OldIHC

Something breaks when the brakes fail and the truck crashes.

correct to both

brad i have got several hours in mine , and yes its two man job i have had my wife , my neighbor , anyone i could get to pump the pedal because i could train anyone to do what i need them to do that. Good luck if i was there i would help , I gave up years ago bench bleeding MC, I usually hook up set of hoses that i have and feed back in before hooking lines and bleed it that way then hook up lines and go to rear right wheel , left rear wheel and front right then front left. Good Luck

Two of many mistakes persons bleeding brakes make are: 1) shake the brake fluid bottle before filling the reservoir. 2) pound on the brake pedal and push it all the way to the floor. I put a piece of 2"X2" piece of wood behind the pedal to stop it from going all of the way to the floor. This works on sinker pedals, other arrangements may have to be made for swingers.
I always use DOT5. Extra care must be taken with DOT5. If a person gets air bubbles in from agitation, it could take 24 hours for the bubbles to leave. Trapped bubbles give a spongy brake feel.

just curious, why not push the brake pedal to the floor? This is how I was taught growing up and this is what I have always done, and have not realized it might not be right. anything to improve brake performance is a plus.

Think i got these brakes working pretty well.

Next up:

1) I have to custom modify the windshield wiper arms, shouldn't be too difficult
2) Button up/Tighten down all of the suspension components.
3) Get a water leak fixed. Stupid thing leaks at the water pump inlet for no reason. I think i'll be getting the RTV out

So, this water leak......really has been a PITA. I have been unsuccessful at stopping it. I have tried multiple different options, drained the radiator 4 times....its getting old, and it has kind of made me take a break from working on the thing (well, that and the fact that i was out of town for 2 weeks on vacation). I'll get it. I think i might try a different hose next, instead of using the coupler that is a step down to the flexible hose. It is possible that this higher flow water pump is just shoving too much water into the downsized tube....and it is just enough pressure to make it leak. At least that is my next guess and a place i will look to fix it.

So i figured i would work on something else for a bit. I started to prep the underside of the bed yesterday afternoon. After this rust converter cures for 48 hours, i'll shoot it with some undercoating, flip it over and do the rust repair in the front panel.

54 IHC by isu_phi, on Flickr



Also, working on my windshield wipers, turns out that those that came in my aftermarket kit are not going to work. They do not flex enough to work with this windshield as it is too vertical. But, a set of '64 chevy truck wipers are going to work out. I just have to do a little more modification to get them right. But, at least i know this solution will work. I'll take a pic of those next time i work on them.

well, looks like i'll need to find a new photo hosting site. apparently, photobucket is awfully proud of their service. Sucks because it kind of ruins my build thread




Update: Well, i just wasted 60 minutes and updated most of the pics in the thread using flickr as the host.

I have not had great luck with photo sharing web sites, so have not used any in a few years.

Pushing the brake pedal to the floor is not critical on a new master cylinder because the piston bore is clear and not corroded.
If you are using a brake fluid other than DOT 5, the brake fluid will absorb moisture from the air. (Hygroscopic) The moisture will cause rust to form in the end of the bore where the piston seal has not been. The rust will destroy the soft seal. So, the wood block is there to keep the pedal from pushing the MC piston into rough rusted area.