48 Chrysler brake lines and master cylinder.

[R Walling]

 I hope that the engineers that designed the location or the brake lines and master cylinder in the 48 Chrysler have their special place in Hell, and their job is replacing the lines and MC.😈

 

 It took me 8 hours to replace the MC and that was by cheating.

 The correct way to do it, I believe, is to remove the front carpet and the entire front floor board and remove it from the top. 

 

 The front brake lines only took me 4 hours, and that was with the radiator, bumper and splash pan removed.

 I don't know you are supposed to do it with the above parts not removed!

 

 Tomorrow is the easy part, the rear brakes.

[TerryB]

The legendary Chrysler engineering team must have held a contest to come up with the worst place to put brake components and your model Chrysler was declared the hands down winner!

[60FlatTop]

I have replaced some really tough front to rear GM brake lines. I found that using rolled steel tubing was my preferred method. I would roll out about 12-15 feet straight on a tabletop, the thread it through the frame. I would form my bends in place with a small hand roller bender allowing the fore to aft free play to give me room. Then I pull the line to an open area to form the double flare. And pull in the opposite direction to get the other end in a position to flare. Once in a close location I would use the bender to lay it up the the clamping points working from the center outward. They came out fitting pretty nice. The rear brake hose bracket on some of those X-frame Caddies can be a real bear.

And those were the Generous Motors engineers.

[Bryan G]

Ha! Hopefully the made some improvements with the '49 redesign as that is what I have, and my new MC is sitting on the bench waiting for me to install it. I'm preparing to pull the access panel from the floor (always got to be one bolt that gives trouble...) One thought I had: someone must have told the engineers, "this car ABSOLUTELY cannot be one inch longer!" Why else would they have spaced the crank pulley so close to the crossmember and radiator? Great cars, though!

[mobileparts]

"Now to the easy parts -- the rear"..... --- IF --- you have the correct rear brake hub and drum puller.....

 

You never called me, Roger, so I imagine you went with the Chineseum  reproductions  parts....

 

Wouldn't  have cost much more to go with my U.S.A. made parts -- and have piece of mind when you STOP.....

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Bryan G said:

One thought I had: someone must have told the engineers, "this car ABSOLUTELY cannot be one inch longer!" Why else would they have spaced the crank pulley so close to the crossmember and radiator? Great cars, though!

 Yea! I had the same problem with the crank pully.

 I used a large clamp and clamped it to the inside and out side diameter of the pully and was able to turn it over a few inches at a time.

 

 The problem that I had with the master cylinder is that the pedals are mounted on the master cylinder with a cross shaft that makes it very, very, difficult to remove them in order to get the MC out from under the car.

  After I removed it from the car, I had to heat the master cylinder with a torch and drive the cross shaft out.

 Before I put the new cylinder in, I honed out the cross shaft hole in the new cylinder so that I could slide the shaft in when it was under the car.

 I drilled a hole in the end of the cylinder and placed a set screw in it so as to  to hold the shaft secure and tight when I was done.

[60FlatTop]

You just look at the famous tool box as a mechanic would. What could you really fix?

[c49er]

I just R&R'd a 1946 Chrysler master cylinder from underneath the floor.

Two hours including bleeding.

Otherwise you need to remove the complete front floor....this if you cannot figure out how to do it from underneath. ...removing the whole front floor panel is a major job.

I have done hundreds of these jobs over the last 45 years and learned how to get that master cylinder out fast and easy.

It is if you do enough of them.

Installing the left front and right front brake lines are difficult because of the fender panel and junction block location.

Edited June 29, 2021 by c49er (see edit history)

[Guest]

1 hour ago, c49er said:

 

Installing the left front and right front brake lines are difficult because of the fender panel and junction block location.

 

 The front lines described above were easy for me with the radiator, bumper and gravel shield previously removed before I purchased the car.

 I after disconnecting the three lines, I unbolted the junction block and it made it easy aligning up all three new lines.

 

 When installing the 10" brake line in the front wheel assembly, I connected the lines first after a primary bending, to the two wheel cylinders and then installing the cylinders while bending as necessary.

 

 Of course with all this thinking that I had to do, I forgot to reinstall the two return springs to the shoes before I put the drum back on!

[Guest]

  I Tried to use pre made brake lines but I couldn't get the proper lengths, so I bought Nickel Copper line in a roll.

 The stuff is fabulous!👍

 

 It straightens out easily for stright runs and bends real easily while you are installing it.

 The double flares came out perfect! 

 I will never buy ready made steel lines again!🙂

[c49er]

I love making brake lines...I have many benders and different types of flaring tools including the hydraulic type.

I really like making stainless lines....looking so pretty and lasting forever.