Basic brake overhaul on '59

[Rock&Roll Firebird]

The drums look pretty straight, hoses needs replacement and the cylinders have a bit of a moisture inside - not sure if that's normal or not...

[Rock&Roll Firebird]

And the last one on the brakes for today - can you check this video and say if the looseness of the front drum bearings is normal? It's like this on both sides.

[simplyconnected]

HUH???

What part of this brake looks bad?

The dust seals rotten (don't know if that says anything about the age/functionality of the cylinders), the shoe on the left has the braking surface partialy crumbled off. Othervise not sure, never done this before. But there was a discussion about this earlier - the springs might be loosened by heat, cylinders partially stuck, etc.

For some reason, I feel the cooling and braking ability of the car to be the two of the most important at the very beginning. Thought it would be a good idea to make a fresh start with the brakes by exchanging all these parts as they are not that expensive. What do you think?

I hope something didn't happened to make you change your mind all of a sudden. You said you were going to change everything.

What about pictures of the insides of your drums (with a measuring stick) and questions I asked about in post #27? None of those questions were answered. These are brakes. If you don't know brake systems you need someone qualified, who does. I saw the video of you running your finger around the inner wheel bearing. Knock that bearing out and clean all of it; the drum, the bearing & seal. When the wheel hub is on the spindle it will be tight.

Rust inside your wheel cylinders is not good. Take the insides out and do a proper inspection of the bore and all the parts. - Dave

[Rock&Roll Firebird]

HUH???




I think something happened to make you change your mind all of a sudden. You said you were going to change everything.

What about pictures of the insides of your drums and questions I asked about in post #27? None of those questions were answered. These are brakes. If you don't know brake systems you need someone qualified, who does. - Dave

Did not change my mind, will change everything inside the drums and the hoses. Here are the answers:

There are a few areas I would like to see. One, is the inside of your drums. Are they scored? Tapered? Out of round?
The drums look good and straight.

Pull some of the dust covers off without tearing them. What condition is the rubber in?
Except for one cylinder, the dust covers are OK. Will change the cylinders anyway.

Can you show pictures of your shoes? Clean off the rivets with a wire brush so we can see the depth of wear.
The wear on the shoes is minimal. I have new ones already so I will put those on.

How rusty is your brake fluid and your steel lines? Order three hoses because they always go bad IF they have never been changed or if you don't know how old they are.
Where can I check the brake fluid - in the master cylinder? The steel lines were painted at some point and are not rusty. Ordering all three hoses.

When heat tempers the spring out of steel, it looses its memory. Pull on the springs and see if they return.
Will be changing all the springs.

The only way shoe material 'crumbles' is if something hits the corner (like a hammer). They make shoe material hard enough to last for years.
I noticed that the shoe wasn't crumbled, one of the two shoes has the braking layer slightly shorter on the top.

By the way, do you have a machine shop that will turn drums? If your drums are too big in diameter or they are too far gone, you may need to buy drums. They are VERY important.
What it means exactly - too big in diameter?

All brake fluid is clear when new. What color is yours?
What is the best way to check?

[Rock&Roll Firebird]

Knock that bearing out and clean all of it; the drum, the bearing & seal. Dave

There is a grease in the bearing - should it not be there?

[simplyconnected]

DOT means Department of Transportation. Brake parts are either DOT approved or they are not.

New hoses should have "DOT" stamped or painted on the rubber hose material. If it doesn't, don't buy it.

DOT-3 brake fluid is what comes in every Ford. It is not petroleum based, so keep all oil and gasoline far from brake parts. If you need to clean inside brake cylinders, use brake fluid.

DOT-3 is glycol based. It absorbs water until it can't. We call this, 'saturation'. It takes a couple years for DOT-3 to get saturated with water. When it does, your brake lines start rusting from the INSIDE. Redish brown brake fluid is caused by rust.

When you take the wheel cylinders and hoses off, all the old brake fluid will come out. If a steel brake line ruptures from rust, you will need to buy and bend new line. After you replace your parts, the system needs to be refilled and all air needs to be bled out.

Drum linings get larger as they wear or turned down. On the outside of your drums is a number cast into the iron. It should say something like: MAX DIA. - 11.xxx inches. Simply measure the inside of the drums and see if the opening is smaller than the number on the outside. - Dave

[simplyconnected]

There is a grease in the bearing - should it not be there?

It should be clean. I mean REAL CLEAN. If brake dust gets in, you will be buying new bearings soon.

...Knock that bearing out and clean all of it; the drum, the bearing & seal...

After a good cleaning, repack your bearings with fresh lithium grease and replace using a fresh new seal. - Dave

[Rock&Roll Firebird]

It should be clean. I mean REAL CLEAN. If brake dust gets in, you will be buying new bearings soon.

After a good cleaning, repack your bearings with fresh lithium grease and replace using a fresh new seal. - Dave

What is the best way to clean the bearing from the old grease? Is this the seal you are writing about?

[simplyconnected]

Use a solvent to melt the grease away then blow it dry with compressed air before repacking with fresh grease. WASH THE HUB as well.

rockauto.com
1959 FORD THUNDERBIRD 5.8L 352cid V8 : Brake/Wheel Hub : Wheel Seal
TIMKEN Part # 6815 (One of our most popular parts)
Front Inner; RWD $1.70

[Rock&Roll Firebird]

Use a solvent to melt the grease away then blow it dry with compressed air before repacking with fresh grease. WASH THE HUB as well.

rockauto.com
1959 FORD THUNDERBIRD 5.8L 352cid V8 : Brake/Wheel Hub : Wheel Seal
TIMKEN Part # 6815 (One of our most popular parts)
Front Inner; RWD $1.70

Thank you Dave. You've got **** of a knowledge!

It's 3:20am in here, got to get some sleep before tomorrows homework in the garage...

One last thing - can you advise what kind of protecting paint/coat is applied on the drum plates etc.? I guess that have to be a corrosion and heat resistant, right? Can you advise a concrete product?

Also, what kind od preliminary care needs to be done to the surface? Is cleaning from rough dirt sufficient or there needs to be some more (rust removal)?

[simplyconnected]

Scrape off as much rust as possible. You will never get it all off, but use a wire brush. Some rust can be so heavy a hammer will be necessary to de-laminate it.

In America, we barbecue outside a lot. The grill gets very hot. Several paint companies make high temperature paint for barbecue grills. That's what I use on drums. Rustoleum is a popular brand and black is a very common color. This paint can be found all over the States, at just about all the hardware stores. It is good paint. - Dave

[simplyconnected]

Take the shoes off your backplates then take more pictures. I want to see the 'pads', where the shoes rub against the backplates.

Over time, the shoes wear deep grooves into the steel pads, causing them to hang up. If that happens, a welder can fill these areas and you can grind them flat. That repair will bring them back to 'new' condition. - Dave

[Rock&Roll Firebird]

Dust Cap

Was looking for a replacement dust caps. Couldn't find them anywhere and the RockAuto have those for '65 TBirds. Will those fit the '59?

[Rock&Roll Firebird]

Was looking for a replacement dust caps. Couldn't find them anywhere and the RockAuto have those for '65 TBirds. Will those fit the '59?

Anyone - will they fit? Sorry for the rush - need to put the spare parts order today as it's a looong way to Europe...

[KULTULZ]

Both the 59 and 64 take the same cap- B5A 1131-A

Their cataloging sucks...