What's this crap !

[Reg Evans]

I just opened the box from Bernbaum with 4 new? wheel cylinders in it for my 40 Plym and the pistons and cups are stuck in place by some kind of sticky goo all over inside. Is this cosmolene er what?

[Young Ed]

Probably is Reg. Clean them out with some carb spray and put brake fluid on the cups. Should be good to go.

[Reg Evans]

I have several cans of brake cleaner. I guess that'll do the trick. Do you fill the cylinders up a little before installing or leave them dry. I'm making all new lines too so the system is gonna have lots of air in it.

[Young Ed]

We don't fill them just give the rubber a little coating to get them seated.

[thedahmer]

is that a "Bernbaum Special"?? I thought that cosmolene was a dry polyurethane (as in drys clear and hard) type material??

[Young Ed]

I'm not sure what cosmolene is but I know the goo Reg is talking about. Its this odd oily waxy goo that protects the parts. Lots of stuff was wrapped with wax paper like stuff with that goo on it. It does seem to do its job.

[Guest Nile Limbaugh]

Watch those wheel cylinders! I went through a mess with Bernbaum and wheel cylinders when I did my brakes. I wound up sending the front ones out to White Post and had them sleeved with brass. I couldn't get the 'new' ones to seat. White post guarantees their work never to leak as long as you own the car. So far, so good. Try that at Wal-mart:D

[James_Douglas]

I used this place for my MC and it was a work of art when I got it back. If I decide not to replace my rearend, I will send in a set of wheel cylinders next summer and swap mine out.

http://www.brakecylinder.com/

James

[greg g]

It is similar to petroleum jelly in properties, appearance, and thickness. It is the purified residue obtained from the distillation of petroleum oils.

Chemically, cosmoline is a homogeneous mixture of oily and waxy long-chain, non-polar hydrocarbons. It can range in color from white to yellow, and can differ in viscosity and shear strength. Cosmoline melts at 113–125 °F (45–52 °C) and has a flashpoint of 365 °F (185 °C).

Its most common use is in the storage and preservation of firearms. Previously, cosmoline was used to preserve other things. Objects the size of entire vehicles could be preserved for future use

[Guest Nile Limbaugh]

I thought I had seen the last of cosmolene when I was issued a new weapon by the US Army about 40 years ago, but LOOK! When I got my new pistons from VPW they were covered with the stuff. Man, what a mess!! But the pistons were sure in good shape when I got down to 'em.

[Jeff.P_46]

I just put front cylinders, (that I got from Bernbaums) in my '46 D24. I received 3 of the 4 in sealed part numbered bags but the 4th was in a zip loc. The 3 sealed ones came apart easy but I couldn't budge the piston in the zip loc (I could tell that it had been sitting around sucking up moisture). I sent it back and asked for a replacement (wrote it on the returned paper work), called about 2 weeks later to see were it was and they said they didn't know what I wanted? They also said that "they sometimes are like that and you just need to put them on to get them to move". Should have just stuck with NAPA.

Jeff

[Frank Blackstone]

Issued a M-1 in 1960 I remember it was new issue but did not have much cosmolene . I was warned by my cousin( post WWII) and Dad ( WWII) that it was a bear to remove. Used issue rifle cleaner and rinsed it off in hot water. Parkerized finish shed water well. Don't know what cosmolene did to the pluming. Keep your powder dry, Frank

[Normspeed]

If cosmolene is a petroleum product I'd think it wouldn't be used in assembled wheel cylinders. Isn't petroleum a no-no on rubber brake parts? Maybe it's just a type of brake assembly lube in a gel form.

[Zeke1953]

Hey, Reg,

Just replaced my entire brake system with parts from NAPA. Had a little problem getting the left front wheel cylinder to seal, but seems ok now. You're right about air in a new system. I've bled mine three times now, and still some air left. Are you going with DOT3 or 5? Zeke

[captden29]

i, too, received 3 cylinders in sealed boxes and the other in a ziplock, and the ziplock one was no good. i think he keeps sending out his returns until someone keeps it. not good business, but the other three were just fine. i use dot 4 as i don't want the silicone. dennis

[Jim Saraceno]

This just reinforces my opinion that the first if you can get them new from NAPA or the other big box boys, you should. Especially any part that contains a gasket or rubber. Rubber deteriorates over time plus, in the case of fuel pumps, materials change to meet the change in gas and oil.

That said, with my '35, I can get fewer parts new than you guys with the post war cars. When I have to get the NOS, Roberts Motors is my first choice, but their selection is limited. I'll also go the Vintage Auto, Vintage Power Wagons, and a few others. Last, but not least, I'll go to Andy. Most of the stuff I've received from him was just fine, but I've also had problems. Anyone who been on these boards for any length of time have read horror stories about Andy, his poor parts and surly attitude.

As I said, I've bought a lot of stuff from Andy over the years and most of it is just fine (actually only once did I have a problem), but every time I order from him, I hold my breath until I get those parts and see them.

[Ed Griffin]

Napa seems to come through on pretty well everything so far that I've looked for and not only for the 48 Dodge. I do like to shop for the part numbers online so i can have in hand what they have and save time at the counter. A yr or so ago I checked what the wheel cylinders were going to cost and availablity. They seemed to be very high on cost but at least I knew where I could get them locally now and they were going to be new.

If I remember correctly I later learned that either the front or rear cylinders were also available at Advance Auto/ partsamerica.com and were at a much better price. Between these two places you can pretty well find what you need but it helps to go to the guy's with the white hair behind the counter. What i like most about Napa is they have "parts books" and the years in them go far enough back. Advance has them as well but again, you need to look for the white haired fellow for help.

[Reg Evans]

I always try my Local NAPA store first and have always been able to find new wheel cylinders for my cars. For some reason they couldn't find them for the 40 Plymouth even though I brought the old ones in. Same thing with the rear outer wheel cylinders. Several of the guys behind the counter tried and came up blank. I brought the return springs in too and none of the books showed one like I needed. I was amazed cause they can usually at least find the springs. Anybody have part numbers for the cylinders,seals and springs that NAPA can use?

The leather outer real seals from Andy B are almost rock hard so I'm not too confident that they will do the job. More crap!

[Reg Evans]

Hey, Reg,

Just replaced my entire brake system with parts from NAPA. Had a little problem getting the left front wheel cylinder to seal, but seems ok now. You're right about air in a new system. I've bled mine three times now, and still some air left. Are you going with DOT3 or 5? Zeke

Zeke, I'm using dot 4. I would go with dot 5 but I am not changing the master cylinder and it's full of dot 4 now.

[Guest Nile Limbaugh]

A lot of the seals that go back into the fifties and forties were made of leather. Actually, I'd rather have leather than a rubber compound that is so old as all you need to do with the leather is soak it in motor oil for a while so they become soft. In fact, if you don't soak it, it's so hard it could actually damage the steel sealing surface.

[Reg Evans]

Yeah....I put a bunch of compressor oil on them last night and haven't checked them yet this morning cause I keep playing on this computer.

Back to work now.

[Reg Evans]

I spent about 1.5 hours cleaning up the mystery goo off of and out of the wheel cylinders I got from Bernbaum. I feel like I should send him a bill for my time!!!!! These so called "complete assemblies" weren't cheap and I almost spent as much time cleaning them out as I would have spent rebuilding my old ones. One rear cylinder was missing the inner spring and another has pits in the bore. GIVE ME A BRAKE ANDY !!!!!

[Guest Nile Limbaugh]

Now that this can of worms is open, I vowed never to get anything from Andy B again. I won't go into the entire brake cylinder story but, basically, I expect to be addressed as if I have at least the intelligence of the average bear, especially since the fault didn't originate on my end of the transaction. It sounds like things there have gone from bad to worse.

[Normspeed]

I use rockauto.com whenever they have the part I'm looking for. Great quality, competitive pricing and fast shipping.

Rockauto.com has quality Raybestos rear cylinders. Got mine there. Shipped next business day, no crap to be cleaned off.

They are in the links. On line, or by phone. Also had a good price on monroe shocks.

[thedahmer]

I swore off Bern(me)baum a long time ago--