brake cylinder sleeveing-BRASS or STAINLESS?????

[ghowie12]

Gents,

 

I am looking for well justified opinions and long term experience with sleeved master and/or wheel cylinders ---IS BRASS OR STAINLESS best and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each.  I diligently searched and did not find this discussed.

 

I am finally getting to work on My 1948 P-15 and it just needs brakes and wheel/axle seals and it should be ready to go.

 

My wheel cylinders look good but the master cylinder has a large rough spot in it from 4 to 8 O'clock.  It doesn't look like pitting it looks like an original faulty casting.  The car only has 10,800 miles on it.

 

It looks like there isn't much cost difference between the options and I just want the brakes to be reliable and trouble free.  I am replacing all hoses and rebuilding all cylinders and think I will switch to DOT 5 fluid.  I drove a '35 Plymouth as my only car for 5 years so am well familiar with the brake system and my experience is they can be reliable with sufficient stopping power if everything is up to snuff.

 

Many thanks and all the best,

[Roadkingcoupe]

First thought is to ask the shop doing the work. White Post comes to mind and I am sure they would have the pros and cons of both.

They should have more experience then the actual car owners.

Brass is the softer of the two and I would guess is easier to damage, scuff or score.

Stainless Steel might be preferable and should  be more durable over time?

Both are dissimilar metals from the original cylinder materials and that can cause some problems as well.

 

Since I am still running OEM cylinders I can not offer personal experience....only conjecture.

[Jerry Roberts]

I had my master cylinder sleeved in brass 8 years ago . It recently needed a new kit and that went in fine  . It doesn't matter if you use brass or stainless , either one will out last you . But you will probably find more vendors who are using stainless .  There wasn't anything wrong with my brass sleeve when I opened my master cylinder after 8 years .  

[Don Coatney]

I had my master cylinder sleeved in brass 8 years ago . It recently needed a new kit and that went in fine  . It doesn't matter if you use brass or stainless , either one will out last you . But you will probably find more vendors who are using stainless .  There wasn't anything wrong with my brass sleeve when I opened my master cylinder after 8 years .  

+1

[Eneto-55]

First thought is to ask the shop doing the work. White Post comes to mind and I am sure they would have the pros and cons of both.

They should have more experience then the actual car owners.

Brass is the softer of the two and I would guess is easier to damage, scuff or score.

Stainless Steel might be preferable and should  be more durable over time?

Both are dissimilar metals from the original cylinder materials and that can cause some problems as well.

 

Since I am still running OEM cylinders I can not offer personal experience....only conjecture.

Wouldn't brass be the better choice in terms of dissimilar metals?  Has anyone ever had theirs plated, with say, cadmium, and then honed back to specs?  (Or even nickel or industrial chrome)

[T120]

Gents,

 

I am looking for well justified opinions and long term experience with sleeved master and/or wheel cylinders ---IS BRASS OR STAINLESS best and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each.  I diligently searched and did not find this discussed.

 

I am finally getting to work on My 1948 P-15 and it just needs brakes and wheel/axle seals and it should be ready to go.

 

My wheel cylinders look good but the master cylinder has a large rough spot in it from 4 to 8 O'clock.  It doesn't look like pitting it looks like an original faulty casting.  The car only has 10,800 miles on it.

 

It looks like there isn't much cost difference between the options and I just want the brakes to be reliable and trouble free.  I am replacing all hoses and rebuilding all cylinders and think I will switch to DOT 5 fluid.  I drove a '35 Plymouth as my only car for 5 years so am well familiar with the brake system and my experience is they can be reliable with sufficient stopping power if everything is up to snuff.

 

Many thanks and all the best,

 

 -This quote is from an info sheet accompanying some brake parts from White Post Restorations a few years ago:

"Please note: We do not recommend the use of silicone brake fluid.Some usage has been successful and many have had trouble.This fluid will swell some grades of rubber causing your brakes to lock.It will soften and jell some rubber causing your cylinders to leak.We suggest that you use the kind of fluid recommended for your car and change it in a few years"

 

Edited March 9, 2015 by Ralph D25cpe

[Dodgeb4ya]

White Post may recommend no DOT 5 use but..... many many many many people still prefer to use silicone fluid in their old cars that sit all winter.

I do and have never had an issue.

Most of the old customers Mopars up through 1962 I work on all use DOT 5 too. No rubber swelling issues or problems.

Hydraulic stop light switches are a problem and are replaced at times with mechanical lever type switches depending on year of car. 

None of my cars have had a failed switch-(1946-52 cars).

[T120]

..I agree there should be no problem using silicone brake fluid if the brake work is done correctly.A person can speculate on why some have encountered problems.Once the product leaves White Post Restorations they have no control over the end use.I'm thinking,probably to keep things simple and reduce negative feedback is for them to recommend using the brake fluid type recommended in the shop manual.. 

[ghowie12]

Well, I decided to go with Stainless sleeves at brakeplace since they would do the sleeveing only and bras folks insisted on doing the complete rebuild and I already had all the rebuild parts.  They seemed knowledgeable when I talked to them and their 6 minute video of their machine shop looked good.  I'll let you know how it all worked out in a decade or so.

 

Thanks for the responses.

[OldDad67]

Gents,

 

I am looking for well justified opinions and long term experience with sleeved master and/or wheel cylinders ---IS BRASS OR STAINLESS best and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each.  I diligently searched and did not find this discussed.

 

I am finally getting to work on My 1948 P-15 and it just needs brakes and wheel/axle seals and it should be ready to go.

 

My wheel cylinders look good but the master cylinder has a large rough spot in it from 4 to 8 O'clock.  It doesn't look like pitting it looks like an original faulty casting.  The car only has 10,800 miles on it.

 

It looks like there isn't much cost difference between the options and I just want the brakes to be reliable and trouble free.  I am replacing all hoses and rebuilding all cylinders and think I will switch to DOT 5 fluid.  I drove a '35 Plymouth as my only car for 5 years so am well familiar with the brake system and my experience is they can be reliable with sufficient stopping power if everything is up to snuff.

 

Many thanks and all the best,

I ask the same question years ago since I have both brass and stainless cylinders. The guy who did my brass ones said that there is less friction with the brass material, it's actually a special bronze alloy that is used in hydraulic cylinders. I've not had a problem with either material over the years. I hope that helps.

[deathbound]

Well, I decided to go with Stainless sleeves at brakeplace since they would do the sleeveing only and bras folks insisted on doing the complete rebuild and I already had all the rebuild parts.  They seemed knowledgeable when I talked to them and their 6 minute video of their machine shop looked good.  I'll let you know how it all worked out in a decade or so.

 

Thanks for the responses.

 

I had www.brakeplace.com re-sleeve my stepped bore rear wheel cylinders in stainless. Very happy with their work, competitively priced, & had my wheels cylinders back on my door step in just over a week from the day I shipped them.

[Young Ed]

Glad you guys are liking them. I've had that shop tour in person and they've been nothing but helpful everytime I go there.

 

 

Well, I decided to go with Stainless sleeves at brakeplace since they would do the sleeveing only and bras folks insisted on doing the complete rebuild and I already had all the rebuild parts.  They seemed knowledgeable when I talked to them and their 6 minute video of their machine shop looked good.  I'll let you know how it all worked out in a decade or so.

 

Thanks for the responses.

 

 

I had www.brakeplace.com re-sleeve my stepped bore rear wheel cylinders in stainless. Very happy with their work, competitively priced, & had my wheels cylinders back on my door step in just over a week from the day I shipped them.