1942 Dodge brakes

[Guest hiyudon]

Hello All,

Am wanting to replace the wheel cylinders on my 42 Dodge. The parts I received aren't the same as the ones I took off. The ones I removed are two large and two small cylinders. Problem is, I didn't pay attention to which ones went front and rear. Looking at a parts list, it says large cylinder on the rear.

Is this correct?

Thank you in advance,

Don

[hchris]

Hello All,

Am wanting to replace the wheel cylinders on my 42 Dodge. The parts I received aren't the same as the ones I took off. The ones I removed are two large and two small cylinders. Problem is, I didn't pay attention to which ones went front and rear. Looking at a parts list, it says large cylinder on the rear.

Is this correct?

Thank you in advance,

Don

First up larger cylinders will always go to the front, as this is where the weight is transferred to during braking, weight tends to come off the back wheels hence less braking action required to avoid lockup. Having said that I am a bit confused with your intentions, are you asking about fitting cylinders which are the wrong size to the originals? if so please dont go there, you must absolutely only refit the same size cylinders that came off.

[auburnseeker]

I may have a Set of NOS correct wheel cylinders (wagner Brand in the original boxes/ cans) for your car if you need them. Just let me know.

[ply33]

First up larger cylinders will always go to the front, as this is where the weight is transferred to during braking, weight tends to come off the back wheels hence less braking action required to avoid lockup. Having said that I am a bit confused with your intentions, are you asking about fitting cylinders which are the wrong size to the originals? if so please dont go there, you must absolutely only refit the same size cylinders that came off.

Bizarre, at least to me, is that on my '33 the smaller cylinders are listed for the front. Don't know why they did it that way, but it does negate your "always".

[keiser31]

First up larger cylinders will always go to the front, as this is where the weight is transferred to during braking, weight tends to come off the back wheels hence less braking action required to avoid lockup. Having said that I am a bit confused with your intentions, are you asking about fitting cylinders which are the wrong size to the originals? if so please dont go there, you must absolutely only refit the same size cylinders that came off.

I have seen the larger cylinders at the rear.

[Guest hiyudon]

Thank you all for your help. Attached is a section concerning the cylinders. Lines one and five recommend the opposite of large front. Am I reading this incorrectly? Makes sense to have the large in front....

Thank you,

Don

[keiser31]

Thank you all for your help. Attached is a section concerning the cylinders. Lines one and five recommend the opposite of large front. Am I reading this incorrectly? Makes sense to have the large in front....

Thank you,

Don[ATTACH=CONFIG]189805[/ATTACH]

Looks correct to me and I have worked on many that same way.

[Ron42Dodge]

Attached is a diagram from a D-19, D-22, D-24 Shop Manual. The American 42 Dodges had the Dual pistons. The diagram shows the Smaller pistons to the front on all 4 wheels.

I added the words Front and Rear for reference.

Hope this helps.

Ron

[hchris]

Attached is a diagram from a D-19, D-22, D-24 Shop Manual. The American 42 Dodges had the Dual pistons. The diagram shows the Smaller pistons to the front on all 4 wheels.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]191075[/ATTACH]

I added the words Front and Rear for reference.

Hope this helps.

Ron

Sorry folks perhaps I have to clarify my original statement. What I meant was, if the vehicle is fitted with different bore cylinders on the front wheels as opposed to those fitted to the rear wheels, then the larger bore cylinders will normally be fitted to the front wheels for the reasons originally explained.

In reading the original post, (the ones I took off are two large and two small cylinders), that was I thought the question and perhaps it still is; with regard to individual cylinders which are step bored then fitment is as per the illustration.

FWIW my Lockheed parts catalogue shows for a 1942 Dodge -

front wheel cylinders stepped bore 1 1/4" and 1 3/8"

rear wheel cylinders stepped bore 1' and 1 1/8"

So back to Don and the original question, are you asking about cylinders removed from the front and the back wheels or are you asking about cylinders removed from one set of wheels only??

[Guest hiyudon]

I want to thank everyone for their help. I have the single cylinder setup. I should have done this step initially, but I didn't, much to my chagrin. I compared new to old bolt patterns. The larger bore (old ones) have a wider gap between the bolts. These go in the front and the smaller goes in the rear. I should have done this instead of going to the parts book, which didn't show a single cylinder setup. Thanks again to all for your help. The parts were exchanged with no problem.

Don

[Guest monc440]

The larger cylinders tend to go on the axle that does most of the braking. So on trucks with drums front and rear you will see the rear cylinders are larger than the fronts because if a truck is loaded or pulling a trailer the rears would need to do the primary braking.