The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Remote Brake Reservoir?

Anyone has experience or advise on remote brake reservoirs? I am wanting to convert to power brakes and put the booster under the cab, but do not want to struggle with checking and filling the fluid under there. I must admit I do not understand the concept, and do not want to just buy a kit when I might be able to fab one up myself with a bit of help and guidance from here. Thanks!

I dont see why you couldn't do it. The MC in my lil car is from a different make that had an attached resivior, I just adapted the original remote resivior fittings to it and it's worked fine for me.
The concept is simple really. You're replacing the filler cap for a piece that has a gasket & a tube nipple on it, then run a piece of tubing up to wherever you mount the remote. The M/C will still have the usual amount of fluid in it plus whatever the line & remote will hold.

Here is a picture of some adapters I made to allow me to use a remote reservoir.

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1484177567080251109RasjLo

I bought the plastic reservoir from Classic performance parts, it was a rip off. Quite small, and definitely not worth over $20.

In the future I will use the aluminum rectangular reservoir found on most Chevy and GMC medium sized trucks, like a c60. The reservoir is bolted to the master cylinder, I will remove one and make an aluminum plate to bolt to the bottom with fittings for remote lines. Here is a picture.

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2598576140080251109wpZrNY

When looking for a suitable rubber hose for brake fluid you must be 100% sure it is designed for, and compatible with, brake fluid. You don't want it to fall apart and clog your master, or spring a leak, or swell up and close the inside. The only place I have found such a hose is the blue rubber hose with braided blue cloth cover that is used by VW for remote reservoirs for brake and clutch. I have been told the exact same hose is sold for Volvo's too.

Grigg

Grigg,

Very impressive fabrication skills, I spent quite a bit of time going through all the pictures that you have posted on there. Both a woodworker and a metal worker.... NICE!

If I understand what to do, I need a master cylinder that has a separate reservoir, and then move that to a different location keeping in mind the concern with brake hose construction. Does have the reservoir mounted high eliminate the need for the residual valves?

I guess that makes the project a bit more difficult, as I had been initially planning to buy a booster/ master cylinder/ bracket assembly that is based off a "corvette" style master such as this: http://www.totalcostinvolved.com/prod_img.cfm?ProdID=294

Otherwise the brakets I have found are generic in what booster and master cylinder to use: http://www.classicperform.com/Store/1947_59_Trucks/5559MCA.htm Surpisingly CPP is not very helpful in referencing the parts, guess they make more off the entire kit?

Thanks.

Thanks,
I try to make things as simple and practical as possible, when done they seem to have other likable qualities as a result....

Sounds like you have the right idea.

I have not thought about the residuals if the reservoir is very high. I think that would indeed eliminate the need for them. I put my remote reservoir under the seat, so I still needed them.

The aluminum master with the push in plastic reservoir that I used was from a ford. I think that the boosters for both ford and Chevy have the same mounting on the "firewall side"? The master side is slightly different. You may want to check this, then you can possibly use the brackets that are already made, and then buy ford booster and master.

Perhaps someone sells a suitable master for remote reservoir use that is not to expensive and does not require making the adapters I did?

If you do make the push in adapters for the ford master be sure you have a plan to be able to pull them out, as it takes a lot of force. My plan is to make a simple puller to thread in the 1/8" npt tapped in the top of the adapters when I need to change master cylinders.

Grigg

The residual valves maintain some pressure to the brake slave cylenders, the remote resivior will have no impact on that.

What grigg made with the hose fittings is ideal if you are using a similar M/C. Oddly enough, for the plumbing the VW hose is what I used as well (It is one, kinda helps). You should be able to get it at a local parts house or you can try online at aircooled.net, I believe they sell it.

I believe that a remote reservoir mounted up on the firewall will eliminate the need for the residual pressure valves, no mater the location of the master.

The residual valves are supposed to do the job that the weight of the fluid in the lines above the wheel cylinders did before.
Have you ever "gravity bled" your brakes? You simply fill the reservoir, crack a bleeder, and wait for fluid to drip out. The fact that this works tells us that there is an unobstructed passage from the reservoir, through the master, and to the wheel cylinders. If the reservoir and wheel cylinders stay in the same location on the truck, and then you move the master cylinder down a few feet I don't see as it would make a difference in how everything worked. There is still the same weight of fluid over the wheel cylinders. Do you follow?

What I can't explain is how my original 52 has the master under the floor with no residual pressure valve. Then when I put a newer master in the same location, even with the reservoir about 4" higher it is recommended I use the valves?

Grigg

In a worn brake system, esp. on a car that sits more than drives, a system where the M/C is level with or lower than the wheel cylenders may have a problem with backflow and air intrusion in the slaves. Residual valves would help with that, but on a daily driver or something where the MC is well over the height of the slaves, shouldn't be much of an issue.
A remote resivior would defiantely negate the need for residuals to prevent backflow, but they are still a nice item for old drum brake systems by helping to reduce the pedal travel needed to fully engage the brakes as the parts wear down. Here's a quick blurb in the Wilwood brakes webpage.

Here is another thought on this subject.... What if I were to use a master cylinder that is already tapped and threaded with output lines on both sides? Would it be accpetable to have say the outlets on the left hand side plumbed to wheel cylinders/ calipers and the outlets on the right plumbed to a remote reservoir?

This would then allow me to hook the remote up at my convenience and not require any altering of the master cylinder cover. I am looking at the master cylinder #MC1321H at http://www.piratejack.net/mastercylinder.html

Thoughts?

http://www.stovebolt.com/bboard/cgi-bin//ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=22;t=006120;p=1#000005
Sorry to say I don't have an answer to your question. I did look at the resevoir you are considering and understood your question and hope someone has an answer. In the one above I never received a response. Sometimes I don't know if my questions are just too dumb to respond to or if the posters just lost interest in the subject. In any event, the guy bought an el cheapo spray gun of some kind from HFT and used the cannister for a remote res. I like the idea of the VW resevoir, partly because I was once a VW guy and partly because their brake line is designed to be used with brake fluid. (Just what is that mystery liquid? Could it be the same mysterious liquid that McDonalds make their shakes out of?)
So how does one plumb a remote for a stock master? Drill a hole in the cap, tap it, and install a fitting? Oh, and one more dumb question. Does the cap have any kind of relief air hole to allow for the displacement of fluid or is the system air tight? Thanks guys. You guys are the bomb.

vw beetles had remotes

Fabrication ! ...Gotta love it !

You cant use the outlest for the resivior, no. The outlest on both sides just allow for great flexibility in fabricating a brake system from scratch.
However, a M/C like with the bolt on top that seals well could easily be drilled & tapped for hose fittings. All you would have to do then is run the hose up to whatever you decide to use as a remote resivoir and you're golden.

It sounds too easy. I've decided to use a McDonalds cup for my resevoir...then I'll be golden arches...