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1937 Pontiac rear wheel cylinder replacement


Guest bofusmosby

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Guest bofusmosby

Well, I noticed when I was under the car re-wiring the brake/tail lights, that I have a leaky rear wheel cylinder (brake fluid on the inside bottom of tire). I first want to know if these wheel cylinders are avaliable locally at a place like NAPA, or will I have to get them from a place like Kanter. Anyway, I will be doing this job myself, and I thought I would ask if there anything that I need to be aware of before I do this task? I plan on doing both back brakes now, and probably will replace the front ones in the near future. The brake system had been replaced (master cylinder, wheel cylinders, hoses) back about 10 years ago, but the car had been driven very little since then. Instead of trying th rebuild the cylinders, I figured I'd prevent any possible problems by just replacing them.

Any words of wisdom or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

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Check with NAPA first, you may be surprised. Try to get new cylinders rather than rebuild kits if you can and at minimum replace both rears. Pull the front drums and check the front cylinders for leakage. 10 years is a long time if the car sat unused with regular brake fluid. Personally, I would replace or rebuild all wheel cylinders and the master cylinder before trusting that car on the road. You should also inspect all the lines and especially the rubber hoses. Good luck!

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HI Jim

I just looked in my 1946 Wagner book and it says you 1937 P6 or P8 has a wagner # FD 4284 for the left & #FD 4285 for the righrt side. The fronts are # FD 2941 for the left & FD 2940 for the right.

Alos if you need the Master cylinder assy is # FD 4363 the hose assy is FC 5433F and # FC4497R.

Hope this helps

Fred D

Prices back then were $ 2.20 for the front and $ 2.75 for the rears.

Believe it or not the 2940 & 2941 crooses over to a Packard for 1941, 1942 also Terraplane for 1937, 38. Do let on that it fits a Packard you will be charged more. LOL

Good Luck

Fred D

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You may be given the opportunity to buy new old stock rebuild kits or new old stock wheel cylinders. Be careful about using the rubber piston cups as these components can be aged to the extent that they are not safe. I do not know what the shelf life is on wheel cylinder piston cups, but I'm hoping someone can advise on how old is too old.

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Guest bofusmosby

Thank you Barry, I had already thought of that. You're correct. The rubber might be bad right out of the box. I couldn't locate any wheel cylinders locally, but I did locate the re-build kits at NAPA. I spoke to the guy who I bought the car from, and he told me that he had put all new wheel cylinders in the car about 10 years ago. Because of this, I am hoping that the wheel cylinders are OK, and they just need re-building.

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Guest pfloro

Hi Jim:

I'm sure others can fine tune my information...

The condition of the wheel cylinder bore will determine if it's safe to rebuild. A little pitting (usually at the bottom where moisture collects) is OK if you can clean it up will a light hone. I believe than anything more than that will cause leakage past the piston cup.

Although they were not leaking, the wheel cylinders on our '66 Mustang were full of muddy brake fluid and there was much corrosion at the bottom of the bores. All four were tossed. I couldn't believe they were not leaking or freezing up.

IMHO: Be really particular about the condition of your brakes. It's one thing to limp to the side of the road because of a 'conk out'. It's another not having the ability to safely stop...:eek:

Good Luck,

Paul

Edited by pfloro (see edit history)
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Jim, all good advice here. Just to sum up:

Normally I would also say replace them with new, but if indeed they are only ten years old and little used try a rebuild first BUT as was suggested do them all. Rebuild kits are cheap and if one has started leaking the others are likely close behind.

Remove all four (HINT--remove and replace one side at a time so you have the other to refer back to for reassembly) clean them in parts cleaner (available at your NAPA) and dry and inspect them for pitting and hone until smooth. Remember, the whole idea is the surface of the bore has to be smooth of pits so as to not wear out the rubber cups. Do the master cylinder too, blow out old fluid from the lines as much as possible (CAREFUL to catch it all and not get any on the car!) and make sure the emergency brake is functioning well. Some owners grumble about their old brakes, especially on higher powered 1950s cars, but if your brakes are rebuilt properly they can be perfectly adequate, as they were in 1937. Good luck, Todd C

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