[Roadsters] Late front brake rebuild

[Gordon Glasgow]

" As long as the lines don't rub the wheels, which they don't if properly
installed..."

One thing to watch out for is if you are running alloy wheels and the
stick-on weights have been applied to the inside of the rim. Depending on
the wheel, the hard brake lines can come VERY CLOSE to those weights.

On our way back from Shasta the first time, the tab on the backing plate
that holds the brass block (the one that connects the flex line to the hard
line) broke. This allowed the hard line to move just enough that one of the
weights caught it and snapped the line where it went into the piston. Made
for a very exciting moment when the traffic came to a sudden stop on the
freeway!

Gordon Glasgow

-----Original Message-----
From: Datsun-roadsters [mailto:datsun-roadsters-bounces at autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Gary and Cindy Ault
Sent: Monday, September 15, 2014 11:42 AM
To: Ronnie Day; Roadster List
Subject: Re: [Roadsters] Late front brake rebuild

Ronnie,

Something doesn't sound right with your arrangement.  First of all, the
routing of the line around the front calipers seems logical given the need
to distribute fluid to both wheel cylinders.  As long as the lines don't rub
the wheels, which they don't if properly installed, and the plastic
coverings are removed so they don't corrode from the outside, they should
never leak.  Mine never have.

Secondly, there is only one bleeder valve on the two wheel cylinders, and
it's at the top of one of the cylinders.  The arrangement of the brake lines
around the wheel cylinders ensures that air cannot get trapped at the top of
either cylinder.  I've never had a problem bleeding the front brakes with
the car on jack stands (for access), and I don't make any effort to get the
front of the car higher than the back.

I bleed the M/C first, then the wheel cylinder furthest from the M/C.  On
single M/C cars, that means a sequence of RR, LR, RF, LF.  I haven't had to
bleed the brakes on my '67-1/2, but I suspect I'll need a RR-LF and LR-RF
sequence, since I think each half of the M/C controls one front and one rear
cylinder.

Gary