Master cylinder push rod and brake lines

[woolznaz]

I'm replacing my master cylinder which was leaking. Brake fluid was leaking out the back between the master cylinder and the power booster. I've never done this before, so I have a couple of questions.

1) Is it normal that the push rod going from the booster to the master cylinder can just be pulled out after the MC is removed? That surprised me. Once I took the MC off, that rod could just be pulled right out of the booster. I assumed it would be attached to something. Is this normal?

2) Should I replace the hard brake lines even though they are not leaking. This seems like it would be very difficult -- to twist and weave new lines into place -- unless you had the motor out or a lot of other systems/hoses/brackets/etc. off the car. Have any of you replaced brake lines without significantly dismantling more of the car? Is it physically possible to get new hard lines in place without taking a lot more apart?

Ideally, I would like to just flush out the lines as well as I can, but I have a feeling the right thing to do is replace them.

The master cylinder had a pretty good build up of "sludge" on the back side where it was leaking (see picture) and also in the bottom of both bowls.



However, from reading on here it sounds like many of you would suggest my brake lines are probably "rotting" from the inside out. None of them are leaking, but do you think they are rusty and is that where all of the "sludge" build up in the MC came from?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Don C]

Yes, the push rod just sits in there, not connected to anything. The sludge mostly comes from the master cylinder and the calipers/wheel cylinders. The lines can rot out from either direction. Because normal brake fluid absorbs moisture cars that sit a lot are more prone to rot from the inside, the fluid seldom gets hot enough to get rid of any of the trapped moisture. It also depends a lot on where you live, not much of a problem in AZ and NV.

 

[woolznaz]

Thanks, Don. That is great to hear about the push rod. It did not feel like it was broken, but it did surprise me when it pulled right out. Great to know... thanks again.

As for the brake lines.....to replace or not to replace? The car did spend most of its life in Indiana. I brought it out to AZ about 10 years ago. It has always run and has never sat for years at a time. It was not daily driver (since the late 80's), but we have always kept it running so it has never sat for years at a time.

I am very tempted to keep my original brake lines and just flush them out. I'm still open to more opinions on the subject, though. It seems like fishing/weaving/twisting/squeezing new lines in with the engine and every other working component on the car would be pretty difficult.

Has anyone here had experience replacing the hard brake lines without further dismantling the car? Is it physically possible to squeeze them in where they need to be?

 

[turtle5353]

You may want to replace the booster while your at it. I know that in my experience i have had a lot of boosters fail shortly after replacing a leaking master cylinder. The brake fluid leaks back into the booster and eats the rubber diaphram inside causing it to not to hold a vaccum and fail. As far as the lines go im not sure if someone repops prebent ones from out of the master cylinder. But if they do it wouldnt be too bad of a job. [/b]

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

I'd flush the hard lines and reuse if you can ultimately get clean lines. The concern I would have is that the gunk on your master cylinder is really nasty looking and it that is in the lines as well, getting them clean is going to take more than a couple blasts with an air compressor.

The rubber lines up front should be changed if they are still original and once you flush the lines a rebuild of the calipers and replacement of wheel cylinders will give you a pretty clean fresh system to start over with.

Good luck

 

[mus72]

Replace all anything less would be silly .New brake pipes are available so no probs there just do a search; in UK we use copper alloy easy to bend and doesn't rot.Oh and don't forget to replace the wheel cylinders or rebuild them while you're at it and bench bleed the master cylinder before installing.

Good luck

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rustproof-brake-line-kit-Mustang-1966-1967-1968-1969-1970-1971-1972-/400581967815

 

[eddyw]

Info:

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THANK YOU

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LOCAL: 513-731-3304

FAX: 513-731-4775

 

[woolznaz]

Thanks for all the replies so far, guys. It's all helpful for this brake rookie. New calipers and rotors are on the fronts and everything was cleaned up nicely. All that is left to do up there is run new lines if I decide to.

Rear drums came right off by hand -- didn't even need to tap them with a hammer so that was a beautiful thing. New cylinders picked up yesterday which seemed smarter that rebuilding the old ones. New hardware kit also. Pads should be in in a day or two. Both drums were turned (had little grooves but nothing major). I'll clean them up and paint them so they look better.

I'm leaning toward replacing the hard lines and rubber lines. Need to order a master cylinder and the brake lines if I commit to replacing them.

Other then replacing brake shoes on a Honda about 15 years ago, this is my first time doing this, but so far it's going well when I can find time to work on it.

Rear brake hardware kit from O'Reilly's seems to have all the components, but the springs are different colors than what came off the car. I'm hoping this is just something that varies from kit to kit vs the colors indicating different tensions. That would mean what I have is wrong -- or at least different than what came off. I'll carefully compare them to what came off the car before proceeding.

I'm open for tips on the best place to order new master cylinder, new hard brake lines, new rubber lines. It looks like all are available, but some sources are probably better than others. Feel free to make suggestions for ordering those. Thanks!

 

[Totalled]

You can get the lines in with the drive train in.. The line to the rear brakes is the hardest to worm in, but it's doable.