rebuild brake cylinders WITHOUT EXPENSIVE tools

You've always seen the rebuild kits for these brake cylinders, and I've always wondered how difficult would it be to just rebuild it and save the money. Or maybe you're rebuilding an old classic car and it's just difficult to find a cylinder to put on the car. It's a lot easier to find the brake cylinder rebuild kits. For whatever reason you're interested in rebuilding the brake cylinder this video shows how to do it without expensive tools. Hope you enjoy the video.

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[MrVouligny]

This is some Bob Ross level narration! Great vid!

[KekeeBlack]

Was debating on doing this for my truck, think I will try it today. The calm and concise narration juxtaposed with the anxiety-inducing shaky hands gave me a good laugh. 😂 Thanks for sharing!

[stephennickles]

Yes, especially liked the caulk tube nozzle trick. I've done these before but maybe 20 yrs ago, thanks for the refresher

[boLss]

Good video. You installed the piston seals on backwards though which will also cause them to leak.

[djg]

Use a hairdryer to pre-warm the rubber immediately before installing, to make it flex easily onto the piston.

[nbell]

Always satisfying to repair something if possible rather than just replace. One thing I learned is in case of emergency repair if there is no new rubber rings available you could just put several lines of thread around this grooves and put old rubber rings back. That will push old rubber ring out and will work good enough. That's bush repair until available to do proper replacement with new rebuild kit as on video.

[horsehide]

I like that he is not gloved up like an operating room doctor. Down and dirty and so practical.

[mastercaptainevan]

Nice. When taking off the old seals, I used a small screwdriver to push the seal out (from the back of the piston, this was from a Toyota) and then used wire cutters to snip the seal as to avoid scraping the outer diameter of the piston. For install, I tried using a spark plug wrench, a 1/2 inch extension, sockets, all types of stuff. What I found out is that you can stretch the rubber out a bit running it up a 1/2 inch with some brake lube (or fluid), use a little bit of the same lubricant on the inner diameter of the seal, and then just pull it on by hand. It wasn't very easy, but it works and does not cause any type of harsh contact to the piston like a tool might. I think the other commenter is right about getting some heat on the seal, I left mine in the sun while working on them and probably happened inadvertently heated them with my hands and friction. I think your method is overall easier and faster though, and the only improvement I would make would be to size the cone just large enough to slide over the piston and then just pull straight down without the use of a pencil. Also, for any readers, be sure you know which way the seal goes on before installing. Use the old pistons as an example, or if you're unsure, get an OEM diagram (from which I found on an OEM parts site). Hope this helps someone.

[dgriffin]

Thank you. Very innovative. In the late '60s I tried to rebuild the rear wheel brake cylinders on my 1965 MGB roadster; afterwards they leaked like the proverbial sieve. Let's see, now I have to remember to save an empty caulk tube....

[missiletm]

Mr Rogers rebuilds brake cylinders! 😊 Loved this

[donaldjustin]

Good tips, one thing I would add is that you can and should use some brake fluid to lube the new rubber pieces when you are installing them. It makes it much easier

[eddielinssen]

I have only just come across this video and I would advise anybody to take great care in following Error Code Guy’s advice on several points
To start with the first thing they teach you at “brake school” is to have absolute cleanliness when dealing with brake parts, so ECG’s oily hands are a definite no-no
Secondly when removing old seals with a screwdriver do not point the screwdriver towards your hand as ECG does at 3:25. The screwdriver could slip out of control and cut your hand severely as you are using quite some force to get under the old seal.
As already mentioned old engine oil is indeed carcinogenic so use vinyl or latex gloves. It is also much easier to get your hands clean afterwards.
Honing the inside of the cylinder can be done with sandpaper but use fine grade only as any grooves left inside will quickly ruin your new seals. Use clean brake fluid as a lube all the time and definitely no oil of any sort, since any contact with oil will swell the seals and render them useless – again absolute cleanliness is necessary and oily hands are definitely not allowed here
Fitting the rubber seal the wrong way round is an absolute beginners fault at 4:39 and on, and I would therefore consider this video unfit to help a novice. Chances are you will only find out about this when everything is put together and you are wondering where all the brake fluid came from . . .
My advice when using educational videos is to watch as many as you can on any one subject before trying the job yourself. That way you will quickly learn to separate the cowboys from the professionals.

[ipwee]

The rear cylinders for my old z car are 56 bucks a piece. Thanks for the tips.

[bobshaw]

my 78 Olds Delta 88 has a cup style rubber seal that is so tight (two different seal kits) you can depress the spring completely and it doesn't move/ what to do?

[mikesc]

appreciate the video, but I have a couple of questions for you if you have a moment. On the rehoning what grit or grits did you use and I am assuming your just looking for the lightest sanding you can do to have a smooth bore. Second question, when I squeeze my brakes I only see the piston side move maybe 1/8 inch the adjuster side does not move. So it looks to me like I am only using 1/2 of each side of my pads. My 3rd question here is I have oil in my dust cover seal, this means mine are leaking and need redone?

[Biokemist-ok]

Fantastic magic trick!!! I love it. Thank you.

[sapumalmaduhara]

Not just thumbs up i would kiss you xD today i have noticed that one of my rear wheel cylinder is leaking oil so I checked up and the price was about 25usd thanks to your video i have now know that it can be fixed.thank you so much

[bruceg]

good ideas, but I would lube that tapered tube with brake fluid - wouldn't that help?

[RussellBooth]

Unless it is a classic car & the wheel cylinders are obsolete, the labour costs exceed the cost of buying & installing new wheel cylinders.

I've got nothing against the do it yourselfer as I'm one of them myself although I am a trades qualified electrical fitter/mechanic who used to repair power tools (i.e. jack hammers, etc) which needed rekitting.

I have recently rekitted the brake master cylinder on my dads car because him & my brother the reservoir grommets were leaking.

All it was, was the lid seal which leaked fluid but I rekitted it because I knew there was something wrong with the master cylinder.

There were no internal leaks rather a stuck proportional valve which wasn't allowing enough fluid to reach the front brakes, the brake pedal also felt spongy.

The brakes really stop by the car well now.

I've done this before on different cars, I need to overhaul the front right brake caliper piston because the pads grab & the last set wore unevenly on that caliper which usually indicates that it has a stuck piston.

So, for $19.99 AUD, I can have a rebuilt caliper, I rebuilt them 8 years ago but I replaced the whole left hand front caliper with a new one as the guide pin bores wore out.

I chased up another bracket for the right hand side but the piston is stuck again, maybe some dust got pushed into the piston & cylinder !!!!

[bewimotos]

Does the outer ring tend to have a small hole?