I purchased a brake master cylinder repair kit (to repair a leaking problem) and the replacement components look chinsy. I do not feel comfortable using them. The seals on the replacement parts look to be about half of the original seals. Got it from VB. Has anyone else purchased a kit and found this?
I would like to feel more confident in my braking system.

 

You'll get plenty of people telling you to "just buy a new one", but I prefer rebuilding stuff if I can. I buy a lot of stuff from VB but won't buy rebuild kits from them, not since I got a carb rebuild kit there. Very "chincy". Try RockAuto.com...and here's a 5% discount coupon:

Here's how it works:

- You give the following discount code to friends, neighbors, relatives, the guy at the corner garage--anyone you know who works on cars or trucks:

346691188998

- When someone (including yourself) places an order at www.rockauto.com and enters your discount code, he or she will receive an immediate 5% discount on that order.
* If you are using our Java Catalog, enter your discount code in the "How did you hear about us" line of the shopping cart
* If you are using our non-Java Catalog, enter your the discount code in the "Discount Code" field of the Shopping Cart and click "Calculate Discount"
- The discount code expires on February 14, 2006; so don't wait!

You may use this discount code as often as you wish until it expires, but only one discount code can be used per order.

Rich

 

Well I got an opinion from a fellow engineer here at work. He is a car enthusiast and restored a 50 something MG TD. A good mechanic. He thinks it is ok, perhaps even a newer/better design. In examining the cyclinder bore closely, we can see wear/ non-uniform markings at the opening area.

I also like to rebuild when I can 64mgb. Old school I guess.
I looked at Rock Auto -
http://www.rockauto.com/ref/BeckArnl...ml?0717558.jpg

This photo looks exactly like what I received from VB (at 10 Vs 40 dollars from Rock Auto).

I have no idea what the metal washer, the extra spring, and that 5/16' round rubber valve thingy are for. Maybe it is one kit fits various applications? Any help ?

 

Sometimes RockAuto's pictures are "generic". I don't know if that's the case here or not.

Rich

 

although you may prefer to rebuild stuff when you can I find more times than not that repair kits for brake master cyclinders are more expensive...for example I replaced the whole caliper on my ram 2500 for $130 and to buy the rebuild kit for it was $185...figure that out...compare the prices then choose next time as it is obviously too late now!...lol

 

Well I only spent 10$.
I agree you have to shop and compare, so at 10 dollars I'd say a rebuild kit can be a good return.

 

I bought mine from Mazdatrix and they looked like good kits. Don't remember who made them. Worked well so far ( did mine last year ). Rebuilding is almost always cheaper because its the hard parts that cost $$$. The rubber, springs and seals are the only parts that really wear. Make sure the bore is cleaned out and if it isn;t scrub it clean untils its smooth. Sometimes a light honing will finish it up fine.

 

I used to rebuild my clutch cylinders on both my 7s on a regular basis for the past ten years. They started out lasting about 18months and dropped to 6 months over the years. Late last year I was going to rebuild them "again" and took a close look at my spare cylinders and noticed they all had irregularities and or pits. I decided not to rebuild another cylinder and purchased new units with a lifetime warranty from O'Reillys. The amount of money I spent on rebuild kits would have easily covered new units from the start and not to mention not having to spend another dime when they do decide to give out.

 

Did you hone them when you rebuilt them? Honing can bring a seemingly destroyed cylinder back to new condition. I just did the clutch slave on my '85 GS. It looked awful when I started. After about 20 minutes of honing, it looked brand new. Clutch works great!

Rich

 

I just caved in and forked out the extra for a new MC. the pedal fills great. Rockauto is the ****.

 

Not exactly, I wet sanded the bore as best as possible and was able to remove some of the small imperfections. Many of the pits were rather deep and would require a good amount of material to be removed. I was debating wether to buy something to actually hone it but was concerned about taking it too far out of spec and putting me back to square one. I am a firm believer in getting every bit of use out of something but a bigger believer in wearing out a lifetime warranty that a manufacture puts on an item as a selling tool knowing there is no way in hell it will ever last that long, only expecting a small percentage of customers to take advantage of it to offset the true expected life of the product. My way of sticking it to the man.

 

Well I'm goin for it - rebuild Friday. Will report outcome.

Hope to have brakes Saturday AM and test drive new door seals, tension rod bushings, front sway bar bushings and links. If I don't post by Monday , something happened.

 

Yeah keep us in touch. I'm planning on doing the same thing and want to see how yours turns out. Tell us if you run into any brick walls, so we can avoid them. thanks

 

I had the MC honed at a neighbohood machine shop today (10 bucks). Guess what, the piston from the rebuild kit doesn't fit. A couple thou TOO BIG. Even the new C clip from the kit was a bit larger, which I thought was odd. SO I put the old pistons back in. (Machinist and I could see the minor deformation that likely caused the leak - honing lightly restored the finish).

I used the one man bleeder kit, which is pretty slick. (Glad I didn't buy 'speed bleeders - they are not appropriate). Easy peasy. Took it out for a test drive.

Tension rod bushings new - Steering and front end seem fine. Nice and smooth.

Brakes seem fine. Good pedal. Going about 40 MPH I decide to see how fast I can stop. I laid on the brakes and CRAMMM! My seat my *** my head go flying forward and I'm crunched under the steering wheel!! Ugh!!
I had to pull over before my breathing stopped. Phew!

Gotta fix that. The handle for seat adjust is broken and I have a small pair of vise grips on it...it may not turn enough to lock securely. Got a pair of seats from an FC to try out - next project.)

So back on the road, and soon I am taking the ON ramp of a highway and a 1.25 mile bridge. Nice and flat, and straight. AS I hit 4th gear at 7k, kinda gentle like, I began to wonder...did I tighten those lugs??? Back off a bit...cruise... I don't think I did. I then got off the highway and stopped at a convenience store which was well lit, and checked the lugs. Nope- Not torqued. Not loose enough to turn by hand - good to go.

A few miles to home base. Stop for a coffee. Starter doesn't engage. Get a push, drift down slope, catch in gear. OK

Back to the garage now. Jack it up and check the wiring that I was moving around in trying to clean up the nasty mess the leaky MC left. It bubbled the paint real good - and I tried to clean and paint as best I could, but that area below the MC near the steering box is tough to clean. SO I'm looking around and there it is - the wire pulled off the solenoid. This will be an EASY fix! Hum dee dum dumm...I wondered why it came off so easily... maybe Ill clean the connections a bit and tighten up that spade connector so it doesn't happen again.

Roll out to get pliers and wire brush. Roll under. Grasp female spade on end of wire... Brush Brush Crimp. Good. Maybe I'll brush the male spade on the solenoid. Grasp brush, eyeball the target, reach.... AAAACKKK FIREWORKS.
THE BIG NUT IS HOT!!! Better not do that again.

All is well.

Of course Iknow many will be thinking, it's gonna leak again...well I'll keep my eye on it and let you know if it does, but the plan now is

Road trip this weekend!

 

I like it when people decide to do things themselves, and I really like rebuilding stuff when possible...good job! But why didn't you just buy a hone and hone it yourself? Costs less than having someone else hone it...you can get them at any auto parts store.

Rich

 

I did not buy a honing tool because 1. It was $17. 2. I felt that the trained eye, the understanding of the cutting rate of the materials, and the experience level of my machinist was worth a few $$$.

Item 2 is a big factor to me, as I have not honed anything in 20 years, and I try not to be an expert on everything.

I read on this forum where one fellow stated that he spent 20 minutes honing a brake cylinder...This machinist took 2 passes in about 5 minutes. I felt comfortable that he knew what was right. I'll say the price was right! I did not want a cheap tool. Been there done that. Plus I like supporting my local shops. I love the oiley aroma and sights of a machine shop! Heads here, cylinders there... a flywheel.... Aluminum, cast iron, titanuim, argh argh argh!

 

All systems / repairs working nicely.

New bushings improved the ride / smoother and no rattles over bumps.

Still have some wind noise on driver window (after new seal installed) that seems like it is MORE than normal...but what is normal on these? It looks like window frame may need a bend inward...looks like they would tend to bend outward after years of normal use.

Cruise control even works. Set it at about 80-84 MPH and cruised for 35 miles at that range. It made for a nice cruise. Very happy with this 84 GSL-SE so far.

(Will return MC repait kit to VB after all this!)