Reliable brake work in Calgary

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Bl1zzard

Bl1zzard

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Location
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
I'm looking for someone I can trust with my 1974 Dart. The rear passenger brake is leaking and for the life of me, I can't get the drum off to fix it. I've spent many hours spraying it with releaseall and whacking it with a hammer. It's not budging. I don't want to buy another tool to pull it off so I was going to take it to a brake shop, but I don't trust just anyone. Has anyone got a trusted shop here in Calgary they would share with me?
 
If it's seized to the hub, I doubt you'll get enough heat from a propane torch. You'll probably need to hit it with oxy/acetylene.
 
They're usually seized between the hub and the center of the drum and it almost always takes a few heavy solid hits as close to the center as you can without hitting the studs to get it to free up. Put some old nuts on the studs and hit the drum hard!! Last resort heat it up fast and hot with an oxyacetylene torch near the center of the hub as CFD244 suggested. If you haven't got this done yet PM me and I can bring my torch over to your place...
 
winky said:
They're usually seized between the hub and the center of the drum and it almost always takes a few heavy solid hits as close to the center as you can without hitting the studs to get it to free up. Put some old nuts on the studs and hit the drum hard!! Last resort heat it up fast and hot with an oxyacetylene torch near the center of the hub as CFD244 suggested. If you haven't got this done yet PM me and I can bring my torch over to your place...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the offer of your torch, I've already made an appointment with that place over in Shawnee that Ian suggested. When it comes to brakes, I'd rather have a trusted professional handle it anyway.
 
Torch is the last resort that I've never actually resorted to, I've done several over the years with just a few well placed thumps from a substantial hammer, don't be shy.

How did it go at Shawnee?
 
So Geoff at Shawnee pointed me to a guy who used to work for him with his own shop and a lathe to turn the drums. He did a good job, but he's no brake man. The pedal is still soft, so we determined that the master cylinder is bad. Pedal drops but fluid level doesn't. So we pulled the master cylinder today. I ordered a new one for manual drums all the way around and it is not going to fit. Now I need help again. No site I have found shows a master cylinder for a 1974 Dodge Dart with a pushrod coming out of it. Do I have the wrong master cylinder in this car? I would not be surprised, it had the wrong transmission in it when we bought it.

If it's the wrong one, what do I need to order or find to connect the pedal to the correct cylinder?

Thanks in advance!

PXL_20210802_190219227.MP.jpg
 
Chuck you old MC up in a vise & give the pushrod a good yank, problem solved.
 
Demonracer said:
Chuck you old MC up in a vise & give the pushrod a good yank, problem solved.
Click to expand...
So, I guess I yanked too hard and pulled the whole assembly out. If I reinstall the pushrod back to the brake pedal I should be able to mount the new master cylinder right. It'll pop right back in? Sorry for the questions, my very first master cylinder replacement.

PXL_20210802_202657302.jpg
 
You're good to go, just get an o-ring for the piston end of the plunger.
 
Pushrod must be reinstalled in the master cylinder before mounting on the car. The new master should come with a new rubber o-ring.
 
Sometimes it takes a bit of oomph similar to getting it out of the old master but the push rod should pop into place. The factory recommends mounting the master in a vise and using a wooden dowel or similar non-sharp item to bench bleed but I find the push rod works for me to cycle the piston a few times and get the air out of there before installing it in the car.
 
Every drum and rotor i have removed in the last 10 years has come off with water and an air hammer. Except one. I had to cut it, as it sat 1/2 submerged in water for 20 years.
 
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