Stoddard Drum wheel cylinders-Original or Aftermarket?

[Martin Benade]

"Brake Clean" is fine for cleaning everything but the brake seals- shoes, cylinders, etc. A quick cleaning of the rubber cups would be unlikely to cause a problem but it is not recommended for that.

[Larry Coreth]

Yes Ab I believe I remember seeing those tubes, made by ATE ? Also They used to include a small packet of the same stuff in the wheel cylinder rebuild kits at one time.
As a point of reference, the proper lubrication as I outlined seems to be good for somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 years. I rebuilt the brakes on my Speedster in 1984. It was in 2004 or so I had to rework them again as one of the front piston got stuck due to a some fluid leak with the resultant rust. I caught it before the rust was too severe.

[Larry Coreth]

Martin,

Why do you believe that Brakleen is not good for cleaning the cylinders, shoes seals, etc. ?
The main ingredient is trichloroethylene which degreases, evaporates quickly leaving no residue and does not soften the rubber parts (seals), what more could you want ? It even does a good job of removing brake fluid from brake shoes with no undesirable effects. Repainting the outside of the cylinders and using seal compatible grease during assembly to lubricate the parts will protect everything again from the elements after installation. I have been using it to clean brake parts for decades with great success.

[Martin Benade]

I am no chemist but I was under the impression that cleaning the seals is not a recommended use of that. I could be wrong, and I am sure I have used it myself when nobody was looking. For shoes, cylinders, etc it is very good.

[John Eaton]

Hi Folks,
6 new Stoddard/NLA replica wheel cylinders are installed and the brakes are working great again. You disc brakes guys won't believe me but the car stops on a dime now! Photo of the front wheel and cylinders. The only issue I had was the slots in the new cylinders were a little too narrow to accept my brake shoes. So I was forced to file the tabs down to fit. Probably took off .005-.010 inches total (both sides of each end).

Brad Ripley advised to NOT re-lube the cylinders so they were installed right out of the box.

DOT 4 fluid used and I flushed all the old (and discolored) fluid until all bleeding yielded clear fluid.

Thanks again for the comments and help!!!

[Chris Anderson]

I also am pleased with the replica style and found the slot in the adjusting screw was also too narrow. instead of filing the shoes I replaced the new adjusters with the originals out of the old cylinders.

[Larry Coreth]

I don't understand why Brad would advise against insuring proper lubrication, but that’s his opinion. After all, the wheel cylinders are not complicated and one does not even need to pull them completely apart, only the piston, shoe retainer (clevis) and the adjustment screw assembly, takes 5 min. per cylinder !
BTW, it has been my experience that the drum brakes stop just as well as the discs, I have both types, i.e., a Speedster and a C coupe. The big advantage of the discs is low maintenance and no adjustment necessary.

[Richard Shimmon]

I am in the process of changing the 4 front wheel brake cylinders on my 59. I have ordered the cylinders and STAINLESS STEEL PISTONS from Stoddard and will change out the ones from the new cylinders. Now from what I read the new cylinders come pre greased. So I assume I need to grease the stainless steel pistons when changing. Is there a specific product recommended? I intend to use white lithium grease on the movable parts mentioned above.

thanks
rich 59 D hawaii

[Larry Coreth]

I have used ATE Assembly Lube ( https://www.ate-na.com/products/ate-pla ... lubricant/) and the Castrol version,
important here is the compatibility of the grease and the O-rings and secondly the brake fluid! By lubing the moving parts and O-rings you will ensure no chaffing during air bleeding.

[Richard Shimmon]

I just received the new wheel cylinders. The new style cylinders don’t have a removable piston so my question above does not apply!! I guess the pistons are only for the old style cylinder.

Thanks
Rich 59 d
Hawaii

[Jim Liberty]

I'm don with chinese crap. Had leaks on all 6 on my last restoration. German ATE only for me. Just bled the brakes for the first time on the Glaser. Everything tight and dry, except for the fittings I neglected to tighten. .....Jim.

[Larry Coreth]

richard shimmon

Would you explain the "non removable piston" of the wheel cylinders, photo ?
What makes it "non-rmovable"?

[Martin Benade]

Yes, my Stoddard cylinders don't leak and have removeable pistons once the boot is off.

[Harlan Halsey]

Back when I was using the hydroscopic paint stripper I noted that the cylinder pitting was usually where the cup edge rested. It seemed to me that the brake fluid was wetting the cylinder wall when the cup moved, and the moisture the fluid drew from the air air caused the cylinder to rust. No amount of bleeding will fix this, but grease on the cylinder wall might for a time. Hence my move to Silicone brake fluid more than 20 years ago. (Dot 5 fluid is relatively expensive, but not so expensive as my time doing an un necessary down on the ground task.) As mentioned above I have only put the in Dot 5 fluid in new systems, and then after a thorough flushing of the hard lines.

[Martin Benade]

By hydroscopic paint stripper did you mean hygroscopic brake fluid?