Left Front Brake Inop

[frankp]

Bleeding brakes after winter storage.  No fluid out of LF and shoes not getting to drum.  Removed wheel and tapped lightly on pistons and they moved inward.  Next step is to remove flex hose and inspect.  All hoses were replaced about 50 years ago, 1966.  Looks ok from outside, but perhaps collapsed inside?

Any ideas appreciated.  Wheel and master cylinders sleeved with stainless several years ago.  Still using paint eating DOT 3.

Thanks,
frank

[Doug]

I let my car sit two winters ago, When I was ready to drive it three brakes wouldn't work and one would drag. Cleaned all the wheel cylinders, all the seals were good. I had rebuilt the master cylinder about a year earlier. Still couldn't get the brakes to work. Didn't know how old the rubber hoses were, Replaced them. All is good. I use DOT 4 because i work on motorcycles and that's what most of them use and its here all the time. Some of my customers with vintage bikes have tried the switch to DOT 5. Working on a 71 FX Kick Start now. All ways end up going back to 4 or 3. If you do not flush it out very good stuff ends up sticking.

[Crazydave]

If you are not getting any fluid out of the bleeder, I would just pull the hose off of the wheel cylinder and give the pedal a push. (with hose securely in a can) You will know in a hurry if the hose has an issue. Should probably start leaking down with the cap of off the reservoir. Careful though, you have one of those "fancy cars" with paint. Not much to these systems, did the entire thing in an afternoon. You helped me bleed'em. If I recall ( I should be able to find the sales slip) having the new hoses made was somewhere around 36 bucks a piece. Disappointing as it is they only last 50 years.....

I may have time one day this weekend if you need a hand.

[frankp]

Thanks, Doug and Dave.

Removed hose from frame and took brass banjo fitting from cylinder.  Rusty fluid dripped out at frame (jeeze loueeze).  Removed cylinder and cleaned - fluid looked good.  Pistons slide nicely; no rust or pitting.

I have NOS lines from ebay this winter.  (is this serendipity?)  Now to get that hose out of the brass fitting.  That is stuck but good.  Used some WD-40 on it and guess I'll wait a bit.  Would using heat be foolish?  Replacing that fitting would be a bear, I believe.

Should the other 2 be replaced, or wait till they go belly up?  ugh either way!

Dave, if you have time to come down, give me a call.  Always have a beer with your name on it.  You need to drive this heap so you can experience shifting compared to yours.

frank

[Crazydave]

Which fitting is stuck to on the brake line? I would say if you have the lines and are making the mess, change them all and be done with it for 50 more years.

I'll give you a call later.

[Doug]

I got my lines off Ebay. I put the banjo end in a soft jaw vice to unscrew the hose

[frankp]

Success!

Dave, here is the so-called "banjo" fitting.  I didn't understand term until someone used it with a picture.

Doug, I too used a vice, but from the marks, mine isn't that soft.  At least it's ready to accept new line.

Thanks guys,
frank

[Old Man]

This is closing the barn door after the horse has left,and I believe I may have put this on this site before, but an old mechanic once told me the way you keep brakes from drying up their cylinder bores is to open the door of said stored vehicle every once in a while and push the brake pedal down. He actually said "kick the pedal" but I just sit on the running board and push it with my hand without bothering to get in the car/truck. The problem is the brake bores on our vehicles were not meant to let dry up. The designers expected the pistons to be moving back and forth several times a week. This keeps the bores wet and prevents chipped rubbers and ,to some extent, keeps down rusting on the bores which all lead to stuck pistons and leaks. I do the exercise once a month during the Winter on the same day I hook up a battery charger to keep the batteries from sulphating even a little bit. I get as much as 12 years out of a 6 volt battery usually 10. It works for me.