Penetrant In my opinion,Kroil is best,followed by PB Blaster. Even diesel fuel or kerosene mixed with a little motor oil or trans fluid is better than WD 40. Hope this helps.
I Hear : The voice of experiance there..... WD-40 is crap , toss it in the trash or you'll wa$te time & effort and $$ too by using it when you shouldn't , NAPA carries some really good penetrant called ' Freeze Off ' or something like that . Gibbs is good too . Diesel Fuel mixed with ATF works well but takes forever to work in . If the M/C filler cap is the pot metal typ , just ever so carefully chisel it in to-wards the center hole you said they allready made in it , it'll shatter and then you can take the pieces out and clean the resivoir too before filling it and bleeding until clean fresh fluid comes out all the bleeder nipples .
Thanks Sonny , I,ll have the wife see if She can find some Kroil, I,ve never even heard of it . Thanks again Nate , I never even thought about being able to Shatter it . Not sure if its potmetal or cast iron though , I wacked it perty good several times trying to get it loose , I,ll use a bigger hammer & give it a shot . Bob
Kroil & Old Junk I buy my Kroil by mail from Kano Labs in Tenn . , they have a KILLER beginner's deal . I also find it in Foo-Foo cans at the local swap meet , it's $pendy but once you use it , you'll like it and want a can handy at all times . As far as shattering the cap , look at it this way : it's already junk so as long as you work carefully and deliberately , you'll prolly do well , it's not good as it is now . Try to resist the urge to go at jobs hammer & tongs , even when working on junk , a good Mechanic always tries to practice his craft . Just remember : you must get all the tiny bits of metal and the old black sludge out before you add any fluid . Lint free rags / towels too ! .
Good ta know ol' chebby . . I,ll check online . Dont seem anyone around heres ever heard of it before . I,ve got a want ad posted for a complete drivers door for the 53 locally . It will basiclly sit out all winter & I dont want it getting worse . My Question is. Will the door off the 54 fit the 53 , They both have the vent windows & They both look the same & the glass & guts are intact . The 54 will be in the shop till I getterdun , so know biggy on that door being off . Not much luck on the brakes today, allthough I followed Your advice Nate & chiseled at the lid till I got it off in a million pieces . Then I,ve got A really good magnet & got most of the pieces out . Then hit it with a good shop vac to get the remaining parts out While cleaning out the whole in the bottom of the resevoir . I wiped it out real good , Put a little bit of brake fluid in it just to get anything else left in it out with a air siphon gun . Pulled the bleeders completlly off the front brakes & filled it back with fluid to see if it would gravity feed . & Nothing . I tried a litlle bit of air preasure from both directions & with Nothing coming out either end with a stick in several positions holding the brake pedal down. So Unless Anyone has any Magic They know about to get any kind of brakes . I,ll put it back together. throw the door on it off the 54 if it will work. & Use it like it is. I dont need brakes out here , Allthough they would be nice . With the low gear & the emergency brake I can do what I need , & get the 54 inside so I can decide how far I want to go with it. Sorry to write a book , But I do appreciate any input or help Ya,ll may have. Thanks again . Bob
The 54 door will work..It wasn't changed. Just order a new mster cyl.....they aren't very expensive.....and be rolling.
Thanks for the info on the door ol' chebby . I would have allready ordered a ne MC , But cant get anyone to Confirm that the 34/1 ton is the same MC or the wheel cylinders as My trucks . Thats the biggest i,ve been able to find , any ideas ? I,m also concerned the wheel cylinders may be froze as well & I,m not wanting to put to much money or time in this one yet . I really need to use it to move things around the property . Thanks again . Bob
Cowboy! what part of Kansas are you located. Im in the KC area but grew up in NW kansas. Nice lookin trucks by the way. This site has a lot of info on big rig trucks http://www.oldgmctrucks.com/ Jim Carters has lots of parts as well. http://www.oldchevytrucks.biz/47_55/full.asp?page=80 My self I have a 52 3/4 ton GMC. I got a new MC from our host, as well as wheel cylinders. You should be able to get parts from them. Not sure if your truck is a 1 ton, and if they are different then the 3/4 ton. Also LMC truck has some parts as well. If you have the newer style bendix brakes that should make things easier. I had the ol huck style brakes and that makes things more difficult. Best of luck!!
Howdy Wolf & thanks for the info & the links . South Central KS , I,m north of Wichita a little ways . Yep Thats My problem I cant find out if the brake stuff for a 1 ton will work on these . There listed at 13K lbs Gross weight . So I,m kind of at a standstill till I find out for sure . I dont need more parts that I cant use . . I just missed out on Buying a 47 GMC just like these 2 , Like I need anything else . I might have to give Jim a call & see if He can tell me anything. Thanks again , Bob
hey not a problem. I have been there! My wifes family lives north west of wichita about an hour or so. so I am fairly familiar with that area. One of these days if i get back there and have some extra time i will have to stop off and see all your rigs oh and i have used pb blaster for penetrating lubricant and its worked great for me. plus you can get it bout anywhere.
Why not take off the MC and WC and take them to the oldest part man in town. If he ask what year tell him you dont know. The new parts are probably on his shelf & no telling how many applications there is for your brake parts. WCs are basically all alike, if it fits it will work. If the lines are stopped up, new ones are cheep but you have to get a tubing bender & bend them to fit. The rebuild kits are nice but new cylinders go on a lot faster than kits and usually a lot better.
Sorry~ If you live in Kansas, I believe you are suppose to have GMCs... What Brian said. My wife keeps talking about going to Colorado to camp. IF that happens, I'll have to make sure to bend the road we'll be on around your place!
Yep, Great Idea Willard , I just wished there still was a good ole parts store with anyone other then Kids that dont know how to count change or look up a part # without a computer . But Sadlly the Big chains have ran them out of business . All the old timers I used to know retired & I,ve lost contact with them . I dont have the patience Nor the temperment to deal these kids at the so called parts stores these days & Even My wife refuses to go to any of them anymore . The days Of throwin a part on the counter & the Friendlly old Guy behind the counter says , Yep I gotter , right over here on the shelf , are long gone around here . Really a shame how progress has changed things for the worse . . So I,m perty much stuck with Buying all parts online . . Bob
I here Ya Zig , Actually the Ole GMC,s are perty hard to find around here , The old farm trucks are still in use in most cases . I had a 53 GMC PU about 15 years ago though , I,ve regretted selling it ever since . Yep if You or Wolf are ever gonna be in the Neighborhood , Pm Me & I,ll give Ya My cell # . I,m kinda in the boonies , but not to far off the beaten path, . Bob
I always like when I tell them what I need, and they still want to know what vehicle it is for. The look in their eyes when I say 51. The boys at my local NAPA pull out the book when they see me walk in the door.
Farm Brake Bleeding Junkyard too WARNING ! DEATH CAUTION!! Since you're a farm boy who's accustomed to driving a rig in the fields sans brakes , here's the simple way to maybe get some braking action out of it : First , you'll need safety glasses . wearing them ? O.K. here we go: remove the floor mat & plug (or the rusty old '57 license plate over the hole) and open the master cylinder , fill it up with clean , fresh brake fluid , now , whilst peering into the open resivoir , gently depress the brake pedal until you feel it begins to move the MC piston , you should being to see a stream of bubbles coming up through the brake fluid , usually a lot of dead black old fluid comes up too , DON'T depress the pedal any further ~ hold it until the bubbles stop then wait a moment , release the pedal and repeat ~ what you're doing here is two fold : uncovering the by-pass port in the MC so fluid can get in and air bubbles can get out . Basically you just tap , tap , tap on the pedal and a bunch of air will come out bit by bit , eventually it'll taper off to tiny bubbles maybe hard to see , _then_ you can pump the pedal a few times , release and wait , in a few moments you'll get another stream of bubbles , when that stops , go back to tap , tap , tap , repeat as many times as necessary , might take an hour before it'll stop bubbling . Be aware that brake fluid spurts up out of the by-pass port every time you depress the pedal , this is why the safety glasses are so important ~ when you begin , if you pump the pedal much , or hard , you'll be making the job worse , not speeding it up so have patience and take your time else nothing good will come of it . Once you feel resistance and there's no more bubbles , then you can set up the stick leave it for at leat 24 hours before removeing the stick and waiting 5 minutes before testing the brakes . This is what we did every year in the spring and at haying time , with the old $25.00 trucks were never spent a bloody dime on . it works O.K. for OFF ROAD FIELD WORK as you never really know how good the brakes are nor if they're going to fail at any given moment . As you have a one ton , might I also remind you : the hand brake is a parking brake , being but a drum on the back of the tranny , using it to slow down or stop the truck , even when empty is BEGGING for a serious failure . If you get some brakes this way and decide to bleed them , wire brush clean the bleeder nipples them , _before_ anything else , SMACK them with a Ball Pien hammer , inwards , this shocks them loose 95 % of the time , use ONLY a 6 point box end wrench or socket to initially open them. I hope this helps , most NAPA stores have perforce , paper catalogs for the older vehicles , ask to see them as the pimple crushers behind the counter often cannot read well . Remember : this is a BIG , HEAVU old truck that will KILL YOU if it gets a chance so use this typ of field service with extreme caution ! .
Thanks again Nate for the detailed post as well as the concern , I had done perty much what You said the other day . & it was getting bubbles for a little while then stopped , the pedal still feels no different . & I have both front bleeders out & not a drop coming out . I,m thinking the line coming out of the MC may be plugged where it comes out , So I will try to take it loose & clear it out . Or at least see if the Fuids coming out the MC . I,ll update what I find out . Thanks again , Bob
You cannot bleed it this way with the bleeders open . Here's a tip : go to FLAPS or junkyard and get another filler cap (they're remarkably interchangable) and a brand new tank typ bug sprayer and make up a simple home brew pressure bleeder (or OnLine for $49.95) , , use that , be sure to not exceed 5 PSI ! . you'll be pleased at how easy it is to bleed brakes then .
Ok I think I gotcha Nate . I Have a filler cap Off one of My other MC,s , there the same as 55/59 . I,ll put the bleeders back in & try that . But I,m not sure what You mean on the Homemade bleeder I Have a Hand pump I believe thats what Your talking about , But not sure where You are talking about hooking it up to . I,ve forgot more then I remember about these old trucks . I allways Gravity bled them before , Leaving the bleeders barelly loose. Guess I wasn,t thinking pulling the all the way out , I was just making sure they were clear & forgot to put them back in . . I,ll give it another shot. Thanks again. Bob
