One thing that I noticed about old brakes: most rubber parts wear
at about the same rate. When one part of the hydraulic system is
replaced and the brakes are bled, this creates more pressure than
the older parts were used to. That's why one seems to fail right
after the other. I did this in my MGB when I did the brakes. I had
planned on replacing everything rubber anyway, but the car saw to it
that I did the replacing on it's terms. First the rear cylinders
went, then the master cylinder, then an aged steel brake line, then
a front hose...By that time, I just fixed everything and called it a
done project!
When you decide to bleed your clutch master cylinder, just crack the
bleed screw and put a jar under it. Keep an eye on your fluid
reservoir, because you'll need to keep it topped up. I rebuilt my
clutch slave and master cylinders at the same time, along with
replacing the rubber hose. Gravity bleeding did it's job, and I was
back on the road the next day.
BTW, you *can* fit a later aluminum master cylinder into a car with
an earlier steel-type. It requires a little drilling of your pedal
box (that nobody sees anyway) and the genuine desire to work in that
corner of your engine bay for a few hours. Not only that, you can
polish your MC to an eye-catching gleam like I did...Of course,
nobody sees it in that corner anyway.
Mike Lishego
http://www.mgb.bc.ca/virtualgarage/
1991 Mazda Miata
1986 Plymouth Turismo T1
1986 Chrysler LeBaron GTS
1984 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE
1974 MGB
Asheboro, North Carolina
>I would definitely second the motion of rebuilding the rears, MC
and flex
>lines at a minimum while you're at it. The rear cylinders are cheap
and you
>might as well replace the shoes/springs and check the drums too.
>Murphy dictates that once you have things back together you'll find
your MC
>has suddenly decided to spring a leak. The more you can do at once,
the more
>certain you'll be when you start squirting that fluid into a jar.
(or
>whatever method you choose)
>The reason for checking/replacing the clutch MC is they are simple
and
>inexpensive, and I haven't found a way of replacing the clutch MC
without
>having to re-bleed the system -- plus it's a bear to get at and you
want to
>dig around in that corner of the engine bay as few times as
possible! (I
>also haven't figured out how not to get brake fluid all over the
place.)
>Also, the "vets" will tell you, if you want to do the M/C, go all
the way
>and contact White Post Restorations at (540) 837-1140. It's pretty
steep,
>but you'll never have to buy another M/C and you'll be certain it
works. (no
>financial interest, blah blah). And of course, those of us who do
"have the
>T-shirt" know you'll be determined to go cheap and learn the hard
way (I
>know, I did it myself and Punkin sat for entirely too long).
>Just my $.02.
>
>Dan
>73 B
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