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desoto1939

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Everything posted by desoto1939

  1. Today I went to the AutoZone and looked at the back of a bottle of 5.1 brake fluid. In very fine print is shows that dot 4 and Dot 5.1 can be mixed. It did not state anything about Dot 5 so always read the back of any bottle of chemicals to make sure it is compatible with other fluids in your modern or antique car. I talked to the sales and also manager in the Autozone to inform them of the non compatibility of Dot 5 and Dot 5.1. They even did not know this information. So buyer beware at all times. Rich hartung
  2. Doug: According to my mechanic DOT 5 is a heavier brake fluid. I recently had my entire brake fluid bleed out of the system and new front wheel cylinders installed. According to my mechanic these older cars used internal brake cup expanders attached to each end of the wheel cylinder spring and the expander then fit inside the rubber cup to keep pressure on the rubber cup. He used some of these in my front cylinders. I have a good firm brake pedal but you also must remember that there is a certain amount of pedal travel and this is documented in your repair manual the specific amt of travel. If someone move the adjustment rod in or out that will affect the feel of the break pedal. Also what affects the brake pedal is if the shoes are arced correctly to match the drum. each drum and set of shoes has to be done seperately just incase if each drum has been turned down. Also check the adjustment on each drum. Also remember that you are dealing with older non automatic brake adjusting shoes and not modern shoes that are self adjusting. So every 6 months in the state of Pa when these cars were getting inspected the mechanics would also adjust the shoes. We do not put that many miles on our cars but we still need to see to it that we keep the brakes adjusted properly. Hope this is helpful. Rich hartung Desoto1939@aol.com
  3. As many of you go to your local auto supply store and might see various types of Brake fluid bottles, that range from DOT3, 4, 5 and Dot 5.1. I use DOT 5 silicone brake fluid in my 39 Desoto. I asked the counter person is Dot 5 and Dot 5.1 compatible and they could not answer the question. So i did some searching and found out the DOt3,4 and 5.1 are glycol based products and can be used together BUT DOT 5 is silicone based and you CAN NOT mix dot 5.1 with DOT 5. I have attached the document for your reading. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com Brake fluid Dot 4.docx
  4. I would assume since you have a 6 cylinder car that you would use the AC588 pump which is a single action pump. These pumps were used for a longtime. This is what i have on my 39 Desoto. Also, since you need to new pump do not purchase a used pump or a rebuilt pump unless the seller can confirm that the pump has been refitted with an ethanol resistant diaphragm. The old rebuilt pumps did not have the newer diaphrams. So a total rebuild kit is going to cost you some money and then the rebuilding cost if you can not do that job. So, either pay the current price and or buy unknown condition plus shipping then order a rebuild kit plus shipping and you are maybe costing more or may a little less. I would buy brand new and then be able to just install the new pump and one less thing to worry about. Just did a lookup and saw that a rebuild kit for the pump you need on Ebay is $95 plus maybe the cost of a rebuildable 588 pump lets say around 35-40 plus $15 shipping now you have a total cost of $150. Can get a brand new pump for around the same price. Yes having an antique car or truck is not a cheap hobby but I feel it is better to be sure the item you need will work and not cause other issues. Pay once or pay several times to fix something. This is your decision time. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com
  5. A friend of mine just rebuilt the engine for his 1939 Desoto. he install a high performance New oil pump. He took the outer cover off the end of the Oil Pump and saw that it was backed full of grease. They tried to fire up the car but are not getting any oil pressure and or gas up to the carb. He knows that there is oil in the pan and gas in the tank. Question: Does he need to prime the engine and oil pump and what does he need to do to prime the engine and oil pump. Any and all help is appreciated. Thanks, Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com
  6. Andyd: When ever I gain more info about my car after fixing something I like to pass along that information to other owners. The name of the game is pass it forward. Here is the reason why. In 1976 I bicycled across the entire USA from Williamsburg Virginia to San Francisco. It took us 60 days with 30 pounds of gear on the bike. One day it was in early June and a real cold wet rainy day. Pulled into a small town just before going into Kentucky. Stop at the local gas station and general store looking to see if they had any motels in the area, they said No but the one person told us to go up the hill and his dad's barn was available. Later on the father came over and welcomed us and said stay as long as you need to. He had a sign on his roof that was spinning in the wind, Have BULL will Travel. Being a city kid asked what he did and he stated artificial insemination on cows. We all had a good laugh. The next morning he woke up and told us to over to his house and his wife had a farmers breakfast prepared for us. When we walked into the home the wife greeted us with open arms and said welcome. The table was about 4 ft long and was filled with a farmers breakfast. After eating the husband gave us all paper bags and then said go make some lunch to take with you. After making a lunch I mentioned to the other guys to get out their wallets and its time to pay for our meal. The farmer then informed us to NOT leave any funds he did not want anything for the meal. His only stipulation was that each one of us will be required to pass along this favor or some other favor to someone else or a group of people. I stayed in touch with this gentleman for 5 years. I still remember his and his wifes kindness even after almost 50 years of meeting these special people. I do not know if this would happen in todays world but people extended their open arms and welcomed us all the way across the USA. It was a great country then and still is but times have changed. remember you only reap what you Sow, and any farmer will fully understand the meaning of my statement. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com
  7. The 39 Desoto has now come back home from being in the shop. Issue was that I was getting a severe pulling to the left when applying the brakes. The steering wheel would pull right out of my hands and lock up the left front tire. I pull both front drums and no evidence of brake fluid or grease on the brake lining, proper clearance of the shoes and arced properly. The mechanic that is very knowledgeable suggested that we replace the front cylinders and I had a set of NOS. Put on new return springs that i had. Road test still pulling, Cleaner out the brake block to see if any junk in the line. Also then tested for applied pressure and release press at each cylinder applied read at 500 and release went right back to 0 on both wheels so that meant to blockage in the lines. Also replaced all three brake hoses He then pull the drums again took off each shoe and cut down the lining made skim cut on all front shoes. This solved the issue. He feels that there might have been something in the lining that might have hardened the lining to cause it to pull. That issue was corrected. When having major brake issue I did not want to fool around trying to solve the issue. During my inspection he discovered that the lower outer bushing on the passenger side had to much play. Found the correct lower outer bushing parts on Ebay. When taking the old right side bushing out he discovered that the setting pin wedge was missing or maybe never installed. The pin is a tapered pin and is used to keep the inner shaft from moving. I have owned the car for 35 years and these might have been the original factory installed bushings. When doing the driver side he had to remove the kingpin which came out real easy. Asked if I had an shims and i took hie three sets of king pin kits that I had Tolf him to replace the KPs on both side since he had one side out. All four tierod end are good also the upper and lower control arm bushings are good no movement. He installed a new emergency brake cable and adjusted the brake band at the back of the trans. Also lubed the entire car and also the yoke for the clutch and brake pedals. He had the car you 20 days but worked on the car when he had time. Of special note he showed me the two races that are part of the kingpin assembly and stated that he packed the race with grease to make sure the ball bearings in each race would be full of grease. He has see where other mechanics just install the race and then grease the entire king pin assembly via the zerk fitting. But he has found that the grease was not getting into the ball bearing for the race. So if you are getting your King Pins replaced remind your mechanic and or even yourself to pack each race for each king pin to ensure that grease is inside he race opening. refer to the attached pictures of the race from my old king pin setup. The red pointer is showing where the ball bearings are located in the race. Also if you pull your front tires look in the area of the lower outer control bushing to verify that the metal wedge is installed to prevent the movement of the inner shaft. Rich hartung Desoto1939@aol.com
  8. If the car was setup as negative ground and now you have switch back to Positive ground you will have to switch the wires on the electric FP. So the positive wire will go to the frame as your ground and the negative wire will go to the pump. Also check the wire that is feeding the pump has to be also setup correctly. Rich hartung
  9. who was the glass company that stood by great work ethic and sent you the replacement glass? This is the type of company that us car owners would like to do business with because of the way they handled your issue. Hopeyou put in a good word for this compnay. Rich hartung Desoto1939@aol.com
  10. but think of the knowledge that you just received and also what you just learned about your car. The two hours of investigating the issue was time well spent. So if this is the first true time that you spent in 25 years of ownership of the car then the two hours of your time is only a very very small fraction of total time working on the car. Glad that you found the issue but better off is that you took the time to let everyone know what the problem was that caused the car not to start. The learning and the telling how you fixed the issue is important for all of us to know so this is another learning session for everyone. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com
  11. if you remove the wiper motor then take off the outer cover, The grease inside the motor and the gears have been clogged up with the hardened grease. Clean it out the relube the gears. This is a common problem. Rich hartung desoto1939@aol.com
  12. That part is known as the wiper transmission or pivot and it is a complete Autolite unit that canbe replaced. I have an Autolite catalog that covers all of the Autolite parts that were used on your car. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com
  13. You would have had a vacuum wiper motor made by Trico: I have more info and if you want the whole catalog contact me at Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com Here is some info taken from my Trico catalog The grid below is a list of replacement motors made by trico.
  14. Hershey is always such a fantastic meet and a real adventure. Hard to believe that so many venders with all of the different parts. I have been goinf there for over 37 years and have seen the monsoons and slopping through the muddy fields and cars getting stuck in the mud. Have found lots of quality NOS parts for my 39 Desoto over the years. Things are changing, the older guys with the real early parts are dying and lees of these items are not coming out to the swap meet. Part of the problem is the internet and ebay. so much easier to sell the parts world wide and then you do not have to deal with the giys trying to get the part for a dollar. Best one I saw happen is a guy came up to a vender and he states outloud that there is the last piece of NOS trim he needed for his car. The seller had a fair price of $35 on the item. The buyer offered 25 but the seller said it was 35 and every time the buyer opened his mouth the item went up by $5. Eventually the item price was around $55. Took the buyer awhile to figure out what was happening. The seller asked for the trim back. He was mad and did not want to deal with the buyer. He then snapped the trim in half over his knee. The buyer was total upset. The seller then came back and stated that you opened your mouth that this is the last piece you need for your car and that you knew it was a fair price, but you pushed my buttons so now you do not get the item and even if I have another one I will not even sell it to you. Best advise is that if you see the part you need offer a fair price if the seller will not take it then either walk away or pay the price especially if you really need the item. This guy lost out entirely because of $10 bill. His loss. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com
  15. I remember when you drove the car to te Hershey swap meet in Hershey Pa. You always have great stories and it just proves that these grand old ladies can still perform up to our standards. everyone thinks that if it is not a small block engine with disk brakes and an overdrive that these great old cars are not road worthy. Keep the grand old lady running that what she was made to do. Rich Hartung 1939 Desoto owner and a driver not a trailer queen.
  16. They found out that undercoating was not a good practice. At first the product was ok when it was first applied and sealed the undercarriage. But as time went on and driving on the roads and also on tar an chipped roads in the country they found that the undercoating was getting worn away from the road salt and rocks flying up chipping the undercoating. Then the rain water and salt water would get inot the crack and start to rust the underside of the metal. Might use PORS 15 to seal the underside of the body. Rich Hartung
  17. I know Andy B sells the metal style bushings and they are not that expensive. I think around $5 each. Not everyone carries these items so get them now and have a set because eventually you will need them. In this hobby it is better to be prepared with extra parts. I have been collecting parts for my 39 Desoto for the past 35 years. The car is in the shop this week and the mechanic has asked if I had specific suspension parts and I went to my supply area and pulled the parts he needed and delivered them to him in 30 minutes from his phone call. Also the cost of these parts were much cheaper then todays prices so when you see something for your car at a swap meet better byt the item for future installation. If never installe it can also be sold to the next owner of the car or put up for auction again. Here is a little secret I use on my boxes of parts. On the inside lid I put the date when purchased and the the amt I purchased it from and then another two number. So here is an example Breaker Plate IGS3004A on the inside flap date is 111024150024. First six are the date of purchase then what I paid and an ending two number. So if a byer ask about a price and he is not offering my asking price I can look at the flap and know that i spent 15 for the item and then we can negotiate a price. But know I know I need to get 25 or more for the item. Makes life real simple when selling items at a swap meet or even at Hershey. Rich Hartung
  18. Pullin the steering wheel: From 1939 and up to Mopar used the Miller steering wheel puller that has three holes that you thread bolts into the main body of the center of the steering wheel. refer to my attached picture from my Miller Tool Catalog. 1938 and back did not have the three threaded bolts. The 38 and back uses a special puller made by three bolts. The proper puller wraps under the bottom of the steering wheel and the bolt is turned to pull the wheel off the steering wheel shaft. I also checked my 1936-42 Desoto master parts book and then looked at the steering column part number and for 1938/39 they used the same shaft. I then went to a spare steering wheel that I have and my steering wheel inside the main body is serrated or splined to match the spines on the end of the steering shaft when the steering is attached. Hope this helps with you project of alignment of the steering wheel. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com Below is the proper steering wheel remover for 1939 and up around 1952? Below is the proper puller for 38 and back:
  19. Is it the pitman, or steering sector that is the pin coming out of the steering box could be worn and the bushing a internal are all worn or is ther play inthe tire rod ends or is there play in the kingpins? Need to really have a good suspension person check out the car before you really start to rip things apart. Also could be uuper and lower control arms and bushing and also the eccentric bushings. Lots of moving parts on the front suspension components. Spend the money to have a specialist evaluate the issue than spend the money to get the appropriate parts to fix the front end. I have seen owners spend money on parts after parts and it turned out to be something else. Just my 50 cents work of input. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com
  20. The next time you are at a swap meet and pickup a NOS Distributor cap examine the cap very closely. You might find a very small hole about 1/16 inch drilled into the side of the cap. You might ask yourself why is there a hole in the cap and other caps do not have this hole. The Chrysler cars and trucks were known for getting moisture in the caps especially with the butterfly style hoods. Some Chryslers, and a few other makes, seem to have a problem with moisture collecting inside of the distributor cap. One solution was to drill a 1/16 inch hole on the back side of the cap. In fact, some of the early day distributor manufacturers put the hole in the cap when they were being manufactured. In later years this hole has seemed to disappear. My Autolite IGC-1107S caps have the hole drilled into the cap. Autolite supplied most of the electrical parts for the MoPar cars and trucks. So go and look at one of you spare caps to see if you have the hole. If your car is developing a hard starting issue in cold and wet weather there might be moisture inside the cap. I know some people spray the inside of the cap with WD40 and then wipe the inside of the cap and make sure it is dry and then put the cap back on the dizzy and the car/truck fires right up. On the pictures attached is an Autolite and a Preferred cap for my 39 Desoto and note that both have the holes in the cap and the instruction for the plug. Tech Tip Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com
  21. could it be choke issue sticking? just a thought. Rich Hartung
  22. Also like what you designed. Great fabrication. One suggestion, to improve the finished product I would roll the front and back ends and then seal the seam with some clear silicone seam sealer. I would make it look more stock and finished. Just my 25 cents worth of input. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com
  23. I was doing a search in my 1929-39 Desoto, Ply Master parts book and they used or documented that the hose clamps were a flat band style and the two wire clamps style was only used other by-pass rubber hose at the water pump. Then around 1942 they made a change to a different style clamp which is a flat band style. We can not find any examples of the newer style nor does anyone have any. Most of the major clubs such as the Ply owners club and WPC all recognize the two wire style clamps as being the proper clamp. Rich Hartung
  24. If you are also not looking to be period correct then you do not have to have the two wire hose clamps. You could use the more modern hose clamp that has the opening in which the screws tightens the band and you can see the slots in the clamp. If a driver then go this way but if you are going to want the car judged then you will have to used the two wire clamps to be correct. Rich Hartung
  25. I am assuming that the original poster still has the original Lockheed Braking system and each brake shoe is independent of the other shoe. If he has the original system then he has drum brakes and not rotors as another poster indicated. Yes he needs to check out each brake area. If any issues then fix that issue. We do not know if the drums have been turned or not. this could be another issue. When were the shoes last adjusted on each wheel. You have to remember that on these cars they did not have self adjusting brakes like our modern cars have. Every several months of driving you might have to perform a minor brake shoe adjustment. If you are not experienced then try to find a mechanic that knows the old Lockheed braking system. You will need the tool and get the shoes arced to match up with each drum. Suggest that you get the appropriate service manual for your car and read the section on brake adjustments. If you feel somewhat confident but still not 100% then try to get a other antique mopar friend to help out with the adjustments. We have all gone through what you are experiencing and will try to assist were we can. Keep posting questions and updates. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com
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