1948 Wheel Cylinders

[vicbrincat]

Last year I installed brand new wheel cylinders in my '48. I inspected them yesterday and to my dismay, the rear ones are seeping brake fluid. I'm pretty sure that no leaking is tolerable at these critical components. I have only inspected the rear ones, but I suspect the fronts (replaced at the same time) also have issues...as they are from the same source and brand name.

There is less than 300 miles on them and to me, that is premature failure. I suspect that I have purchased poor quality cylinders (shame on me).

Clearly they need to be replaced.

My question is where can I get good quality wheel cylinders these days? (I know where I can get poor quality ones).

Does anyone have experience with the wheel cylinders from Coopers? I am thinking of buying a whole new set from them?

Vic

[Glen]

You might be able to get good quality wheel cylinders at the junk yard.  All you have to do is rebuild them It should not be hard to find rebuild kits. 

Glen

[vicbrincat]

Thanks for the reply Glen.

I'm afraid in my neck of the woods, the oldest car in a junk yard may be from the 1980s. I live in the heart of the snow and salt belt...no junkyard has anything even close to that old around here...and I have looked, extensively. Twenty years ago, I actually found one local yard that had a 1962 Cadillac..and it was pretty badly decomposed...not much that was usable.

Thank you for your suggestion.

Vic

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

G'day Vic,

I would be going to my local reputable engineer and having him insert Stainless Steel Liners in the Cylinders.   They will need to be bored out so that the liner with the correct inside diameter can be inserted.

But, before doing anything, I would be stripping the Wheel Cylinders down and inspecting and trying to find out why the leaks occurred in the first place.   The inspection to include measuring of all parts including the piston diameter, just in case the wrong ones were used.

Bruce.

[harry s]

Vic,  As Bruce mention, I think an autopsy is in order to determine the cause. Several things to check for :  presence of corrosion which could lift the seals, if you used silicone fluid it may not be compatable with the seals, seals in backwards (possible if foreign made) and of course specificaation of parts. NAPA used to carry those cylinders several years ago. Good Luck, Harry

[Caddy Wizard]

The new wheel cylinders may have failed due to corrosion.  As I am fond of saying, the enemy of your antique brake system is the brake fluid being hydrophillic (sp?),  which absorbs moisture out of the atmosphere and rusts your lines, your cylinders, your master from the inside out.  See my post at http://www.cadillaclasalleclub.org/forum/index.php?topic=114049.msg180191#msg180191
for more information.


I would sleeve the wheel cylinders and the master with brass or stainless.  White Post Restorations in Virginia does a nice job with this.  Then use stainless steel lines.  Flush the fluid every 2-3 years, regardless of how much you drive.



Best of luck with the brakes.

[vicbrincat]

Thanks everyone for all the great advice.

The dummy that I am ...I forgot if I used silicon brake fluid or not! I did use a DOT4 Synthetic (not silicone)  in my other old car...but for the life of my can't remember if it was silicon in the Cadillac. I guess that means I have to run enough fluid through the system to replace all the existing fluid just in case it was silicone-based. Does that make sense?


I have decided to purchase a set of new cylinders and take the ones I have (that are leaking)  and have them sleeved. And as suggested, will try to figure out why they leaked to begin with.

I know of a good shop not far from where I work that rebuilt the master on my '68 Chev...they did a good job and I'll try my luck with them again.

I'll wait till the end of the season and pull the master out and have it done too.

As far as the lines are concerned...would you believe me if I told you that my car has all the original  brake lines (except for one which I damaged during the resto). The others are like brand new inside and out!  So I re-used them. I was not being cheap..I just figured they were in excellent shape and they had all the right bends....why not. I will check if there is any resulting corrosion as a result of the old lines.

Thanks to all.

BTW, still haven't got around to checking the fronts.
Vic

[vicbrincat]

I finally got a chance to get at the front wheels of the '48.

There was virtually no moisture anywhere around the wheel cylinders in the front. A licensed mechanic (my eldest son) inspected them, peeled back  the rubber seal at the front and back of each wheel cylinder  and said there was a trace of brake fluid and he would replace/rebuild them too. ..:-(

But the worst part was the discovery of a failed front outer wheel bearing..I mean total failure..damaged caged type of failure. Failed after no more than 500 miles. I'm pretty careful when I install bearings..so it is unlikely the installer's fault....this is not the first set of roller bearings I've put in a Cadillac.

I really need to find a better supplier of parts. Reading through some threads I discovered that this is a common complaint from this supplier. (I won't say who...just do a search on "bearings".)

Feeling a little grumpy right now....lots of work and some more unexpected repairs and costs.  I didn't expect all these new parts to fail so soon.  I was hoping  to spend my summer driving the Cadillac not redoing all the work I did last year..;-(....."do it once and do it right"....yeah, right!
Vic

[paulkersey]

Wow,
I feel for you. I am going through my brakes and it took me two weeks to find Goodyear hoses. Thanks in part to the members here.
I might think twice about sleeving low quality aftermarkets, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
I think most of the newer stuff is shady. All or most all of the cylinder manufacturers have increased their offerings and decreased quality.

Maybe someone here knows what range of years your cylinders were used and it might be worth some searching...CLC, Parts cars, ebay etc.
I know its all a pain but I am now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but I had my originals.
I sent my original hoses to this brake shop for duplication, still waiting for both these jobs to return but for now.
I have heard BrakeQuip is decent for hose also. one can search their site for closest custom maker.

Sierra Specialty Auto in CA- Brass  sleeving
Brake Materials and parts Inc.   Ft. Wayne IN-Domestic hose manufacturer-Goodyear hoses