1962 brake advice

[Elwyn S.]

Well, where do I start?... Six weeks ago I had issues with what I thought was contaminated brake fluid in my master cylinder (mixture of dot 3 and dot 5). However, it turned out to be rust and sluge. I cleaned out the master cylinder and bled about 2.5 quarts through the system and I had good pedal, so I thought I was good to go, not so... Last week pedal went to the floor on a short drive, I was able to use the emergency brake and down shifting to get me home for the last 2 miles. Inspected the master cylinder and it was leaking. I removed it and tore it down. Bad cylinder walls internally, ate up with corrosion. I believe this could be the original master cylinder, part # 5454480 320-G casting # 5458022 large 022.

I live here in Dallas Texas area, so I called Lonestar Caliper. They had a large 022 master cylinder already built and sleeved so I swapped it out. (GREAT PEOPLE TO WORK WITH) I also purchased new brake hoses. I am ready to install these parts, However should I worry about the wheel cylinders? All 4 wheel cylinders have the correct part #'s and I believe they are original and from what I have read in the archives you can not get rebuild kits for the fronts #527 1 3/16" #528. I have also read that dorman wheel cylinders Part #'s w14493 /94 work good for the fronts, however, they are 1 1/8". Is this a big deal? My wheel cylinders show no signs of leaking.
I have always believed in preventative maintenance, However I do not like fixing things that donot seem to be broke. This is why I ask the question on the wheel cylinders, but I also do not want to set myself up. I am anxious to get the car out and start driving it again.

Sorry this post is so long I just wanted to give background details on where I am at with my brakes. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thank You in advance.

[John F.]

Re: 1962 brake advice

Elwyn, You can still get rebuild kits at Advance Auto Parts. That is where I got mine for both of my 62s. Since you have a new, resleeved MC, you should be okay with that. When I changed over from DOT 3 to DOT 5, I flushed the lines first with denatured alcohol and blew out the lines with compressed air. Also, replaced the rubber hose lines since mine were the originals. I then rebuilt all four wheel cylinders before adding the DOT 5. Better safe than sorry!

[Elwyn S.]

Re: 1962 brake advice

John, I was planning to stay with dot 3/4 instead upgrading to dot 5. Unless I see that the wheel cylinders are bad and need to be replaced. At that point this would be the ideal time for the switch over to dot 5. Just do not know if dot 5 is the way to go for me.
When you used denatured alcohol and blew the steel lines out did you disconnect them from the wheel cylinders and blow them out at the upper line where it attaches to the master cylinder? Did you leave all the lines hooked up at the brass blocks and line fitting unions?
Thanks for the info on the wheel cylinder kits at Advance Auto Parts, I will look into this tomorrow.

[John F.]

Re: 1962 brake advice

I blew the lines out from the line off of the MC to the back by disconnecting each wheel cylinder at a time starting with the wheel cylinder closest to the MC.

[Paul Y.]

Re: 1962 brake advice

Well, where do I start?... Six weeks ago I had issues with what I thought was contaminated brake fluid in my master cylinder (mixture of dot 3 and dot 5). However, it turned out to be rust and sluge. I cleaned out the master cylinder and bled about 2.5 quarts through the system and I had good pedal, so I thought I was good to go, not so... Last week pedal went to the floor on a short drive, I was able to use the emergency brake and down shifting to get me home for the last 2 miles. Inspected the master cylinder and it was leaking. I removed it and tore it down. Bad cylinder walls internally, ate up with corrosion. I believe this could be the original master cylinder, part # 5454480 320-G casting # 5458022 large 022.

I live here in Dallas Texas area, so I called Lonestar Caliper. They had a large 022 master cylinder already built and sleeved so I swapped it out. (GREAT PEOPLE TO WORK WITH) I also purchased new brake hoses. I am ready to install these parts, However should I worry about the wheel cylinders? All 4 wheel cylinders have the correct part #'s and I believe they are original and from what I have read in the archives you can not get rebuild kits for the fronts #527 1 3/16" #528. I have also read that dorman wheel cylinders Part #'s w14493 /94 work good for the fronts, however, they are 1 1/8". Is this a big deal? My wheel cylinders show no signs of leaking.
I have always believed in preventative maintenance, However I do not like fixing things that donot seem to be broke. This is why I ask the question on the wheel cylinders, but I also do not want to set myself up. I am anxious to get the car out and start driving it again.

Sorry this post is so long I just wanted to give background details on where I am at with my brakes. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thank You in advance.

If it were my car I would rebuild the wheel cylinders when I changed the hoses. Then you are done and will be safe. It sucks to have the brake pedal hit the floor. You can pick up an inexpensive brake hone with stones for very little $. You'll be glad you did.

[Joe L.]

Re: 1962 brake advice

Well, where do I start?... Six weeks ago I had issues with what I thought was contaminated brake fluid in my master cylinder (mixture of dot 3 and dot 5). However, it turned out to be rust and sluge. I cleaned out the master cylinder and bled about 2.5 quarts through the system and I had good pedal, so I thought I was good to go, not so... Last week pedal went to the floor on a short drive, I was able to use the emergency brake and down shifting to get me home for the last 2 miles. Inspected the master cylinder and it was leaking. I removed it and tore it down. Bad cylinder walls internally, ate up with corrosion. I believe this could be the original master cylinder, part # 5454480 320-G casting # 5458022 large 022.

I live here in Dallas Texas area, so I called Lonestar Caliper. They had a large 022 master cylinder already built and sleeved so I swapped it out. (GREAT PEOPLE TO WORK WITH) I also purchased new brake hoses. I am ready to install these parts, However should I worry about the wheel cylinders? All 4 wheel cylinders have the correct part #'s and I believe they are original and from what I have read in the archives you can not get rebuild kits for the fronts #527 1 3/16" #528. I have also read that dorman wheel cylinders Part #'s w14493 /94 work good for the fronts, however, they are 1 1/8". Is this a big deal? My wheel cylinders show no signs of leaking.
I have always believed in preventative maintenance, However I do not like fixing things that donot seem to be broke. This is why I ask the question on the wheel cylinders, but I also do not want to set myself up. I am anxious to get the car out and start driving it again.

Sorry this post is so long I just wanted to give background details on where I am at with my brakes. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thank You in advance.

Elwyn-----

If you master cylinder bore showed signs of serious corrosion, I'll bet the wheel cylinders have the same problem to one degree or another. If these cylinders are original to the car, it's almost a certainty. Wheel cylinders can be sleeved, too.

[Elwyn S.]

Re: 1962 brake advice

Joe, you are probably right. I have made the decision to look at the wheel cylinders, as Paul young said in the previous post it would suck to have the brake pedal go to the floor... again in my case. What about the steel lines being almost 50 years old, would you advise changing those also. My problem is I do not have a lift, all this work will be done on jack stands.

[Terry D.]

Re: 1962 brake advice

Elwyn
Agree with Joe, I'll bet the wheel cylinders are not as good as you think. Take one off and find out. I had the same brake problem with the 62 I have now. Rebuilt the MC and replaced all the wheel cylinders, (they are not judged) Been 7 years and no brake problems since.
Terry

[Elwyn S.]

Re: 1962 brake advice

Terry,
I have a couple of questions for you.

Do you recall what wheel cylinders you used?
Do you still have the original steel lines installed in your car?
Did you convert to Dot5 ?

Thank you for your response... Elwyn

[John F.]

Re: 1962 brake advice

Elwyn, aftermarket wheel cylinders are readily available, but may be just a tad smaller in diameter if I recall. I used aftermarket on my red car and rebuilt the originals on the white car. I used the original steel lines after flushing them out.
John F

[Christopher R.]

Re: 1962 brake advice

If you believe that the wheel cylinders and steel lines are original to your car, I'd replace them now that you have the system apart. These components are now 51 years old. I don't know, but I can't believe, that they were ever designed by Chevrolet to last more than 51 years. I am pretty sure that the 3 rubber lines are not designed to last that long. If the master cylinder was pitted, I have to believe the wheel cylinders are too. When you take a wheel cylinder off, you can check. But I have to believe that they will be in the same condition as the master cylinder because they all lived in the same environment. If you're like me, you'll destroy the brake line when you take the wheel cylinder or the rubber lines off. So you'll end up replacing the steel lines anyway.

If you replace the master cylinder, the steel lines, the rubber hoses, and the wheel cylinders, you might as well switch over to DOT5 (silicone).

Keep in mind that this system is a single line system. While that was acceptable in 1962, our expectations regarding safety have grown since then. That's not a bad thing. Many people in your situation, convert to a two line master cylinder. When I was in your situation, I was unwilling to convert to a dual line master cylinder, so I replaced everything for some piece of mind.

If you do decide to replace all the lines, I'm not sure you can replace the line in the front that crosses over the engine compartment with the engine still in the car. But you can easily replace the other lines with the car on jackstands.

Yeah, I know. Major project creep here.

[Al E.]

Re: 1962 brake advice

I have had the same issue. But, when i added the fluid the master cyl had jammed up due to rust in the brake lines and piston in the cyl. When I opened the master cyl it shot brake fluid back on the cowl and ate a layer of paint off.. I rebuilt the unit and replaced all of the wheel cyls and lines. I was able to do it when the motor in the car.

Al

[Philip P.]

Re: 1962 brake advice

I looked at my car, 1960, the engine is out what Christorpher says it will be a real pain to replace the front line with the engine in looks like it requires at least the engine be supported and the frame brackets for the motor mounts removed. Makes me think about doing it now. that is going to be real project creep.
Is it Miller time yet.
Phil

[Elwyn S.]

Re: 1962 brake advice

Thank you to all that have responded to me. I am planning to pull atleast 1 of my wheel cylinders for inspection tomorrow. I have called apple up in New York incase they are pitted and need to be sleeved. They have a turnaround time of a week and are 85.00 apeice completely done. Lonestar does not do this procedure on wheel cylinders. If they are not pitted I have found 1 3/16 repack kits for the front at Zip corvette and I will do this myself. I am going to do a thorough inspection of my steel lines and go from there.

[Elwyn S.]

Re: 1962 brake advice

Al,
Who did you order your steel lines from and what brand wheel cylinders did you use? Also, sorry to here about your brake fluid ordeal, sounds like a real bad day. Are you still using Dot 3/4 in your brake system or did you convert to Dot 5 ? Apple is telling me that they will not warranty thier wheel cylinders if I use Dot 5 ( something about Dot 5 causing the seals to swell up) Thanks ,Elwyn