Replacing the Master Cylinder

I finally got a remanufactured MC with a lifetime warranty (how long is lifetime on a 91 teg) for ~$46 from Autozone to fix the problem described on Tegger's site:

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A lot of good information there but I just thought I'd add or confirm a few points.

Buy the flare nut wrench set (a cheap set cost me $9). You can always return it if you don't use it, but you'll probably need it. A stuck nut will usually break free suddenly. If you feel it start to slowly turn you're probably stripping it. I had to file down a rounded corner before I could fit the flare nut wrench on the break line nut and then it came off easily. The set will come in handy anyplace where you can't fit a ratchet.

Bench bleeding. I don't have a bench or a vice. I just sat down on the porch and placed the break fluid bottle cap between the brick wall and the MC rod (top of the cap against the wall). I had filled the reservoir about half way so that the plastic tubes were submerged but not so high that I would spill any fluid. The edge of the cap stopped the rod/MC movement at about an inch as specified in the bench bleeding instructions. I released it very slowly each time so that the air bubbles in the bleeder lines going back into the reservoir would have enough time to float up rather than reenter the MC.

I didn't have anyone to help so I couldn't bleed the lines after installing the MC. The instructions said to press and hold the break pedal down before the final tightening of the lines to the MC to expel the air at the connection. Doing this might mean you won't have to bleed the lines at the wheels. I didn't do either and they still work great. I'll bleed them soon though because the old fluid needs to be replaced.

Reply to
Art M
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While I agree that flare nut wrench set is important, I am not using a cheap set again. I bought a $9 set at the parts store and found out it would open its mouth around a nut if it was too tight. As a result, nuts were getting rounded off. I ended up buying a Craftsman set (around $20) and left the old set, all lined up nicely, over a car in the junkyard. Think of it as passing the curse around ;)

Reply to
Mauricio Tavares

That was my experience, too, and the wrench wasn't all *that* cheap. I actually did better with an adjustable wrench - one that naturally met at the tip instead of meeting flat along the jaws.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

"Michael Pardee" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@sedona.net:

You don't need a "set". A single 10mm will do. That's all I've got.

This caused a bit of a problem one time I replaced a holed line on a neighbor's Saturn. It was either 8mm or 12mm (I forget). Since I was replacing the line anyway, I just nipped through it with a set of side cutters so I could get a box-end on it. Problem solved.

And the Web site in question does mention a flare wrench (complete with photo), saying it's "worth its weight in brake fluid". I think we all agree on that now, don't we?

Reply to
TeGGeR®

"Art M" wrote in news:fpQ2f.12609$U%5.6304@lakeread05:

Glad the site helped.

That's a cute tip. I'll add that to the site.

Thanks.

If you've bench-bled the MC, I found it's not really necessary to bleed after unless you've had something go wrong or have a spongy pedal after that is /not/ due to excessive pushrod clearance.

A combination of full lines and leaky MC ports mean air is automatically evacuated from the joins as you assemble them.

Reply to
TeGGeR®

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