OldIHC

^^^^agreed^^^^^putting a new one in is faster & easier than rebuilding it. only time I rebuild any brake cylinder is if they are not available, & this one is.

We honed it up a bit and it pumps strongly when it gets some fluid in the pump portion. Very strong compression. We wondered why it is so hard to get fluid into the pump section, with a large hole and a small hole in the reservoir above. Does the adjustment of the shaft length against the hinge influence this? At a certain point the spool and seals seem to close both these holes. Is the tiny weep hole there to take any air up into the reservoir?

I presume the MC has been installed again?
If so then you MUST properly bleed the system using the correct procedure before proceeding further!
Also,with no vacuum in the Hydro-vac the pedal will be "rock hard" no matter what.

I posted links with more than enough info than you should need!

I agree. when redoing the brakes on my 63 f100, I discovered that new cylinders and rebuild kits were basically the same price. the choice was easy.

OK Scotto I will try and use the links. I have the MC reinstalled, but I don't have the strength to hook the pedal spring back on. I'm thinking about wedging a washer in the spring near the end to get a better grip, but with what? Is there a mechanics trick I need to learn here? Certainly nothing is 'rock hard' at this point. Pumping the pedal is easy and does nothing to the level of fluid in the reservoir.

Thanks Scotto. Is 'Booster' a generic term and is my Hydro-vac an example? I guess my next step after I get the pedal spring back on is to start the engine and see if that does anything to the brake pedal. Then I can follow the procedures in the Bepco link you so kindly provided.

Vice grips work pretty good for grabbing the hook and pulling/pushing the spring, depending on how much room is available.

**** I had a whole bunch of questions and put in a pic, but the whole entry disappeared!

Guess I need a bigger vice grip. Thinking about using an old pair of scissors to wedge down in between spring coils near end so I can get a double handed grip.

A couple questions first:
Are my brakes 'power assist' or do those have a separate pump"
Is 'Hydro boost' a generic term that Hydro-Vac falls under?
What are 'foundation brakes'?

Anyway, reading Bepco link p7.

There is absolutely no movement of fluid in the reservoir when I pump the pedal. I know the MC pumps and sucks hard because it did when we got a bit of oil in it and greased the seals during reassembly. Pic shows how nice and clean it is and seals are bright and look new. [img][/img]What I thought was rust was just a drop of rust colored fluid. What is the purpose of the plugged hole opposite the outlet hole?

So I guess my next step is to look for obstructions in the 'return line'.……is that the pipe between the MC and the Hvac?

Once all hooked up, did you bleed your hydrovac first? If not, the brakes WILL NOT work correctly. Once Hydrovac is bled, then proceed to bleed the wheel cylinders as you would normally, furthermost from the master cylinder then next closest so on to the one closest to the master cylinder.
As for your other questions, I will leave them to the folks who know better.