M38Cdn Refurbishment

[rob love]

There was actually a bulletin about the loose pulley nut causing the keyway to elongate.
20 years ago I bought a reasonably new van from the BSM of the artillery battery was attached to. It had a knocking engine. I negotiated the price based on that. Went to pull the engine and yep...loose pulley. The pair of artillery guys he had do some engine work did not torque the nut. It was still early enough in the wear that I was able to cut a new keyway in the pulley and the van continued on for another decade.

[Peter Phillips]

Originally Posted by rob love

There was actually a bulletin about the loose pulley nut causing the keyway to elongate.
20 years ago I bought a reasonably new van form the BSM of the artillery battery was attached to. It had a knocking engine. I negotiated the price based on that. Went to pull the engine and yep...loose pulley. The pair of artillery guys he had do some engine work did not torque the nut. It was still early enough in the wear that I was able to cut a new keyway in the pulley and the van continued on for another decade.

That doesn't surprise me at what engines can handle in terms of abuse and still work. Glad that repair worked out for you I was hoping the crank can be salvaged but according to the builder it's not worth the effort so I'll concede to the expert.

[Peter Phillips]

Can't believe it's been so long for an update! This has definitely been a marathon thus far with a few u-turns added for good measure
The brakes went together well and I even made a custom adjustment tool to help out. I'm trying to solve some very pesky leaks at the copper crush gaskets even though it's all new components....I've ordered more parts so I'll get it eventually. Let's talk springs.....I had the springs re-arched in Edmonton and have a bit of a dilemma. You can see the device I made to pre-load the springs so I can bolt up the shocks and brake lines. Then I can slowly unload them later on by loosening the nut. I've reached out to a few brethren from here and am assured this is quite normal until the major components are installed to add weight. It's a bit unnerving is all. I'm in the process of going through the tranny and t-case for serviceability, seal them up nicely and hopefully get them painted up soon. The motor is being re-assembled so I may see it soon too!

[Barry Churcher]

Peter if you still have the old copper gaskets just reuse them. When installing new brake parts we never use the new washers as there are too many leaks. The old washers seem to be leak proof.
Cheers, Barry

[rob love]

There does not seem to be a correct torque for the new copper washers.I have tried them from loose to almost stripping the cylinder tight.



I got so frustrated trying to use new copper washers with silicone brake fluid, that I finally smeared the thinnest/lightest coat of silicone glue on them possible. That did the trick, but is not an approved method. My thought was silicone with silicone....what could go wrong?

[Peter Phillips]

Barry, unfortunately I think they're gone already, dang it! Never would've guessed that would be the preferred method than using new ones, interesting

Rob funny you mention that as I've tightened these beyond what I would normally do...and I've done a lot of brake work since 1984! I went with DOT 4 for this system as it's driven in dry conditions and parked in a climate controlled shop.

There's got to be a work around for shoddy copper gaskets? I've got a leak at the front axle brass tee, and at the 2 larger ones on the master cylinder banjo bolt. The rear tee and front wheel cylinders are good, weird?

[rob love]

Are you talking about inverted flare fittings at the wheel cylinder and brass T connections? In that case, too tight and the flares themselves either split or over-compress and lose their ability to seal. Are you trying to use sealing rings in those connections?

I can certainly understand leakage at the master cylinder copper gaskets. But usually flare fittings are pretty good to seal.



Personally, I like DOT4, especially for larger trucks or trucks pulling a load. I remember having my brake fluid boil off when towing a heavy load in to medicine hat. I walked to a local autoparts store, bought a pint of DOT4, put that in and didn't even have to bleed the brakes. That fluid lasted for another 10 years until I got rid of that truck.