2007 at the Hammond Barn

[Bob Carriere]

As Rob mentioned once we had the few leakes resolved by properly thightening a few spots things went well......

I have a suspicion that the master which was rebuilt at the barn may not be functioning properly. We spent voer half a gallon of brake fluid to bleed extensively. At the end of the exercise the lquide had no bubles coming out......BUT.... the pedal wehn pressed by hand would go slowly to the floor. You can feel the brake linings pressing on the drums and the tires twitch somewhat....... trying to push the frame by hand shows that the lining are in fact moving and locking the wheels.

Based on my experience with older vehicles such as the M37 whenthat happens it is usually a sign that the master cylinder is in fact pushing brake fluid down the lines but that the master is leaking internally and preventing the pressure to build up.

It could as simple as adjusting the screwed in push rod to the master or it needs a full rebuild. We had taken care to polish the inside of the master.... which had already been sleeved with a brass insert..... we polished using a home made device made from numerous circular discs cut out of a soft 3M pad and mounted on a 3/8 threaded rod. The polishing device was then inserted in the drill press and the MC was held by hand and moved up and down. The resulting shine on the brass sleeve encouraged us to proceed with the reassembly using a kit Rob had purchased.

Next step is definitely to remove and disassemble the master to make sure all the parts are in there in the proper sequence.

Stay tuned.

Bob