Topic: Wheel cylinder gone south

[Soaring]

I was driving home from the hardware store this morning and hit the brakes to turn into my street.  The car pulled very hard to the left, so I figured right away it was a leaking wheel cylinder.  I pulled the Mach out of the garage and put Ol  Yeller right in the middle of the garage and took the wheel off.  Well, sure enough there was brake fluid on the shoes and drum.  So, I pulled the wheel cylinder and hose off and took it to the parts store.  They had to order the wheel cylinders and they won't be here until Tuesday, but they had the hoses.  The reason I am replacing both hoses and wheel cylinders is just because I think it is the smart thing to do.  There is no telling hold old they are.  So, Ol Yeller is grounded for the weekend, and mama's Mach gets driven. 

[attachment deleted by admin]

[rmodel65]

sound like its time to do that disc upgrade

[Soaring]

I thought about it, but decided against it.  The true advantage a disk brake system has over shoes is that you have a 2 bowl Master Cylinder, they don't heat up coming down a mountain, and water won't affect their performance.  I have added a 1967 Mustang 2 bowl MC so have taken care of that advantage.  I don't live in the mountains, so won't be heating up the brakes, and I live in cenral Texas where we have cactus growing in our yards, so don't need to sweat the water.   

[rmodel65]

i like the disc setup for easy pad changes instead of doing the shoe change. im glad you got that dual bowl on thats a huge safety upgrade

[Soaring]

Agreed....changing out the pads is faster than wrestling with the springs to get the shoes on, but I have it down to a science.  It takes me about 15-20 minutes per wheel, and I only have to do it once in 10 years or so.  I guess the next time it needs changing my son will have to do it.  Here are some pics of the process.  I forgot to take a pic when I was completely through, but you get the idea.


[attachment deleted by admin]

[rmodel65]

dont forget to torque your wheel bearings down with a beam type so you can do a rolling torque. a click style torque wrench wont work for this application