jim fl4 Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Hi again, Does anyone know a good contact for replacement seals for the wheel cylinders? Cheers :-) Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim fl4 Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 Sorry, just seen on earlier thread its 1 and 1/8inch. Great stuff :-), plenty on ebay, got choice of girling or lockhead, any preference?? Cheers Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFC1943Fl.Lt. Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 While on this subject of brakes can anyone tell me where I may source a master cylinder for a Mk1 ferret. Would it be Mr Bannister or is there some where else I can try. Has anyone got one going spare. Got mine off at the week end and it is frozen solid. No point in trying to free off the piston as looking at it the bore is most likely far to pitted and would hate to get a kit, put it in only to find it leaking in a couple of months time. Any idea as to a price as well. Cheers Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 While on this subject of brakes can anyone tell me where I may source a master cylinder for a Mk1 ferret. Would it be Mr Bannister or is there some where else I can try. Has anyone got one going spare. Got mine off at the week end and it is frozen solid. No point in trying to free off the piston as looking at it the bore is most likely far to pitted and would hate to get a kit, put it in only to find it leaking in a couple of months time. Any idea as to a price as well.Cheers Steve. Steve, Take the cylinder to Past Parts at Bury St. Edmunds, they make a superb job of reconditioning them and price is probably not far off a NOS one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFC1943Fl.Lt. Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Steve,Take the cylinder to Past Parts at Bury St. Edmunds, they make a superb job of reconditioning them and price is probably not far off a NOS one. Nice one Richard, just down the road from me in Newmarket. May see if it would be worth taking all my wheel cylinders as well, just a thought. Cheers Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfire Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 If you plan on keeping the vehicle for a while, get them stainless sleeved. Not the cheapest option, but they'll last forever after that. Cheers, Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 If you plan on keeping the vehicle for a while, get them stainless sleeved. Not the cheapest option, but they'll last forever after that. Cheers, Terry Sleeving with stainless steel is what Past Parts do. I have dealt with them for 20 years and never had a problem from the scores of cylinders they have done for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 Stainless sleeving, worth every penny spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFC1943Fl.Lt. Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 Thanks chaps sounds like the best option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 Stainless steel in all the cylinders+ master. Cupro nickel pipe, modern fluid, fit and forget. I've seen Pastparts works on a QL master cylinder. Same/cheaper than NOS replacements, and who knows where they have been? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFC1943Fl.Lt. Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 Steve,Take the cylinder to Past Parts at Bury St. Edmunds, they make a superb job of reconditioning them and price is probably not far off a NOS one. Good call Richard, took the cylinder over. £133. Including seals and ready to fit in 7-10 days time. Just got to get the wheel cyl. Off and take them over now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexton Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Good price. It's $300 over here, about 165 pounds. I wholeheartedly agree with the suggestion above to sleeve all master and wheel cylinders with stainless to save money in the long run. We have quite a large fleet of old vehicles here, many of which don't get driven very often or very hard, and we are constantly repairing/replacing leaking and binding cylinders. Some new cylinders start to bind in less than a year. I'm at a bit of a loss to explain it actually. Guys using opened bottles of brake fluid? Long winter storage? Old style master cylinders with vents open to the atmosphere? Quality of cast iron in the cylinders? Quality of aluminum in the pistons? Malcolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Malcolm, we use John Stuart Power Brake, flawless service, good turn around, we were paying less than $300 per wheel cylinder, I recall $250. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 As Ferret wheel cylinders are an alloy casting, I would be apprehensive in sleeving with stainless steel, due to varying expansion rates. Normally they can be polished inside and resealed. It is the pistons that cause the problems, usually because the previous person to work on the cylinder has not used a rubber grease around both pistons. There should be a gasket between cylinder and backplate to prevent water ingress and also condensation has to be considered. making new pistons from stainless would be a better option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiomike7 Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Richard, I hear what you are saying about the different expansion rates but Past Parts don't seem to think it is a problem. From their own site: Units are bored and re-sleeved back to their original bore size using stainless steel which means it won't corrode, a valuable advantage for vehicles stored for long periods. Even if a new part can be supplied, a re-sleeved unit may still be preferable, especially if the casting is aluminium, as it eliminates the common problem of bore pitting and corrosion. Presumably there is still a potential problem if the chrome plated steel pistons corrode?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Richard, I hear what you are saying about the different expansion rates but Past Parts don't seem to think it is a problem. From their own site: Units are bored and re-sleeved back to their original bore size using stainless steel which means it won't corrode, a valuable advantage for vehicles stored for long periods. Even if a new part can be supplied, a re-sleeved unit may still be preferable, especially if the casting is aluminium, as it eliminates the common problem of bore pitting and corrosion. Presumably there is still a potential problem if the chrome plated steel pistons corrode?? Hi Mike, I have never seen chrome plated pistons in a Ferret wheel cylinder and have worked on them for nearly 40 years, however they do have a coating of some kind. Reason I was not sure about sleeving on a Ferret was due to an occurrence where a client called me out to say his Ferret was a bit sluggish for about 10 miles then seemed to go better after that, the on the return journey, same situation. I jacked it up to find 3 out of 4 wheel cylinders seized and brakes tight. What was happening was heat from brakes was eventually transferring to the cylinder allowing expansion and freeing off the pistons. Not uncommon but this particular case sticks in my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexton Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Malcolm, we use John Stuart Power Brake, flawless service, good turn around, we were paying less than $300 per wheel cylinder, I recall $250. That's who I use, Robin. Yes, they do nice work. The $300 we paid recently was for a master cylinder. Malcolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexton Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 It is the pistons that cause the problems, usually because the previous person to work on the cylinder has not used a rubber grease around both pistons. That's an interesting statement, Richard. I have freed up stuck wheel cylinder pistons and found the bore and pistons generally to be in good shape, just binding from a crud build-up. So I've used grease to lube the handbrake piston and the non-wetted part of the hydraulic piston but I worried about contaminating the brake fluid on the wetted side, or degrading the rubber u-cup. So you lube the pistons and the cup with rubber lube? What lube do you use? Maybe one reason Ferret wheel cylinders survive quite well is because they are vertical and water settles to the bottom where it doesn't corrode the sealing surfaces. Malcolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 (edited) That's an interesting statement, Richard. I have freed up stuck wheel cylinder pistons and found the bore and pistons generally to be in good shape, just binding from a crud build-up. So I've used grease to lube the handbrake piston and the non-wetted part of the hydraulic piston but I worried about contaminating the brake fluid on the wetted side, or degrading the rubber u-cup. So you lube the pistons and the cup with rubber lube? What lube do you use? Maybe one reason Ferret wheel cylinders survive quite well is because they are vertical and water settles to the bottom where it doesn't corrode the sealing surfaces. Malcolm Malcolm, Brake manufacturers supply a special rubber grease for this purpose, it will not harm seals. I use some from Lockheed but there are others. Here you are, a bit of info for you; http://www.redrubbergrease.com/ Edited April 24, 2016 by Richard Farrant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFC1943Fl.Lt. Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Good call Richard, took the cylinder over. £133. Including seals and ready to fit in 7-10 days time. Just got to get the wheel cyl. Off and take them over now. Managed to get the wheels and drums off today and found that the wheel cylinders are totally free and still full of fluid. The cylinders actually look quite new and all the adjusters are moving freely. With any luck it was just the master cyl. which was kaput. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexton Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 Thanks, Richard. I've ordered some. Malcolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Managed to get the wheels and drums off today and found that the wheel cylinders are totally free and still full of fluid. The cylinders actually look quite new and all the adjusters are moving freely. With any luck it was just the master cyl. which was kaput. Fortunately your Ferret had been stored with the handbrake off, and I kept it that way in the few years I had it. Our other Ferret brakes were in quite a state! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFC1943Fl.Lt. Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Good call Richard, took the cylinder over. £133. Including seals and ready to fit in 7-10 days time. Just got to get the wheel cyl. Off and take them over now. Well I picked up my master cylinder today and WOW, looks like new. Just over £160. inc. VAT ready to fit, result. Sorry for this but I don't know why this keeps happening, photo's turning sideways, but it's very annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeePig Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 I assume that you used a phone camera? Some seem to remember the orientation you held the camera, without storing that information in the picture file itself in a way that is recognised on the internet. trevor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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