Drum Brake Cylinders- FJ40

[LifeinReverse]

hate starting this way but...fj40 newbie here.
I have auto experience prior to the fj40 purchase but I figured I'd ask here since these forums are great (always wanted a CJ when I was a kid and when i saw the toy a few years ago I had to eventually have one).

I bought a 74 fj40 last year - it had supposedly been sitting for 10-14 years in the guys garage.
Which made sense as the gasoline was varnish at that point and I'm still not sure how he(why) started it when I went to pick it up but it did.

So after a fuel system rebuild/replace. The engine runs pretty well and holds a decent idle. I'll probably go over the whole engine the second half of this year but I wanted to get her on the road to see how she actually ran, shifted, handled, rattled etc.

First thing was the brakes (as anticipated) sucked. 74- Last year for drummies. But I'm a purist and although a pain in the ass to maintain and keep running properly - I'm sticking with them. (although Discs are damn enticing!).

So I bought new shoes and replaced them as the driver's side that I suspected was completely disintegrated. While I replacing the front passenger side I noticed that the cylinder boot was leaking brake fluid. not happy. but I chanced it anyway and figured why not just test them out and know that I have to fix that cylinder.

Leads me to my Question -
Is it worth buying rebuild kits and honing the inside of the cylinders or just buying new cylinders?
Yeah...if money were no problem - buy all new cylinders...but I see them run about $40+/piece.

I see rebuild kits for $12/piece.

 

[45Kevin]

As long as the steel cylinders are in good shape after cleaning, just get the rubber parts.
Look out for pits too big to hone out though.

We want pictures of your new truck.

 

[skidplate]

I've never bought new cylinders. I've always been lucky enough to clean up the cylinders with sand paper and in stall new rubber parts. Pull 'em and give them a good look.

 

[thebigredrocker]

I just rehabbed all my cylinders. Got my stuff from Cruiser Outfitters. Super good service. Same day shipping.

Lots of heat was needed to get some of my cylinders aparts. Heat will be your friend in this project. Pay close attention to the ramp orientation on the adjuster piston. Make sure you have a good line wrench and apply some heat to the fittings if they wont budge. Don't strip the brake line nuts

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I just rehabbed all my cylinders. Got my stuff from Cruiser Outfitters. Super good service. Same day shipping.

Lots of heat was needed to get some of my cylinders aparts. Heat will be your friend in this project. Pay close attention to the ramp orientation on the adjuster piston. Make sure you have a good line wrench and apply some heat to the fittings if they wont budge. Don't strip the brake line nuts

Glad to hear you were able to get them apart and thanks again for your order!

 

[edwjmcgrath]

Leads me to my Question -
Is it worth buying rebuild kits and honing the inside of the cylinders or just buying new cylinders?
Yeah...if money were no problem - buy all new cylinders...but I see them run about $40+/piece.

I see rebuild kits for $12/piece.

Applying heat to get them apart, cleaning, honing, possibly painting, replacing rusted bleeder valves, and if your luck is like mine, something will go wrong with at least one of them-find deep scoring or rust, screw will snap off when removing it that will cost another day or two....
My new cylinders went in like a charm and work perfectly.

 

[Pin_Head]

Rebuilding them usually works, but make sure that the bore is not worn and out of round. Virtually all used cylinders will have pitting in the center, but it won't be on the sealing surface because the cylinders fully retract.

 

[ginmtb]

Where are people getting new cylinders out of curioisity? Some better than others? I think OEM is NLA correct?

 

[Jdc1]

Where are people getting new cylinders out of curioisity? Some better than others? I think OEM is NLA correct?

I was able to get OEM from Beno as of last year.

 

[Racer65]

Cruiser Outfitters has Japanese aftermarket I believe.

 

[LifeinReverse]

rock auto...which i've never used before has rebuild kits for $3.64/kit. So...we'll see. They're Centric so...hopefully they are generic. I guess, to be safe, I'll buy the honing tool. I think Amazon had some high ranked ones I saw recently.

Can anyone confirm centric rebuild kits will fit the fj's cylinders (I'm assuming mine are original). Thanks to everyone for the input.

 

[thebigredrocker]

I know Cruiser Outfitter Japanese kits fit perfectly. The inner rubber fits nice and tight. Not a drip of fluid has leaked from my cylinders. Not sure where centric's are made. Maybe china. Can you ask someone at Rock Auto? If they are chinese made I'd fork out the extra buck for Japanese made.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Yup, all of our (Cruiser Outfitters) cylinders are made in Japan either by JBS, AISIN or OE Toyota. We stock hundreds of them

We also stock a full line-up of Japanese wheel cylinder rebuild kits for nearly every application:

COMPLETE WHEEL CYLINDERS:
Cruiser Outfitters

WHEEL CYLINDER REBUILD KITS: (not all applications shown, call if you need something you don't see)
Cruiser Outfitters

 

[Cleg]

Rockauto options are about $20 per cylinder but I wouldn't expect Japanese quality.

1974 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 3.9L L6 Wheel Cylinder | RockAuto

 

[65swb45]

Take a close look at the outside of the cylinders, on the sides where the springs go. If you can see the round TEQ logo they're probably 43 year old OE.

Do the math.

And consider supporting one of the many landcruiser vendors who support this site.

Best

Mark

 

[Coolerman]

I did a full write up on how to do the brake cylinder tear down, inspection, clearance check and rebuild. Be aware the cylinders have specific places they are mounted. They are marked with a casting LR = left rear for example. It is EASY to get them mounted wrong! The FSM also has a good description of how they go. See here

 

[LifeinReverse]

Take a close look at the outside of the cylinders, on the sides where the springs go. If you can see the round TEQ logo they're probably 43 year old OE.

Do the math.

And consider supporting one of the many landcruiser vendors who support this site.

Best

Mark
Good point. I'll definitely buy some larger items from CC

I did a full write up on how to do the brake cylinder tear down, inspection, clearance check and rebuild. Be aware the cylinders have specific places they are mounted. They are marked with a casting LR = left rear for example. It is EASY to get them mounted wrong! The FSM also has a good description of how they go. See here

I actually found this on google and had it bookmarked. great write up.

 

[LifeinReverse]

just an FYI the centric rebuild kits do say "made in Japan". I haven't pulled the cylinders off yet as it rained pretty good over the weekend. But I did take her out in the rain to test out the old wipers err...go get gas...err...get out of the house. Next house I buy is going to have a huge garage...and a lift!

 

[MoCoNative]

You may find the internal parts for yours, new cylinders are not a bad idea, Cruiser Outfitters cylinders look like a good option to me. I had a hell of a time finding new cylinder kits for my 4/1973 front brake cylinders. Toyota used 3-4 different cylinders on the front as near as I could tell from 70 to late 74 when the discs were introduced. My 4/73 cylinders are a 1.25 inch bore, but they are not like the ones pictured above, they do not use the second dust boot. I ended up with 3 new cups that would work, and reused an old one. I wanted to keep my cylinders as they were new Toyota in 1996 and were still in good shape, just were dirty from no flushing through the years. You may have better luck finding kits, but my search of NAPA and Oreilly revealed there were none left in the country this April after I got the couple I did. I was in a time crunch, should have just ordered them through RockAuto. Rears are readily available though as the same cylinders were used clear until 78 or so.