yirgaman Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 I've never had so much trouble with a brake job. My '32 DK8 wheel cylinders were reworked and everything is fresh and went together well, until I started bleeding the brakes. I have not been able to stop the leaks at the wheel cylinders. I'm putting about 60 ft lbs of torque on the bolts holding the brake lines to the wheel cylinders and am afraid they're going to snap. I'm usiing new copper washers on both side of the banjo shaped brass fitting, and DOT 5 synthetic fluid. should I try to soften the washers with heat or double them up? Anybody else having these problems? Suggestions? and NO, I don't want to use DOT 3 fluid.Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Do your new copper washers look like a 45 rpm record with grooves or did you put smooth washers in?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Are all four leaking? Are the anchor bolts new, also? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yirgaman Posted August 2, 2009 Author Share Posted August 2, 2009 smooth washers........where do I get ringed washers? The banjo shaped brass fittings are ringed, I assumed these force rings into the smooth copper washers.Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yirgaman Posted August 2, 2009 Author Share Posted August 2, 2009 3 of the four are leaking and my anchor bolts are used.....Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 You might try "Apple Hydraulics" or "Whitepost Restorations". I believe that the copper rings come grooved when new. Seems to me when I did mine years ago, there was a set of new grooved washers in the trunk. I have used those. I wish I had some left to give you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yirgaman Posted August 2, 2009 Author Share Posted August 2, 2009 Do you know who could supply new anchor bolts and maybe the brass banjo fittings? I'm probably ruining the ones on the car. I didn't have half this trouble on the DL6 and I reused the old copper washers.Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 There was a guy online who made those banjo style lines. I just cannot for the life of me remember who it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DodgeKCL Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Did you replace the lines with modern extruded steel ones? I don't know when it stopped but Chyrsler used 'wrapped' steel tubing on their brake lines for years. I've always assumed they couldn't extrude steel in that small a diameter. Their lines were made by taking a thin sheet of steel,knife edged at one side and thicker at the other, and starting with the thicker side the machine wrapped the sheet around in a coil finishing with the thin side as the outside edge. Got that? If you look and feel along the side of the brake line you can see and feel the edge. If you take off a line and look at the flare you can really tell if you have wrapped lines because the inside and outside terminations of the sheet are quite visible. If the the flare has become distorted over the years,most are, you will never stop the leak. I've seen the wrap start to break up and unravel. The only repair is to replace all the lines. I don't know if they were gone by '32 but you might have a wrapped line on your car because of a later repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60ch Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Look at the sealing surface of the banjo bolt, both sides of the banjo fittings and the sealing face of the wheel cylinder. I had the same problem and each one of the things that I mentioned was an issue . New copper washers should seal, with or without ribs if the machined surfaces of the mating parts are flat. These steel or cast iron sealing surfaces tend to erode from rust over time or get nicked up from mishandling. The brass banjos just get beat and misshapen from overtightening and mishandling. I wound up remachining the faces of the bolts and wheel clyinders. I was able to find good banjos. I annealed the washers for good measure. No more leaks. Good Luck, Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDewey Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Larry, Terry mentioned the one thing you may need to do--besides putting a straight edge on the mating surfaces to insure their flatness-- take the copper washers, heat them a dull red and quench them in water to anneal them. Now they can conform to the surfaces of the banjos and cylinders.David D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yirgaman Posted August 4, 2009 Author Share Posted August 4, 2009 Thanks to all you guys who responded to my problem. I've called a couple of places so far with no results on ringed washers or anchor bolts. I'll take everything apart tomorrow and start over checking surfaces and everything else I can...even the length of the anchor bolts and depth of the hole in the wheel cylinders I've got a complete spare rear end and I'll check it over for "better" used parts also. I'll let you know what I find out.I did find that my double flared brake line ends I made up are not as good as those that come from the parts store. My flares were compressed too tight, and let the brake line fitting bottom out in the banjo fittings.Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yirgaman Posted September 10, 2009 Author Share Posted September 10, 2009 I'm still trying to stop the brake fluid leaks on my '32. I have used all the suggestions given to me....new bolts, new washers, new fittings,new lines. I even went back to old fittings, and washers from the "other rear end". I know that when I put DOT 5 in the other Dodge, I had to re-tighten the lines tighter than with DOT3 that had been in the system, but I've been using DOT5 for 5 years in that car with no problems. The only thing I didn't change is the wheel cylinders - these have been re-built professionaly, but not sleeved because they were within specs and not pitted.Has no one else ever ran into this?Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDewey Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 I tried to convert a '41 Packard-Darrin to Dot 5. It had an entirely new brake system, lines, cylinders and it never worked right. Thought I had it right, but the owner kept having problems. Later he had a shop put Dot 3 in her, and the problems went away. I did successfully convert my '46 Chev. to Dot 5, although it took a few purges with alkehal (no, not in the mechanic, in the car!), but drove it for years with no problems--it was my everyday car at the time!David D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwollam Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 A good friend of mine has similar problems on his early Ford cars with DOT5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now