6dde8112e6d6d89cddfa6a284077302.jpg



I look forward to to your opinions-
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


I would first suggest changing your brake apply system from the pedal pulling through the marginally efficient linkage design to the normal direct/straight push operation of the master cylinder by adding a lug to the bottom of the '34 pedal, as I did with the '34 pedals in my '32.

Next consideration would be the much safer dual master conversion.
 
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alchemy said:
And for Henry Ford sake get some support rings on the hub surface before you put the wheels back on. I can see the contact spot on the outer edge of the hub but nothing on the inner. You will crack those wheels! Would be an awful shame to crack up the bent-spoke wires.
Click to expand...


I bought and installed the rings before the 300 mile trip. So I got that covered!


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V8 Bob said:
I would first suggest changing your brake apply system from the pedal pulling through the marginally efficient linkage design to the normal direct/straight push operation of the master cylinder by adding a lug to the bottom of the '34 pedal, as I did with the '34 pedals in my '32.

Next consideration would be the much safer dual master conversion.
Click to expand...


Where does one get this lug?


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