brake master cylinder - rebuild or replace? (1 Viewer)

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mines it leaking pretty bad, its almost entirely empty after about 10 days. it's not the aisin one, i can't quite make out the name of it. anyways, i was looking at them on MAF's site and they're $220 and not even AISINs!?! pre 1975s are half that price. what's the big difference? i've never had to replace a brake cylinder before so this is going to be a learning experience for me and i'd like to make an educated decision. thanks.
 
I personally would get either a reman from a big parts supplier, (70$ US) or order the later aluminum 4-runner one from Marlin (110$ US) or a used one from a junkyard. If your trying to stay original, you could still do far better than 220$!! Factory Toyota is cheaper than that. As far as swapping goes, your looking at around 2 hours max. Remove the two sensor wires, the 2 hard lines, 4 bolts, and remove it. Bench bleed the new one, re-install, and bleed with a friend. Just make sure not to spill any brake fluid from the master as it eats paint almost as bad as battery acid. When your finished, make sure to spray out the area below master cylinder with water, and the area that you will inevitably splash fluid on at the four corners.
 
When mine went out i tried rebuilding. For some reason I ended up with brakes that would lock up after about 15 minutes of driving. After going through the entire brake system I still had the same problem. Replaced the master with an OEM from the dealer . No problems since. You might check with C Dan on this board to see what he can do price wise.Mine was over $300 from the dealer I went to.
 
Toyota hydraulic components are what I use, period.


I would install a new master cylinder, and be done with it.



Good luck!


-Steve
 
I bought a new Master Cylinder for my 78 FJ40 at Oreilly for like 30 bucks or something. It is an Aisan cast iron one too. Completely identical to the one I took out.

The core was like 20 bucks. I really can't remember exactly how much everything was, but it was cheap. You'd have to be smokin something to buy one on a cruiser site.

I got some slotted rotors from Man-A-Fre and some brand new loaded calipers from Autozone. All for a few hundred bucks and I have a completely new brake setup from the master to the wheels with much bling.

DSC00947.JPG
 
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I am a personal fan of new (on my Cruiser), but I sell a ton of the rebuild kits for slaves, masters and wheel cylinders. I know I carry all of them in my spare parts bag, but most of the ones I ship are for use, rarely do they call back for a complete master, etc (unless they have bad bore wear, I usually try and get them to check beforehand)

:D
 
I'm with e-man on this one. I've had great luck with the rebuilt master cylinders from Advance Autoparts at $35 ea. Used them on several different Cruisers with no issues.

Good Luck!
Nick Jennings
 
Hi Guys, was reading your posts , really stagered at how little you pay for the master cylinders. In the north of Oz people who off road a fair bit often get the master cylinder reamed and re sleeved with a stainless sleeve, more or less a lifetime job. Same goes for wheel cylinders.Not sure what it would cost there but if certain types were not readily available it may help.I have stainless steel pistons fitted in my front calipers. cheers
 
I got one at canadian tire reman for 75$ after core
its the same as original
all you gots to do is put the tanks on it and those little electiric things on the bottom and your set
 
I just got a new Toyota one from Cruiserdan for my FJ40. I was not as expensive as I thought. No reason to use anything else. I would be very careful with a home rebuild-meaning OK for trail use, but not for routine street use. Most people that rebuild at home, replace a few months later.
 
I just got a new Toyota one from Cruiserdan for my FJ40. I was not as expensive as I thought. No reason to use anything else. I would be very careful with a home rebuild-meaning OK for trail use, but not for routine street use. Most people that rebuild at home, replace a few months later.

Is there any particular reason home rebuilds usually fail? I have an OEM Toyota rebuild kit that I am planning to install this afternoon. Do you have any suggestions on how to do the job right?

Thanks.
 
Is there any particular reason home rebuilds usually fail? I have an OEM Toyota rebuild kit that I am planning to install this afternoon. Do you have any suggestions on how to do the job right?

Thanks.

If time is money to you, then by all means get a new one from Toyota.

However, as long as you use good parts, take your time to assemble it properly, and bleed the entire system correctly there is no reason not to rebuild masters or wheel cylinders. As mentioned as long as the bores are within specs (FSM has all the specs) and you hone and polish them before assembly, you are good to go.

Been doing rebuilds for years and it's only when the bores are pitted too badly to hone them out (yet you continue on) that you will have short lived rebuilds. ;)
 
Something strange happened before I had a chance to do the rebuild. I started up my FJ, added brake fluid to reservoir #2, and pumped the brakes. Reservoir#2 hasn't been able to hold any fluid, so that's why I decided to do a rebuild in the first place. (That's not the strange part.) While my friend pumped the brakes, I crawled underneath and watched for drips, but nothing came out anywhere. The reservoir drained completely, however. (That's the strange part.)

I added more fluid to the reservoir while my friend pumped the brakes, and the reservoir drained again . . . but then it filled itself back up. We undid the vacuum boost just to make sure the master wasn't leaking fluid into it, and it looked fine. The brake reservoir is still full today, two days after I filled it.

We tried to bleed the rears, but we could not loosen the bleeder screws. PB Blaster hasn't helped so far. I'll keep my eyes on fluid levels after I go for a test spin.
 
drained into the brake booster.
 
x2 the booster i had on my truck when it ran with a leaking MC sloshes around inside... the brake fluid leaked into the booster :/
 

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