Rebuild wheel cylinder on car easy enough?

[Billccm]

I replaced the front wheel cylinders on my 1967 Coronet last weekend. Used new Chinesium ones from O'Reillys and fresh brake rubber hoses.

Seems my passenger side is leaking.

I am concerned that pulling the rubber line at the already rounded off tube nut may not hold another removal. Really don't want the headache of replacing that brake line. Got lucky here in that I filed the edges and got that nut off and tightened after the rubber hose replacement.

So............should I invest a whopping $4 in a wheel cylinder rebuild kit and try to hone and rebuild while the cylinder is attached? I am assuming that there is some Chinesium in the bore and a fresh hone and new caps might save the day. For $4 it is not a big gamble.

Have not rebuilt wheel cylinders since 1982, so kind of unsure of myself here. Thanks for any advice.

 

[AR67GTX]

They are cheap enough I just plan on replacing mine - I have a set sitting in the garage now. But you should be able to get a rebuild kit from Raybestos. If they are new and need honing they sure enough are junk.

 

[Billccm]

It is really not the cost. In fact, O'Reilly will happily warranty the new cylinder. I just don't want to crack open the hard line again as the nut was severely damaged before I tackled the job. I'm just asking if the rebuild while attached idea is worth pursuing (and the $4).

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...14561/automotive-car-1967-dodge-coronet?pos=0

 

[65wgn440]

The bore could already be oversize, so you honing it won't help anything. I would pull it apart first and see if you find anything obvious that you could safely and confidently fix (split/torn/mis-installed/wrong size cup).

 

[Fran Blacker]

Vice grips, if it's been apart recently shouldn't to hard, just don't crush the nutski.

 

[dadsbee]

As teenagers we did that weekly at the local garage. Pull the cups and pistons, hone and throw in new. Nothing to loose but a few bucks and an hour. Honing can't remove more than a thousand or two.

 

[Billccm]

For all I know the new cylinders has never been honed. That could be the failure.

Lately in my industry we've seen Chinesium failure rates double. They are getting back at us for protection of Taiwan?

 

[dvw]

As a young mechanic years ago this was a common practice. There were still many drum brake cars as daily drivers. Rebuilds were part of a brake job. No way we took them off to rebuild. I've done many on the car. The leaks are almost always caused by crud an rust in the bore. This causes wear grooves in the cups. Honing them will not make them too big. They may be pitted enough to seep afterward. But they have to be pitted pretty bad. I've never had one leak badly after honing and new cups.
Doug

 

[Don Frelier]

If it were me I'd return/throw away the leaker.
Cut the hard line, install a new nut and reflare the end.
Or maybe just replace the whole hard line.

 

[Black_Sheep]

The only thing worse than doing a repair twice is doing it three times. Personally I’d replace the wheel cylinder with one from a reputable name brand manufacturer and possibly replace the line as well.

I also recommend purchasing the correct size flare nut wrench to avoid rounding the flare nuts in the future. You can get singles at the parts store and they are reasonably inexpensive. It might save you some misery next time you work on the brake system…

I never had much success honing wheel cylinders, the junk I was working on was always too far gone.

 

[Billccm]

The only thing worse than doing a repair twice is doing it three times. Personally I’d replace the wheel cylinder with one from a reputable name brand manufacturer and possibly replace the line as well.

I also recommend purchasing the correct size flare nut wrench to avoid rounding the flare nuts in the future. You can get singles at the parts store and they are reasonably inexpensive. It might save you some misery next time you work on the brake system…

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I never had much success honing wheel cylinders, the junk I was working on was always too far gone.

I agree with you except no matter what the brand wheel cylinder they all come from China and I would bet the same factory.

The tube nut was rounded long before I bought the car.

 

[Billccm]

Well I'm stumped. Not sure what or why I had moisture all over the inside of the tire. I peeled the boots back and they are dry. Clean up again and test drive. No issues. I'll just keep an eye on it. Thank you all for the feedback and advice.

 

[Billccm]

Not to hijack my own thread, but a friend of mine bought this at at yard sale for $1. He gave it to me for this job. Since I don't need it I'll give it back.