3046moparcoupe Posted October 12, 2016 Report Posted October 12, 2016 I've never had to replace or repair a wheel cylinder. In the process of doing a front to back replacement on the brakes on our P15. New lines, new master cylinder, disc brake conversion in front, and oem drum brakes on the rear. Was looking at just replacing the rear wheel cylinders until I read many of the posts archived here on the forum, where it has been some what of a crap shoot for many folks on here, in respect to issues associated with the new parts they received, so I decided to just slip these old cylinders apart and give them a look over. I was pretty surprised at how clean they were, one cylinder looks spotless like new and the other has a slight bit of reddish rust stain, however I can not feel any ridges, etc. in the bore. Even all the rubber's look good, and the internal rubber cups have nice sharp edges...still, I was placing an order - so I went ahead and ordered 2ea wheel cylinder rubber kits..... I would like to very gently hone the bores before I put them back together, so I started looking at the 3 stone brake hones on the market,....Oreilley's, Advance Auto, even the tool section of the hardware stores....everyone had the same little master cylinder/wheel cylinder 3 arm/stone hone, with the flex shaft,...and it averaged from $16 - $20. The grit on the stones of this brake cylinder hone, sold at all the places is spec'd at 240 grit..........I've never done this, and common sense would tell me it must be the tool (with everyone listing the same part),..but 240 grit sure seems coarse....reading the fine print on the listings states that you can hone or polish, depending on how firm you adjust the tension nut/spring on the hone, but still, 240 grit surprised me, seems too aggressive,....these are original Wagoner Lockheed wheel cylinders, so I wanna be careful and not mess em up... Anyone out there who'd like to help educate me on this, please come on, all reply's are welcome and much appreciated... Thank you again, P15/D24 forum.... Steve Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted October 12, 2016 Report Posted October 12, 2016 use the tool.....it is what everyone out there is using.... 1 Quote
knuckleharley Posted October 12, 2016 Report Posted October 12, 2016 It's fine. Just lube them with brake fluid to wash away the grit. 1 Quote
3046moparcoupe Posted October 12, 2016 Author Report Posted October 12, 2016 Makes sense guys,......I agree,..... one reason I posted, was in respect to a physical conversation I had with a friend (retired certified GM mechanic for 30 yrs) and he was remembering the snap on. matco, etc...hones as being more inthe range of a 400 - 600 grit..... thank you for your replys Steve Quote
wayfarer Posted October 12, 2016 Report Posted October 12, 2016 If you can source another cylinder, perhaps someone's throwaway, then you can do a trial to see if you like the 'new' surface. If your cylinders are clean to start with then perhaps you have reason for the 240 question. 2 Quote
Dodgeb4ya Posted October 12, 2016 Report Posted October 12, 2016 In my opinion a finer grit is better if the wheel cylinder needs just a quick clean up. I will finish up with 400 grit sand paper too. If it's pitted.... sleeve it or replace it. 1 Quote
DJ194950 Posted October 12, 2016 Report Posted October 12, 2016 Do not over do it. Keep a close eye on what it looks like and stop as soon as it looks clean and even through out. Keep the hones moving in and out at a good pace. A old timer I worked with about 40 yrs. ago had a spurt bottle with isopropol alcohol that he kept washing the bore out as he honed. When the bore was clean he would hone a little bit more with no washing with the alcohol. The stones would load up with the fine grits and make a very smooth bore almost shiny. I only did it myself once while there but have used it myself over the years and never had one leak. Others ever used this method? DJ 2 Quote
Jerry Roberts Posted October 12, 2016 Report Posted October 12, 2016 When honing you can use brake fluid as a lubricant . You want to end up with a bore that is super smooth . Many years ago when I was doing them , i did the final polishing with crocus cloth . Think of the finest sandpaper and then go to crocus cloth that feels even smoother . 1 Quote
Ricky Luke Posted October 13, 2016 Report Posted October 13, 2016 I only used the stone if the cylinder had wear marks. If they felt ok I used a very fine (600 then 1200) wet and dry sandpaper with methylated spirits (denatured alcohol?) as the wetting agent. The metho is good as it will strip away any oily residue and not leave anything behind. Be careful using it on rubber though... Rick 1 Quote
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