[Healeys] Aluminum brake & clutch cylinders

[WILLIAM B LAWRENCE]

I don't know where the "assertion" comes from either, but I believe it. No one
claims that the entire cylinder is anodized, only that the Bores are hard
anodized to make them smoother and less prone to corrosion. I'm running wheel
and master cylinders from my 1959 BN4 on my  BN1.

I figured out early that the alloy cylinders are not prone to wear or
corrosion unless they are exposed to an electrolytic environment. Even through
many years and many miles the original cylinders showed no wear and the only
problem I found with them was a build-up of solids from expired brake fluid. I
cleaned them up with hot water and dish soap. For the tougher spots I used
some soft scrub. I took care not to disturb the original surface and it was
undamaged even as old as they were. After eleven years of use I have never had
a leak or a failure and my brake fluid is clean.

I think that if a cylinder is damaged to the point that it needs to be honed,
a rare occurrence, it should be replaced. If you can't find a replacement you
should have it sleeved. I think there are services that can do it in brass or
stainless steel. Honing the cylinder exposes the raw aluminum which corrodes
and contaminates the brake fluid. I doubt if polishing the bore will have much
effect.

My 2 cents...

> To: coudesluijs at chello.nl; healeys at autox.team.net
> From: warthodson at aol.com
> Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2014 09:47:59 -0500
> Subject: Re: [Healeys] Aluminum brake & clutch cylinders
>
> Kees,
> I agree with your comments about polishing. I am interested in knowing the
> origin of the assertion that the original aluminum cylinders were anodized.
Do
> you have any documentation to confirm that?
> Gary Hodson
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Oudesluys <coudesluijs at chello.nl>
> To: healeys <healeys at autox.team.net>
> Sent: Wed, Mar 5, 2014 2:01 am
> Subject: Re: [Healeys] Aluminum brake & clutch cylinders
>
>
> Original cylinders were honed and polished before being anodised.
> Honing leaves the aluminium surface relative rough. You have to polish
> the surface using 400 grade or less. To make it perfect you can use
> metal polish after that. The black is probably caused by rubber
> particles that rub of the rough surface.
> Kees Oudesluijs
> NL
>
>
> john spaur schreef op 5-3-2014 4:23:
> > I don't know if original cylinders were honed or not. However, after
> > honing several original cylinders, years ago, I noticed the brake
> > fluid would turn black very quickly.  The brake fluid was relatively
> > clear prior to honing and I am certain it was not related to a
> > contamination issue.
> >
> > John Spaur
> > '62 BT7
> >
> > At 05:35 PM 3/4/2014 -0500, warthodson at aol.com wrote:
> >
> >> What is the origin of the claim that the original cylinders were
> >> anodized?
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> Kees Oudesluijs
> Dorpsstraat 183
> 2995XG Heerjansdam
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> E: coudesluijs at chello.nl
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