Weeping bleeder valve ,a back yard fix .

[Flivverking]

On the '27 Chrslurp 70 ,we have be chasing hydraulic brake system leaks( off and on) for a few months now after installing.rebuilt/sleeved cylinders ,relined bands ,flex hoses etc. Most of the problems were the banjo fittings and crush washers(3 on each banjo fitting) ..

 With the early Lockheed system with a high mounted remote fluid reservoir tank ,it's basically a gravity bleed method of bleeding the system especially at the on.set.  

.The leaks show up pretty much one at a time , the worst offenders appear first .take care of it and the next one shows up a day or 2 or 3 later.

The last pesky weeps were 2 bleeder valve screws on diagonal opposing  wheels.

 

The bleeder seats in the 2 wheel cylinders had a few minor pits ,cause by previous rust, across the seat faces.Gurrrr.

 

We dreaded having to resend the 2 cylinders back out to a rebuilder and have the bleeder seats machined ,(and can see it is not the easiest thing to probably do)

 so we dug down deep into to our lame yet vast knowledge of sometimes horrible ,the most practical and also real nifty backyard DIY repairs for antique motor cars .

 

What we did to address the leaking bleeder valves was to install a thin lead washer in the bleeder valve hole which conforms and seals to the bad cylinder bleeder seat under pressure of the bleeder screw which also forms a new seat for the screw rather nicely..The lead though soft enough to conform is not so soft as to squeeze out under any normal snugg tightening of a bleeder screw.

  And it works!

 

We had all the materials on hand.

The thin lead sheet was stock used to add weight to model railroad cars.

 

Eary bleeder valves were most often large diameter and ours with 3/8 .We all sized of punches so we had that size and a hand held leather punch with rotating punch head. And a end- grain bock to punch out the lead washer.

The beauty of the punching effect is it gives the lead washer a cup shape as the beging of the taper .

Once installed several medium  tightings of the bleeder valve screw you have a perfect new lead metal seat.

.The 2 bleeder valve seats were repaired in less then an hour. One cylinder was off the car and visually you can see the seat job.The cylinder  on the car we used super bright lights and a good hand mirror.

 

I only bashed my head 4 times on the fender and scruffed my chin on the backing plate once.

No blood was drawn during this job..

 

Edited June 28, 2021 by Flivverking (see edit history)

[Flivverking]

[Flivverking]

[Oldtech]

Good Job!