Rear wheel cylinder blew out on the way to work today

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timbolia

timbolia

65Wagon
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I got the wagon to stop using the E- Brake. But I need to fix this. I have had a slow leak from the master cylinder for a while so when the pedal felt soft this morning I figured it was just low. But then the pedal hit the floor no matter how much I pumped it. I hit a guy in the bumper at less than 5 mph but he was cool about it. I tried adding fluid and saw a big puddle at the rear drivers wheel. How hard is this to fix on my own. Kragen has the cylinder in stock for $9.99.

Thanks
Tim
 
How do you know it's the cylinder? It could be the line. IMO the worst part of this is trying to get a brake line fitting apart without destoying the line.
 
magnumdart said:
How do you know it's the cylinder? It could be the line. IMO the worst part of this is trying to get a brake line fitting apart without destoying the line.
Click to expand...


Actually I don't know if it is the line. Do I need to take off the hub to check?
I will take a look.
 
If it is the cylinder, it's not common to have a complete failure like you describe unless the brakes are so worn out that the piston and seal popped out of the cylinder. Whatever you end up doing to one side, I would do to the other.
 
Clean it all up with a little brake clean, put a little fluid in reservoir, then you can have someone gently push the peddle while you look. Use a flashlight and keep your eyes protected. Even though the line went out you may find that the cylinder is also leaking, so you can change it while you have it apart. Might as well do the master while you're at it, if you suspect it is leaking by.
 
If it was mine I would install new cylinders on both sides and of course at the same time fix, clean , flush the rear lines, and replace everything that needs attention. But that's just me. I enjoy having brakes. LOL
 
My moneys on the line where it goes into the cylinder. You should check ALL steel lines VERY carefully and replace all that show rust. I'd also look at the rubber hoses too, the way to check is to flex them by hand and look for any cracks. Any signs of cracks, replace the bad hose. I now buy the coated steel line, then bend it into shape, then paint it silver... It seems to last much longer up in the NE here that way. I've lost lines on my old Omni, my Neon, and my truck, and the '65 blew out literally driving out of the storage bay...
 
So is this a relatively easy job? Or should I have a garage do it. Brakes are the one thing I worry about. If I screw up something and the car wont run, no one gets hurt. If I screw up the brakes and someone gets hurt I could not forgive myself.
 
If you decide to let this get out of control, the first question you have to ask is how much do I want to spend.
 
timbolia said:
So is this a relatively easy job? Or should I have a garage do it. Brakes are the one thing I worry about. If I screw up something and the car wont run, no one gets hurt. If I screw up the brakes and someone gets hurt I could not forgive myself.
Click to expand...

No its not an easy job.
I hate working on drum brakes,
the springs are a pain to remember where they go back,
especially; being several different types/sizes.

so always do one side at a time, that way you can look at the still together side for reference.


Do you have a tubing cutter, how about a flaring tool?

More than 50% of the time, it seems, the lines will break, {even when you use your
special tubing wrenches to loosen the brake line} going into the rear
of the wheel cylinders. :(

If you have never done this type job before get help from an old fart,
that has worked on drum brakes.

Here is a quick video thaat leaves out as much as it shows, LOL,
boy I never got the darn parts to come off so easy.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMYAORTwAHo"]YouTube - ‪How To Replace Brake Wheel Cylinders‬‏[/ame]
 
Brake cylinders for the little rear 9" drums are dirt cheap; rockauto.com has them and everything else you need. The lines WILL break at the cylinder, so don't even bother; cut them and buy two new lines to go from the rear splitter to the cylinders. one is short, the other is long; take a measurement. The lines are skinny so you can bend them by hand- don't kink them. A vacuum bleeder is helpful to pull fluid into the new parts, then bleed the conventional way. You can have this whole job done on both wheels for $20.
 
BTW, kudos for having the wits to actually use the emergency brake, downshift, etc; many people would panic and not do this. You many want to order up a dual-chamber master cylinder from a '68 model and retrofit your brakes with that. It is also a quick fix.

If you need the car operable pronto, put two plugs in your rear splitter block. You will have front brakes only- It actually works quite nicely and can get you home.
 
buying new parts like the brake lines will make the job much easier. they are not that much. You may want to check that rubber line goin from the rear to the body too.
Like said earlier, the hard part is getting the old stuff to come apart. If you dont have to worry about that, then it makes the whole thing easier. Hack away at the lines and replace 'em.
 
I got it to the local shop last night using the E-Brake. It was only a few blocks, but it was still a little hairy. I had just met the guy, his daughter and mine are on a softball team together, and he had commented on the wagon. Turns out he has a shop near my work, so I called him yesterday and he even gave me a ride to where the girls had a practice. He just called now and the car is ready, $85. Seems like a great deal from what I was reading here, I would have not had the right tools and would have messed something up.

He says he has a 64 Dart wagon himself at his buddys body shop.
He also has a 64 New Yorker that looks really clean he is trying to get $3000 OBO

Well, off to pick up the wagon.
 
85 bucks aint bad. my 63 val wag needs all the lines/cylinders, but i work at an old school auto parts store and i got a kid whos not bad with a wrench.
 
If you do ever do them yourself, the most important thing I'd say to remember, is put that copper washer back between the brake line block and calliper/wheel cylinder! If you don't, or lose it, or forgot it was there, no matter how good of a job you did, they will still leak.
 
You might want to consider upgrading to a dual master cylinder like on the '67/up cars. If something fails, instead of a complete lack of brakes like you experienced, you would still have either front or rear brakes remaining.

What happened to you is exactly the reason dual master cylinders were mandated on all cars for '67.
 
timbolia said:
I got it to the local shop last night using the E-Brake. It was only a few blocks, but it was still a little hairy. I had just met the guy, his daughter and mine are on a softball team together, and he had commented on the wagon. Turns out he has a shop near my work, so I called him yesterday and he even gave me a ride to where the girls had a practice. He just called now and the car is ready, $85. Seems like a great deal from what I was reading here, I would have not had the right tools and would have messed something up.

He says he has a 64 Dart wagon himself at his buddys body shop.
He also has a 64 New Yorker that looks really clean he is trying to get $3000 OBO

Well, off to pick up the wagon.
Click to expand...

Awesome, thats a great deal on the parts and labor!

That's cool that you met a fellow Mopar fan, and he works on cars. ::glasses2:

Glad you got it fixed, best of luck with the car for the rest of the time you own it.
 
Just picked up the wagon. It stops great. The guy in the shop said I need the hardware kit for the rear breaks, any idea what exactly he means? He said something about springs and adjusters.

Tim
 
Along with the brake shoes, wheel cylinder, and drum, there is additional hardware making up the drum assembly: return springs that draw the shoes back to a retracted position (good the replace these, as heat and age weaken them); adjuster hardware that help keep the shoe lining close to, but not binding against the drum; little springs + washers to hold the shoes snug to the backing plate; etc.
The factory service manual is excellent; try to secure a copy for reference.
 
I was 16 doing my first brake job, it was relatively easy. There's no better feeling than knowing you can fix it on your own :)
 
For $85 I wouldn't bother with getting brake fluid all over the place...which you would if you did it yourself....good to hear you got it fixed without getting raped....!!!!!!!

Rickster
 
Drum brakes are not bad once you have done about 5 of them. The hardest part is getting those dang springs back on without shooting one across the room. The little coil springs with the bar in the middle are not too nice either. The hardware kit he spoke of is about 8 bucks at Autozone/O'Reilly. Comes with springs and retainers, maybe a small cable for the adjuster. Brake line wrenches are a must along with cans of brake cleaner and penetrating oil for the brake fittings, prefferably put on the night before. And last but not least a digital camera so you can reference the positions of the springs in the multiple holes in the shoes.
 
70DartMike said:
If you do ever do them yourself, the most important thing I'd say to remember, is put that copper washer back between the brake line block and calliper/wheel cylinder! If you don't, or lose it, or forgot it was there, no matter how good of a job you did, they will still leak.
Click to expand...
Rear brakes, no washer.
 
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