I'm replacing all the brake lines in my 65 F100 and I'm having a hard time locating a part. It is the part connecting all the brake lines together. I can find a 3 port tee but not the four port. I'm supposing it's because everything has switch to a dual port mc. Anyways I'm gonna take a pic and hope someone can tell me where to look.

 

You need to look for a single master brake distribution block. I'm sure someone can provide a Ford part number, but you could probably get away with something like this:

http://m.ebay.com/itm/63-64-65-Corvette-Brake-Master-Cylinder-Line-Distribution-Brass-Valve-Tee-Block-/200877291193?nav=SEARCH
That being said, I would use this opportunity to switch to a dual master.

 

Would you recommend one, and its gonna have to stay drum/drum for a bit until I can save up the 900 bucks for the front disk brakes

 

You definitely don't have to spend $900 for disc brakes. You can use parts off later Ford trucks and get it done for $200-300 depending on how resourceful you are. I'm running drum brakes and everything has been replaced. They work well enough that disc brakes are way down on my list of upgrades.

If I was doing it again, I'd use something like this: More Information for ACDELCO 18M1020

Make sure it's drum/drum and it's a quality part. The one I linked to is for a 68 mustang, but it's the same bore size. For some reason all the mcs listed for F100s are for disc/drum. You may need to use the original push rod from your truck if you go with a mustang MC, I'm not sure. But you will have to figure out how to tee in the brake light switch. There's no spot for it on the dual mcs. I used this:
I added it to the front brake line near the mc.




Notice that's a disc/drum master. I had to add a residual valve for the front to get it to work right.

 

May be some info is missing here, but why wouldn't you reuse the original one?

 

Not sure if you mean the master cylinder or the brake light switch. MC because it's 50 years old, switch because there's no place for it on the dual MC. Those used a switch on the brake pedal, and this is much easier than adding one of those.

 

That reminds me, make sure you replace the switch too. It was the only part I didn't replace at first, and it failed shortly after. The front brakes sucked in air and stopped working-- abruptly. Luckily I still had the rear (that's why you upgrade to the dual master).

 

Sorry I misread the post, not enough coffee this morning. I thought he was looking for the original 4 port block.

 

Lol, I forgot all about the original question. So, the the original block in my 66 had 4 ports, or 1 in and 3 out. Shane, if you use a dual master you'll only need 1 in and 2 outs, which is just a tee that you can get at the parts store. I used my original block and put a plug in one of the ports.

 

Thank you, for the info. I was looking at a master cylinder but as you pointed out all the mc for F100s were all for disc/drum combo, and then that solves the original problem. Side note, would you recommend putting a 10 psi residual for the rear brakes?

 

You don't need any residual valves if you use the drum/drum master. They're supposed to be built into the MC, but not on a disc circuit. The purpose is to hold a little pressure on the line so that the brakes engage faster. But discs don't have as far to travel, so they're not needed. As far as the rear brakes engaging first, which is what you want, that's taken care of by the rear wheel cylinders having a smaller bore.

Now, I've been told by some that mcs don't include rpvs anymore, and that you don't need them because of some part that's in newer wheel cylinders. Idk about all that, but I know that in my case (with the wrong mc), it made a positive difference to add one.

 

Ok, this is my first truck that is drum all the way around but I thought that the majority of your braking was done via the front brakes?

 

I have drum/drum in my 66 f-100 and just switched to a dual mc with a power booster and kept the drums all around. I put in CuNiFer (Copper nickel ferrous - iron) brake lines - all new - they are great because they don't rust and can be bent by hand with no tools needed (except a double flaring tool). I got rid of that distribution block you speak of above, and I bought a package from GPS Brakes on ebay but they have a website too. Great customer support.

From them I got the MC, booster, firewall bracket for the F-100 and a distribution block/proportioning valve for the rear brakes. The block accepts 2 lines from the MC, has 2 lines going out (one for each of the front brakes), and also one out for the rear brake line. The rear brake hose has a little block built in that splits off to each rear wheel. The valve also has a switch built in for connecting brake lights to. Very simple, directions included . . . The rest of the parts: hoses, wheel cylinders, drums,, shoes I bought from rockauto, and other online places. I bought the brake lines from amazon.com and it came with fittings.

I don't think you need the prop valve for all drums, but I installed the one above because it has the switch built in and made routing the lines a little easier. It came as a package anyway.

http://gpsbrakes.com/



I also like these brake lines because they are malliable, form easy, and make a nice seal. I think stainless is too hard.

 

That's right, the front brakes do most of the work. The rear brakes just engage a little earlier to maintain control when braking.

Markeyd, how much difference did you notice between the manual and power drums? I was thinking about adding a power booster to mine.

 

Prior to the 1960s, MCs were located under the floorboard which put them at or, possibly in some cases, slightly below the level of the wheel cylinders. This arrangement was prone to drain-back where fluid would exit the wheel cylinders and drain back into the MC, if there were no Residual Pressure Valves to control this. The brakes would have to be pumped up to refill the wheel cylinders, if the fluid was allowed to drain back.

The RPVs also served another purpose. They kept a small amount of pressure on the lip of the cup seals, inside the wheel cylinders, to promote a good seal and so that air wouldn't be drawn in around the cup seals when the brake pedal was released and the wheel cylinder pistons sucked inwards.

By the 1960s, MCs were being installed high up on the firewall and the RPVs were no longer needed for the purposes of controlling drain-back but, they were still installed in the port seat of a MC with drum brakes to promote a good seal on the cups inside the wheel cylinders.

Typical Ford tandem manual brake drum/drum MC.






Sometime before the '80s, RPVs in the MC were pretty much made obsolete by cup expanders installed inside the wheel cylinders. This could be two discs at each end of the spring inside the wheel cylinder or, the spring itself could have a tighly-wound conical shape to it that would push the lip of the cup seals tightly against the inside of the wheel cylinder bore. Cup expanders are cheaper to produce --from a manufacturing standpoint. They aren't susceptible to getting clogged up with rust scale or debris from the MC, like an RPV and, cup expanders are much easier to service/replace than an RPV.

Wheel cylinder cup expanders shown with the disc style expanders.



Cup expanders shown with the conical shaped spring ends.




Today, if you buy a service replacement MC from the parts stores, chances are very good the MC MAY not have an RPV(s) installed --even if in the OEM application there were RPVs installed in the MC.

Prior to 1967, all Ford MCs were of the single reservoir configuration. If there was a brake component failure anywhere in the brake system (where there was a loss fluid/pressure), ALL the brakes would fail. Government regulations mandated that for 1967, and beyond, all domestic automanufacturers had to install tandem MCs. With this setup, the primary (front) brake circuit was split from the secondary (rear) brake circuit. If there was a failure in one circuit, the other circuit would still function --albeit with a lot more effort from the driver to bring the vehicle to a stop but, it would not have a TOTAL loss of all brakes, like with a single reservoir MC.

With the advent of the tandem MC also came the Pressure Differential Valve. It contained a valve spool inside that sensed for a difference in pressures between the primary and secondary brake circuits. There is a switch installed into the valve body and the plunger of the switch resides in a notch of the hourglass-shaped valve spool. As long as the primary and secondary circuit pressure remains equal, the contacts of the switch remain open.

If there is an imbalance in the brake pressures (pressure/fluid loss), the higher pressure of the good circuit will force the pressure differential valve spool to the side of lower pressure (the failed side). The switch plunger rides up the 'ramp' of the valve spool which closes the switch contacts and illuminates the brake warning light on the dash --this brake warning light would have only come stock on '67-up models.

Typical Ford drum/drum* Pressure Differential Valve you would find on a '67-'72 Ford F100-F350.



None of the '67-'72 F100s came from the factory with front disc brakes. *Optional front discs were only factory installed on the '68-'72 F250s and F350s. In those applications, the same drum/drum PDV was used but, it was used in conjunction with a stand-alone Metering (hold-off) valve that was plumbed inline to the front discs.

Location of metering valve on a '68-'72 F250/F350, with optional front discs, shown in the following diagram.



Many people call any type of brake valve a "proportioning" valve. The reality is drum/drum brake systems don't have a proportioning valve. In the case of '67-'72 model Ford trucks, an all-wheel drum brake truck got a PDV. In the case of a '68-'72 F250/F350 with optional factory front discs, they got a PDV along with a separate Metering valve for the front brakes --but, they didn't have a proportioning valve.

In 1973, ALL F100-F350 trucks came standard with factory (manual) front disc brakes (power brakes was optional, just as it was for earlier model Ford trucks). Beginning in 1973, all 2WD trucks got an integrated brake valve. This integrated disc/drum brake valve assembly contained a Metering Valve to the front discs brake circuit, a Pressure Differential Valve between the primary and secondary brake circuits and, for the first time on the trucks, a Proportioning Valve for the rear drum brake circuit.

In the '73 and up Ford 2WD trucks, there were primarily two different disc/drum brake valves used. One was a cast iron valve produced by Kelsey-Hayes that was used on trucks under 6,800 lbs. The other was a brass disc/drum brake valve produced by Weatherhead that was used on trucks over 6,800 lbs.

Cast iron K-H brake valve. (I pulled this disc/drum brake valve from a '77 F100).





....or, this brass disc/drum Weatherhead valve. (I pulled this disc/drum brake valve from a '75 F350).





My truck is a 1969 F100 short bed Ranger. Originally, my truck had manual 4-wheel drums, a conventional cast iron tandem MC and the drum/drum PDV. I removed all of that when I installed the entire front disc brake/I-beam front suspension from a '77 F100. I installed a factory Bendix dual diaphragm booster/mounting brackets from a '75 F350, a new, 1-1/16" bore, 'modern' MC for a '95 Ford Explorer and an OEM/NOS disc/drum brake valve for an '84-'86 Ford F150/Bronco. Unlike before, my brakes work exceptionally well now.