I have sure missed you guys...wife wanted new living room furniture, so truck rehab has been put on hold.... HELP!! I have been trying to get the front wheel brake cylinders off so I can replace them and I simply cannot get them off. Any suggestions ??
Is it the mounting bolts you cant get loose or the cylinder itself? Try some PB Blaster(or the like..ie WD 40..Liquid Wrench..etc.) on it. I had to tap them out of the backing plate using a block of wood and a hammer on an old VW I rodstored.
It's the bolt itself. The truck has been sitting up for 17 years and that bolt that attaches the brake cylinder to the backing plate simply will not break loose. Are those standard thread, or do they loosen via turning to the right ?
Well, those bolts do tend to be a pain in the arse....I used a 1/2" drive ratchet with a 3' pipe for a cheater bar! Use at your own risk though....don't blame me if something snaps!! }>
Here is a trick that a guy who works om Model A's showed me on removal of frozen bolts. It involves a propane torch, so you will need to be careful about the brake fluid. Use the torch to heat one side of the stuck bolt and draw ordinary candle wax from the other side. The technique is called capilarry attraction. It's similar to how plumbers solder copper pipe, heating one side of the joint while drawing solder into the joint from the other side. Anyway, work the candle wax down into the threads as best you can. Really heat that bolt well and continue to draw the wax down into the threads. Then try to loosen it. Repeat as necessary. One word of caution; If you have used Liguid Wrench or other penitrating oil stuff, make sure it is off the surfaces before putting a torch to it ! The combination of penitrating oil and flame is the garage equivilant of the "Eternal Flame" at Arlington Cemetary. DV
That candle trick works good, I tried it out a month ago when I tore down the front of the truck. That and a big breakover bar, and don't be timid with it, show it who's boss! I fiddled with mine for 2 days trying be careful, then in a rage of anger from how tough it was, I was gonna kill the truck, I jumped up and down, and it made the strangest sound when it broke loose, kinda like the titanic sinking on that movie, same for the other.
>That candle trick works good, I tried it out a month ago >when I tore down the front of the truck. > >That and a big breakover bar, and don't be timid with it, >show it who's boss! I fiddled with mine for 2 days trying be >careful, then in a rage of anger from how tough it was, I >was gonna kill the truck, I jumped up and down, and it made >the strangest sound when it broke loose, kinda like the >titanic sinking on that movie, same for the other. I had that same sound when I pulled the tailgate off my fleetside bed. I thought I had snapped one of the bolts, but using alot penetrating oil helped me out. David
Along the same line, my brother used to heat up the brake cylinder with the line off (to prevent boiling brake fluid), using a propane or other torch. The idea being to swell up the cylinder from the outside, and work the bolt loose. I like that wax idea though, I'll be using that (probably sooner than I'd like...) :7 Rob Holden Born into the Chevy family. There is no substitute.
THANKS to everyone who offered advice... An oxygen/acetylene torch works great!. By the way, old grease burns! :+
