The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 1952 6400 master cylinder bad, what to do?

Would you buy a rebuilt one? if so where? or would you have it sleeved?

Thanks

you may be able to get a new one. got one for my 1938 overnight thru local parts house. a bit pricey 135 approx. go to a place thats been around awhile you'll have better luck. several folks here have gone the sleeve method do a search on griggs postings he had a fellow he recommended.

I cut and pasted this from another thread:

If you ever can't get new cylinders, or just want some to last forever, have the old ones stainless steel sleeved. DON'T mess with brass sleeves.

The guy to have stainless sleeve your cylinders is:
Mark "the machinist" Frappier
82 Mountianview St.
Agawam, MA 01001
413-789-4588, or 800-528-5235

You send him your bare, stripped, clean cylinders, and he sends them back with a perfect looking stainless insert.
You will still need to go to NAPA and get rebuild kits, or perhaps Jim Carter sells kits?

Grigg

Well, I thought I would try and find a rebuilt master cylinder first. Thought it would be easier than sending mine out to be re sleeved. I'll be a son of a gun, I cannot find anyone who carries a 2 ton, 1 1/4 dia. rebuilt master cylinder for my 1953 6400??? Is this true? has anyone bought one? if so where.......Please let me know.

Thanks

I got one off the shelf from my local CarQuest store for my 54 2 ton. Give them a try,
Scott

They don't much sell reman master cyls. for the older trucks but often new ones are available. Napa part # on that one is 9220. It is 1 1/4 in. The kit is part #33. I tear em down & hone the cyl. If it doesn't have any pits in it you can rebuild it yourself. You can buy a hone at the Chinese tool store for under $10.

Thank you all !

I had my local Napa store order the master for me, about 165 bucks for a new one. My pedal is still not great(better than it was), if I pump it I'll get 1/2 way down pedal, if I do not pump it, about 7/8 down. Any tricks to bleeding this system or other things I should look at? Also, about tire replacement, what are you guys doing? same rims or replacement? I'd like to throw 6 new tires on.

Thanks for the help, great site.
Rob

Do you have a shop manual? You will need to bleed the hydrovac unit also. Along with the wheel cylinders and bleed the hydrovac unit again after bleeding the wheel cylinders.

57NAPCO on these big trucks it is also very important to have the brakes in adjustment also. The brake being out of adjustment will feel much like air in the system epically if it has a hydo-vac system.

The hydrovac is usually more in need of rebuild than the master cylinder because most people were afraid to dissemble them. Besides that, in that trucks day, pumping the brakes was one of the skills you learned to do to drive. If your hydrovac is bad, I see you are listed in Texas. San Antonio Brake and clutch rebuilds them. Concerning tires, there is probably nothing wrong with your wheels. Many tire shops refuse to change the old tube type wheels. That is what cages have been built for. Or you can put a chain around them or put the wheel in the rear axle of the vehicle with the stem to toward the vehicle. The most important thing is to have a clip on chuck. Tubless versus tube type is always controversial. To run on a commercial vehicle there is no question that a tubeless radial is superior. However on a classic vehicle, I prefer tube type nylon. I have some 40 year old tube type nylons that look dry rotted, but if you keep them inflated, they just keep running. We are in the trucking business and have about a dozen trailers we took out of service 10 years ago and about half of the tires have blown out just sitting there. The big thing is to stay clear of the lock ring or rings during inflation. I have never known a lock ring to blow off once it is seated. And I have operated over the road trucks since 1964 and my father sold tires from before the war until the mid 70's.

Thank you