I guess the correct term would be "can of worms." When I bought my truck, it had been sitting in a field for 5 years or so. All the brake fluid had evaporated, and since the master cylinder was so rusty, I replaced that. Went to bleed the brakes, but the bleeder screws on the front were stripped off, so I figured I'd replace the wheel cylinders. They're fairly cheap, and since this thing had been sitting so long, it'd be a good thing to make sure they work correctly. Was able to get the brake hose loose from the wheel cylinder, but, naturally, I stipped the nut on the steel brake line. So to get the wheel cylinder off, I had to cut the brake hose. Fine, I might as well replace those, too. The shoes were shot, and when I did take the caps off the wheel cylinder, the pistons were rusted into place. So it looks like I'm going to have to do an entire brake job. Drums are shot, and it gives me the oppertunity to knock a pounds worth of old mud dauber's nests from inside the drums. Those devils must've loved this truck: the entire carb was covered with their hard mud hives, and I've found hives all over it. But I digress...

Here's the question: What should I do about the steel line nut? Since it's rounded off, I'm going to have to use a Vice-Grip to get the hose off. Should I replace the whole steel line or cut the nut off, get a new one, and double flare it? I didn't have a chance to look things over very closely, but is that line difficult to remove and replace? And, since I don't have a manual, I'm doing one side at a time, but I'm guessing that the other side will present a similar problem. Any suggestions?

 

Neal, Sounds like a perfect time to replumb the brakes. Get the tool (beg, borrow, or buy) and install new line. I also would not do this without upgrading to power discs for the front and 68-72 big shoe upgrade for the rear.

I have bought two donor trucks and sold parts that I dind't need off them and my brake & steering upgrade parts didn't cost me anything but labor.

John

 

You didn't say what year truck you have, but if it's 65-66, now is the perfect time to do the disc brake upgrade. Regardless, I would plan on replacing the steel lines as they are probably in poor shape, and you don't want them bursting on you when you need them the most. They aren't hard to make, just time consuming.

 

I would agree with John and David.

This is your life behind the wheel and the brakes are the most important thing on any vehicle. My father always told me to spare nothing on brakes and he always took good care of the brakes on my 65, so they are in great shape still today. I plan on upgrading to disc brakes some time in the future. Modern brakes are much better than the old stuff.

jd

 

Yes, it is a '65, but I'm not planning on upgrading to the disks. This is just a work truck: I take it to the lumberyard and to the dump. Other than that, it sits in the garage. I'll crawl under there today and check things out on that line. I'm assuming that there's going to be a splitting block of sorts that is sitting somewhere on the frame. Anybody tell me where too look, or at least a ballpark area? I'll just plan on doing the front lines for now and wait to do the rears when it's warm outside and I can pull the truck outside on to the driveway. Garage is a little small for working on it.

 

I strongly recommend re-plumbing the brakes- the sooner the better. I once had a '64 Comet, and had a brake line fail- in the driveway! Since it was a single master cylinder, I had no brakes. If the brakes had lasted one stop longer, it would have happened on a busy multi-lane! All it was was a small pinhole rusted thru. From then on. I've always replaced brake lines on old vehicles, or at least given them a thorough inspection. If they are rusty, out they go. The splitting block is usually on the driver's side frame rail, under the front of the cab. I don't know if a '65 has a single master cylinder or dual- you'll want the dual for safety's sake. If it's a single m/c, and the brakes leak anywhere, no brakes! It won't matter if you've redone the front or not. My '65 Mustang was a single m/c, that's why I mention it. They do work; did for years, but you have to keep the system in tip-top shape to be safe. I live in a busy urban area, and all my cars get disc brakes, dual m/c's, etc. I rely on 'em too much to take chances.

 

Jay,
I know the feeling. My first car was a '65 Grand Prix that has, like my f100, a single master cylinder. Spring break my freshman year of college, I was barrelling down a hill into the town my parents lived in. Went to hit the binders to stop at an intersection, and the pedal went all the way to the floor. Rather then crapping my pants (which would have been my first reaction), I calmly shifted down to first and nailed the parking brake. Once stopped, I pumped the pedal a few times and got my pressure back. Limped 'er home, parked it in the garage, and replaced the M/C. And, like the truck, once I replaced that, I blew out a steel line on the rear differential. If it's not one thing, its another, right??

 

I had a similar problem on many cars over the years...what I do for a car thats nothing special...if the nuts rounded off...wire brush the pee out of the threads AND the line behind the nut...flush the crud away with WD40 , repeat wire brushing...repeat WD flush of crud...chase that with carb cleaner or similar...it will wash away the wd40 and dries w/o residue....but cover the end of the line(hose in your case) to keep crud/cleaner out...
Also...when you cut the hose, did any fluid trickle down the pipeline ???
If so, thats good...replace it of course.
If the nut has never been touched, go get a flare nut wrench...Sears has them in 3/8-7/16 and 1/2-9/16 sizes....best money I paid for tools....gets a tighter bite on 4 of the 6 sides of the nut...see if it breaks loose with a bit of effort...if not i have tapped on the wrench while on nut and repeated removal attempt...works most times....box wrench is a great thing....If nuts already rounded off....vice grips...work nut back and forth to loosen rust and crud inside nut to line area....

a big post for something seemingly easy...lol...not always easy though....



-cs65

 

Well, fluid did trickle down the line, for whatever it's worth. Went to install the new wheel cylinders tonite and they're not quite right. Bore on the originals was 1 1/16" and the replacements seemed to be 1". Also didn't fit in the backing plate quite right. I'd blame the guy at the parts house, but I looked 'em up myself. Oh well. Maybe I just looked down a line or something...

So, what's the tear-drop shaped dohicky that's bolted to the backing plate? It was getting full of brake cleaner, so I unbolted it and flushed things out. There was remains of an old paper gasket; is that something I'm going to have to find? But there shouldn't be any sort of fluid back there unless the seal leaks. Maybe it's some backup if the seal does fail to save the shoes?

 

Oh yeah, one more question: What should I expect to pay for new drums? Even with my discount, they come out to be $68 a piece, which i think is outragous. Can't use the old ones though; being cheap I usually turn them down to the last fraction of tolerence, but there's gooves in these suckers that made my skin crawl. How in the world did the PO get this hulk of steel to stop??? The e-brake cable is being used to hold the muffler up, so I know it wasn't with that.

 

You can use pre made lines and loop them to get the length right. The brake block is just behind the steering gear box. Front drums are available used, I tossed a good set when I converted to disk so ask around. I sure do agree with everyone else about up grading to disks, or at least a dual chamber system.

 

Well, I scored some new drums at a local store for $32 each. First of all, is it worth painting them? This is not a show truck or anything, it's just a beater to use around the house. If i were to paint 'em, what do I use? High-temp flat black?

Next, the hubs. I'm guessing the removal of them involves a torch and a big-*** hammer? I've got the whole drum/hub assembly sitting on the floor of the garage; and a few days ago I hosed everything down with WD40, so hopefully that'll soak in.

Oh, and on the wheel cylinders: yeah, like an idiot I read down a line in the cataloge. Got the right ones though.

 

Don't paint the drums. Pull the I Beams and take them to someone with a press and push out the king pins and bushings. While you’re in there replace the pivot and radius arm rubber bushings. This is cheap and quick with the I Beams out. Now you have a decision to make; metal bushings or Teflon. I vote for Teflon since you don’t need a reamer and it is unlikely you will ever wear them out. Install the spindle, bushings, bearing and shims on the I Beam while it is out of the truck. Then reinstall the I Beam assemblies under the truck and do the brakes and steering. Use a long bar to put downward pressure on the tie rod and smack the spindle end with a 2 pound hammer. They should pop right out. Forget the torch/beating with a hammer BS for the king pins. You will likely screw up the grease cap threads and putting in those shims sitting under the truck is a royal PITA! Buy a can or PB Blaster for rusty nuts. WD-40 is not good for this purpose. Use anti-seize on the fasteners as you reassemble.

 

neal-the studs are a press fit to the drum on these. If you beat them apart, you will need new studs to reassemble. That might be a good idea anyway, BUT they are a press fit that requires care to reassemble, you might check into a shop price for the job. Some studs are swedged after installation to retain the drum. I don't remember if that is the case with these or not.
If you want to paint the drums, Eastwood sells drum paint, it must be high temp and also thin to not interfere with heat dissapation.
I agree with William on the wd40, it is a good lube, but a lousy rust penetrant. PB Blaster is excellent.

 

What's the other option? Find an arbor that fits the bore of the hub and drive it out that way? How would a professional shop do this? Say I took the truck down to the local repair shop to redo the brakes. How would they get the drum loose from the hub? I suppose I could sneak 'em into work this weekend and try the press....