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I haven't any problems finding parts till now. Odd that I have brake fluid leaking out of the front tee mounted on the crossmember. Checked the lines, replaced one. There appears to be a plastic "insert" with little metal nipple that's dripping brake fluid. Can't seem to find a replacement
I take it your truck is either an F250 or an F350 from '68-'72 with the optional factory front discs or, this truck has had front discs added to it by a former owner.
The component is a Metering (hold-off) Valve for momentarily delaying the application of pressure to the front brakes, to allow the rear drums to overcome the tension of the retracting springs and start moving the shoes towards the friction surfaces of the drums.
Other than getting a used metering valve from a wrecking yard donor or, finding an NOS valve from a Ford parts vendor, I don't know of any that are readily available.
No Bumpside F100s came with factory front discs. Front discs were only optional on the '68-'72 F250s and F350s. Even on the Bumpside F250s/F350s with factory front discs, no proportioning valves were installed. All-wheel drum brake Bumpsides only came with pressure differential valves. Bumpside F250/F350s with factory front discs had a pressure differential valve with a stand-alone metering valve plumbed inline to the front discs.
Beginning in 1973, all F100s-F350s came standard with factory front discs (power brakes optional). '73 was the first year that 3 separate brake functions were combined into one brake valve assembly: Metering to the front discs, Pressure differential sensing between the front and rear brake circuits and Proportioning to the rear drums.
Thanks Steve! I ordered their kit after taking my metering valve apart and confirming that they're the same. I made a little jig out of a couple screws and a fender washer.
Thanks Steve! I ordered their kit after taking my metering valve apart and confirming that they're the same. I made a little jig out of a couple screws and a fender washer.
Hope this solves your problem and gets your truck back on the road soon.
When you go to bleed the brakes out and get to the front brake circuit, the pin on the metering valve will need to be pushed and held inward while bleeding the front brakes.
If you don't have one, Muscle Car Research also sells a pressure differential valve lock tool to keep the pressure differential valve spool from shifting and tripping the brake warning light, while you're bleeding the brakes out. ($10.00 bucks).
It looks like this.
To use it, simply unscrew the pressure differential warning switch from the valve body, screw the lock tool in (finger tight only), bleed the brakes, when through, remove the tool, screw the pressure switch back into the valve body and reconnect the wiring to the switch. --this shown on the brake setup I installed in my truck.
....(under normal circumstances) removing the pressure warning switch does not expose the brake system to air and the brake fluid should not leak out of the valve body from the removal of the switch. IF brake fluid does leak out when the switch is removed, it means one or both of the O-ring seals on either side of the PDV spool are bad. If this does happen, Muscle Car Research does have a seal kit for the '67-'72 pressure differential valve.