Master cylinder removed from 4/50 ...........
I've just completed an overhaul of my brake master cylinder using the 'Richard Spencer' method detailed on the web site discussion forum, with no real problems, so thanks Richard & everyone else for the technical advice. Richard's full article, which can be viewed via a link from one of his postings, goes into much more detail than in his original posting, but I had just a few comments on his notes as a result of my experiences:
1. I didn't bother jacking the car up, & found that I could reach the through-bolts quite easily.
2. Not sure why it may be necessary to actually remove the nut on the pedal stop bolt - I just slackened it off.
3. Unscrewing the plunger from the push rod was indeed a fiddly exercise as Richard says, but it's still quicker than the workshop manual method!
4. I held the push-rod up with a bit of wire wound around a rod across the top of the chassis rail after I'd extracted the cylinder - that held it nicely in place for re-fitting.
5. I was clearly fortunate that the push-rod & plunger lined up & screwed together first time. Separating the two parts of the push-rod is key to this method, but well worth it as far as I'm concerned.
I didn't use a new or refurbished cylinder, & just got a new set of seals for mine, which worked out OK for me. There was a lot of sludge around the piston & a bit of corrosion in non-critical places, but it all looked fine after a good clean up.
Good luck if you've got to carry out this maintenance task soon. Don't worry - follow the advice on the Forum & it's done in a couple of hours.
Patrick Carroll
