53 Truck-O-Matic Posted June 24, 2020 Report Posted June 24, 2020 I have managed to strip the threads on my lower left rear wheel cylinder by over tightening the brake line fitting. (Or- the threads were just too old.) In searching for replacement wheel cylinders, I don't see any that look like mine. Roberts, VPW, all the usual suspects. I'm figuring on replacing all four rear ones. Here are pics of mine. Any thoughts? Quote
Merle Coggins Posted June 24, 2020 Report Posted June 24, 2020 Years ago I got mine at Napa, but I’m not seeing them listed on napaonline now. I’ve also seen them on Rockauto, but I can’t seem to find them now. However, DCM Classics does show them. https://dcmclassics.com/brake-parts/384-br-261-48-wheel-cylinders-half-size.html Quote
53 Truck-O-Matic Posted June 25, 2020 Author Report Posted June 25, 2020 Thanks! They look a bit different in their photo, but I'll give it a shot. Quote
desoto1939 Posted June 25, 2020 Report Posted June 25, 2020 I looked in my various Brake catalogs and I can not find any reference to the dodge truck B4B there are other letters but not the B4B. Are you sure it is a B4B Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com Quote
JBNeal Posted June 25, 2020 Report Posted June 25, 2020 Another option is to contact some outfit like White Post Restorations to see if they can repair your wheel cylinders... Quote
Merle Coggins Posted June 25, 2020 Report Posted June 25, 2020 (edited) 11 hours ago, desoto1939 said: I looked in my various Brake catalogs and I can not find any reference to the dodge truck B4B there are other letters but not the B4B. Are you sure it is a B4B Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com Yes, B4B is a valid model ID for a B-series truck built in 1953. Some catalogs may just show B4, or B-4 and then reference "1/2 ton" in stead of the second "B". Edited June 25, 2020 by Merle Coggins 1 Quote
B1B Keven Posted June 25, 2020 Report Posted June 25, 2020 https://hagensautoparts.com/dodge - truck/9-brake/2910 Quote
Dodgeb4ya Posted June 25, 2020 Report Posted June 25, 2020 You might also want to replace the inter-connecting steel brake line tubes. They are compromised. The lines..one or both have rubbed on the drum hubs it looks like. As for the wheel cylinders...are they different than passenger cars? 1 Quote
Los_Control Posted June 25, 2020 Report Posted June 25, 2020 Some day I will get to my rear brakes ....? I am under the impression to keep as much original as I can, meaning I would rebuild the existing wheel cylinders simply because they are made of better quality then what is available today. Just saying, I might try to save and rebuild the other 3 ... at least keep them and possibly rebuild them and set on a shelf in case you have issues with the new ones. Are you sure it is the cylinder threads that stripped out, and not the brake line threads? Could be either, seems to me the steel line would be weaker then the wheel cylinder. When I rebuilt my front brakes, I did replace the front wheel cylinders using DCM for supplier. Mine had a step bore and I did not feel comfortable honing and cleaning them. Never worked on them before ... But master cylinder or rear wheel cylinders with a straight bore, if not pitted beyond repair, are pretty simple. Quote
desoto1939 Posted June 25, 2020 Report Posted June 25, 2020 here is the brake cylinder info from my EIS Brake catalog for the B4B: Front right EQ6354 Front Left EW6353 Right rear Upper EW 10581 Lower EW10583 Left rear Upper EW10580 lower EW10582 Looked at the HAgen link and the numbers that he lists the wheel cylinders are the specific number for each cylinder that is used across the industry so he matches up with my numbers from my EIS brake catalog. Rich Hartung desoto1939@aol.com Quote
53 Truck-O-Matic Posted June 26, 2020 Author Report Posted June 26, 2020 Thanks for the many replies and suggestions! I have ordered the set from DCM, which appear the same as the Hagen (another good resource). We shall see. The lines between the cylinders appear to be ok, but I will check them carefully. Yes, I am sure it's the cylinder threads that failed. The rears were rebuilt many years ago using the old housings, and they have just reached their end. Quote
Los_Control Posted June 26, 2020 Report Posted June 26, 2020 57 minutes ago, 53 Truck-O-Matic said: I am sure it's the cylinder threads that failed. The rears were rebuilt many years ago using the old housings, and they have just reached their end. Word for word, sounds like something I told my wife 30 years ago ... she still never lets me forget that today! Sounds like you have it under control. Quote
53 Truck-O-Matic Posted June 29, 2020 Author Report Posted June 29, 2020 New Cylinders arrived today from DCM. They look great. Thanks to Merle! Quote
53 Truck-O-Matic Posted June 30, 2020 Author Report Posted June 30, 2020 On 6/25/2020 at 11:29 AM, Dodgeb4ya said: You might also want to replace the inter-connecting steel brake line tubes. They are compromised. The lines..one or both have rubbed on the drum hubs it looks like. As for the wheel cylinders...are they different than passenger cars? I see what you mean. (pic attached). Tough call, you're probably right....... 2 Quote
Los_Control Posted July 8, 2020 Report Posted July 8, 2020 I have to laugh at my post above .... just rebuild what ya got. Started working on mine today, first wheel cylinder out of 4 ... Aluminum pistons are froze to the cylinder walls. I got online and ordered a new set from DCM I have little hope of rebuilding them here in my garage, I wont throw them away ... maybe someday ???? Quote
53 Truck-O-Matic Posted July 9, 2020 Author Report Posted July 9, 2020 BRAKES and BLEEDING - Now that the new cylinders are installed and everything's back together, (I hope!), time to bleed. My question is, anyone have experience good or bad with pressure tank method of bleeding?? Bought a hardware store pump tank, about to try it. New Unrelated DRIVE SHAFT problem. I seem to have lost the little brackets that hold the rear U Joints to the Differential. (Yeah, " how could you do that?? I took all that apart a long time ago, but I'm mighty surprised to find them missing!) I don't see a source for them anywhere. (photos attached.) ALSO, it's been so long since I removed the Drive shaft, I've forgotten how one re-installs it, that is, how do you make room do get the rear coupling reattached? Quote
JBNeal Posted July 9, 2020 Report Posted July 9, 2020 I found that pressure bleeding is best done between 15-20 psig...below doesn't provide enough oomph to force the air bubbles out, above that seems like overkill that could damage the weakest component in the circuit... Something seems off on your u-joint setup, like the u-joint doesn't match the pinion flange width or cup seat radius...my B-4-B-116 has a u-joint cross length of under 3-1/2" and a cup diameter over 7/8"... Quote
53 Truck-O-Matic Posted July 9, 2020 Author Report Posted July 9, 2020 Thanks for the pressure bleed info. I'm going to try it. I don't know quite how you detected the mis-fit trouble with the U joint, but I investigated, and you may be right, though it's a very small difference if it's too big. I would like to try and see if it fits, but I am drawing a blank on how to for the drive shaft back in there. I'm willing to loosen the rear axle to do it, but I can't believe that's the proper way. It seems like you're supposed to collapse the drive shaft all the way, then expand it to fit the u joint together. But I've got it collapsed all the way, (I think- see photo with arrow at engine end), and as the pictures show, it won't go. What am I missing here? Quote
53 Truck-O-Matic Posted July 9, 2020 Author Report Posted July 9, 2020 OH! I'm also wondering where to get those brackets to hold the shaft to the U Joint! Quote
9 foot box Posted July 10, 2020 Report Posted July 10, 2020 On a B2B frame that I have, the center bolt on the springs to the front spring is 26 1/2” and 26” from center bolt to the rear. You might have to turn your your springs around for proper clearance. 1 Quote
JBNeal Posted July 10, 2020 Report Posted July 10, 2020 With the rear axle at neutral position with no load on the axle nor hanging by the leaf springs, the end of the driveshaft spline should be about halfway into the sliding yoke at the transmission...when the rear axle is dangling in the air, that sliding yoke should be up against the driveshaft as pictured...when the rear axle is loaded to the bump stops, the sliding yoke should have about 1.5x to 2x the spline diameter engaged... The u-joint is held onto the yoke with u-bolts...might be able to get new ones at a good parts house or maybe a forum member has some sitting in an old mayo jar in their garage... Quote
Merle Coggins Posted July 10, 2020 Report Posted July 10, 2020 I had a similar issue when I swapped out my differential for a 3.73 diff. When I went to reinstall the driveshaft I couldn’t get it into the yolk. I’m still unsure how I got it out on disassembly if it was that tight. Must have been some pry bar action. With a bare frame, no cab or bed installed, there wasn’t enough weight to compress the springs so the axle was in it’s most forward position. Anyway... I was working in the heavy equipment shop where I work, so I looked around for some weight to set on the frame to compress the springs so that axle would move rearward. An excavator bucket did the trick. I lowered it down onto the frame with the overhead crane until I achieved enough movement to get the job done. Also, looking at your u-joint it seems to be a combo unit with external circlips on one half and internal circlips on the other half. You’ll need to remove those internal clips to get it set into the drive yolk. And I believe the only place you’ll find those retainer brackets would be from another truck. Quote
JBNeal Posted July 11, 2020 Report Posted July 11, 2020 (edited) On 7/9/2020 at 11:32 AM, 53 Truck-O-Matic said: OK I see now that the driveshaft yoke is on the floor and that the differential yoke is not so the perspective makes that u-joint look small...btw what part number is that u-joint? I took a break from the hunnert degree heat to enjoy some air conditioned Wanted Dead or Alive and did some digging on the internets to pull up a few part numbers. The u-joint part number listed in the factory parts manual is 1321115, which appears to be a common Spicer 1310 style used in everything from later Pilot-House trucks to later Vipers. Precision 369 appears to be a valid part number with dimensions that match the parts I have on my Frankenstein project. The u-joint u-bolt is listed as Mopar 1122683, and the corresponding Spicer 1310 u-bolt appears to be: Spicer 2-94-28X Neapco 1-0089 Yukon YY-UB-002 Allstar ALL69015 Edited July 11, 2020 by JBNeal added information 1 Quote
53 Truck-O-Matic Posted July 13, 2020 Author Report Posted July 13, 2020 Wow! That's a bunch of very useful info! "Did some digging" is right! THANK YOU! I'm back at it! Quote
53 Truck-O-Matic Posted July 14, 2020 Author Report Posted July 14, 2020 1st of all, thanks to Merle for the tip about getting the springs to compress to make room for the drive shaft. I didn't have an excavator bucket, (wish I did!), but after jacking up the rear axle to get some movement that way, I took a 2x4 and some clamps and pulled the axle and chassis together just enough to get the shaft in there. WHEW! 2ND OF ALL, JB's #'s got me to a local parts store that had a Precision equivalent to the Spicer bracket #. It looks a little cheesy to me, but I got it on there, and it seems to hold the U Joint in there nice and snug. See if you all think it looks right by the photos. 1 Quote
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