Nomad final assembly

[chevynut]

After 24 hours there was no fluid under the clutch slave cylinder but I tightened the banjo bolt on the end about 1/4 additional turn so I'll see how that works out. This is the slave I'm using from a Toyota. I made the pushrod.....

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I removed the pump and pulled the fitting I made out. It is an AN6 fitting that I modified. I was going to make another one slightly larger in diameter but I figured I wanted to completely eliminate the possibility of leaking. So I got an AN-6 fitting with a 3/8" NPT on one end and machined it down for a press fit in the pump. Then I installed it with epoxy.

Here's the original fitting ABS Power brake had in the grommet.

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Here's the fitting I made to fit the grommet...it leaked slightly around it.

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Here's the fitting I machined. Made it a press-fit an epoxied it in. I can't imagine why I'd ever have to remove it and it shouldn't leak.

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Then I removed the master cylinder and disassembled the remote reservoir manifold from it. The grommets all look good so I don't know why it was leaking. It just had a little wet spot on the one near the firewall, and the other two were dry. I don't think it was dripping but I'm not sure. I want to try to find some kind of brake fluid resistant sealer to use on them to make sure they don't leak again. I have no idea what these came off of, they were on the master cylinder from ABS Power Brake.

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[chevynut]

I hope it didn't do any damage to your paint!!ps,

I love those 12 pt nuts and bolts!! I used them when I was assembling a satellite (EUVE) for NASA!!

The brake fluid basically hit the floor under the clutch slave and it ran down the rear inner fenderwell flap. No paint damage that I can see. We used a ton of those 12 point bolts on aircraft when I worked for Boeing. I have a lot of money tied up in ARP hardware on this car.

[chevynut]

After doing a bunch of research on brake fluid resistant sealers the only thing anyone said really works is this stuff called SealAll. There's a lot of threads about leaking seals on master cylinder reservoirs on the internet. Some say silicone works and other say it doesn't. I found several threads where they said SealAll works. So I ran to Autozone last night and picked some up. I glued the grommets into the master cylinder last night and it's ready to install the manifold today.

[chevynut]

Another strike out. After installing the grommets with the SealAll, I lubed the manifold connector tubes and tried to install the manifold. It would NOT go on. I pushed and pulled and tried everything but the connector tubes would not go in. I'm not sure what happened, but I found that the SealAll didn't really adhere to the rubber at all. For some reason it seems like it made the grommets too rigid and they wouldn't give, or it filled some areas where the rubber was supposed to expand into. So I removed the grommets and cleaned off the SealAll from all the surfaces. Luckily the grommets were fairly easy to remove and cleaned up fine.

I noticed there was a "snap" or "pop" as I was pushing and pulling on the manifold and I thought I cracked something. Then I noticed the connector tube furthest back wasn't sitting tight against the manifold. I pushed on it and it went in with a snap, but I could pull it out slightly again. So it was loose, or at least would move in and out. THIS is where I now think the leak is, not at the rubber grommet. I pried it up a tad to put some epoxy under it in hopes that it will seal it. I'm not sure how they sealed these things originally at the factory. I'd love to weld or braze them if I wasn't afraid I'd screw them up.

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So now my plan is to push epoxy into the gap and push the connector tube tight to the manifold and let it cure, then try assembling it again. I have some super-duper aircraft grade epoxy that reminds me of JB Weld, called Metalset A4, that I've used in several places on the car (including the brake pump fitting above) and it seems like great stuff.

https://www.smooth-on.com/products/metalset-a4/

[Belair-o]

Chevynut,
Thanks for documenting the potential fixes and results (and the links)!
Thanks, Doug

[chevynut]

Chevynut,Thanks for documenting the potential fixes and results (and the links)!Thanks, Doug

I'm not sure how applicable it is to others with different applications, but I thought the SealAll product might be useful for someone. If you look at the closeup of the tube, it looks like you can kinda see some sealer or something already under it. Perhaps I broke this seal the first time I disassembled it to weld the aluminum AN bungs onto it, which I did myself....maybe it was the heat from welding it. I don't even remember what they had on there before but I didn't want hoses and hose clamps on it because they always leak .

Hopefully I have this all back together before I head to SEMA on Saturday. This is my last chance to go and my son decided to go with me this time.

I actually post some of this to document this stuff for myself.

[chevynut]

I got the brake system put back together today. I epoxied the loose connector tube, pressed it back in, and let it cure for a day. It was still tough to get them pushed into the grommets, but I got them in. Got everything tightened up and partially filled the reservoir with DOT4 brake fluid to see if there's any leaks. Also, the clutch slave still hasn't leaked a drop in days that I can see.

When I get back from Vegas I plan to check all the wiring, power the car up again, start the engine, and charge the A/C. Then I will connect the dash heat/A/c controls and make sure everything works.

Going to check out some headlights at SEMA from Dapper Lighting. They have some pretty cool high performance LED and HID projectors with halos....

[chevynut]

I got back from SEMA on Saturday and checked the brake fittings and clutch slave, and NO LEAKS! So I bled the brakes again and topped off the fluid. I still need to run the pressure pump when I have time to get the power back on and make sure the clutch master cylinder is still full. I've been pre-occupied taking care of things and setting up a memorial service for my brother who died 3 weeks ago.

I have a list of little things I still need to do on the car so I will get started on them. They're the little things that you just keep putting off. I'm going to buy a vacuum pump and A/C gauge set to get the system charged too. It's still holding vacuum from when my son pumped it down in early September.

[chevynut]

Yesterday I dove in and ran a wire I had dangling at the bottom of my driver's door. It's a wire to my reverse lockout solenoid in the console that I ran to the rear seat, then up the rocker panel to the a-pillar. From there I had to put the wire in the existing harness up to the dash and back down to the brake light switch. I've been putting it off and finally got it done and the harness is back together. One more thing checked off the list. There are so many other things taking up my time lately that I have a hard time focusing on the car and making progress. I've been ordering material for the Montana house, writing checks for past work, and taking care of my brother's things. The interior work still isn't getting done and I can't get Larry to call me this week as promised. With any luck, I plan to turn the power back on to the car today.

[WagonCrazy]

There are so many other things taking up my time lately that I have a hard time focusing on the car and making progress.

I thought that was only happening to me.