Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rivet_101]

Typically, my wheel cylinders, like everything else on my restoration, did not come apart without a massive fight....and frankly it didn't look like I was going to win.

I tried all the methods recommended, except blowtorch. I tried boiling, levering (near impossible), soaking in paraffin, soaking in rost-off, using US marine rust-buster etc. Then I tried drilling and tapping M6 holes and putting bolts in the tops of the pistons to give something to grab hold of and twist, but they were solid and I thought there was a greater chance the bolts would just sheer off.

Eventually, however, a mate came round and we went for brute force. His clever idea was to cramp the bolts in a vice then wedge a splitter type affair against the shoulder of the cylinder and force it between the cylinder and the vice (piston held in vice, cylinder goes left) and the pistons gradually came out...each time we had to use packing material between shoulder and vice, gradually adding more.

It was a hell of a job......and not nearly as easy as some would have you believe.

Anyway, I now have all the pistons out, but it looks as if my rear cylinders are both pattern parts and different from each other. Neither looks like their drawing in the parts manual.

Does anyone remember the rear wheel cylinders?

In one of mine there is an upper and lower half of the piston, each having a sloping slot and separated by a cam-lever. But in the other the lower piston half with sloping slot does not seem to move.

(in the manual drawing the innards of the back cylinder look just like the innards of the front one, with a spring and cup behind the piston.

any thoughts?

[Rivet_101]

OK, managed to get bottom piston halves out of the rear cylinders today and it is now clear that they both have/had springs and seals behind them, though one of these asseblies is still stuck in.

What is now clear is that these were not original Morris JB brakes, though outwardly they look like the same castings (except for the numbers).

It is all a learning curve for me.

[Rivet_101]

ok, scratch that. I was wrong. Once I got the second assembly out it transpired that they were both original JB units after all.

[iain]

As far as I can remember I used Morris Minor ones on my van. Very similar, in fact i cant remember what the difference is - possibly in the threaded union. Anyway they were cheap and available. Unlike the front ones which are the same as Wolseley 4/44 and MG TF so you end up paying MG prices from specialists....
Iain

[Rivet_101]

That's good to know, iain, thanks.