Snail's pace Blitz rebuild

[Ryan]

At home and my F15 handbook says use brake fluid no.3. Is that the same as a modern dot 3 brake fluid? Also, how much would be needed to effectively bleed the system and fill it?

[Ganmain Tony]

Originally Posted by Ryan

At home and my F15 handbook says use brake fluid no.3. Is that the same as a modern dot 3 brake fluid? Also, how much would be needed to effectively bleed the system and fill it?

Not sure about the manuals equivalent Ryan but the stuff I put in mine works fine. I'm pretty sure Max and the other Yass guys have used just standard "Off the shelf" brake fluid for years and never had a problem. Just ask Repco for anything from Dot 3, 4 or 5.

It is important to keep using the same Dot fluid you originally select.

A litre should be plenty but Id get a second bottle just in case.

[Ryan]

Cheers Tony, will do.
Cylinder is soaking overnight.

[Howard]

Sorry, using memory as my only reference meant I got it arse about.
As far as I am aware, the following info is correct.:
Dot 4 has a higher boiling point than 3.
Dot 4 has more favourable hygroscopic properties than 3
But, Dot 4 can cause problems with some rubber components, and has been reported by Toyota (and Honda too, from memory) due to it missing a specific polymer or lubricant additive.
Therefore I used dot 3 when I fitted my brakes to the F15.
Dot 5 is synthetic silicone based and is OK for new/overhauled brake systems that do not have any trace of 3 or 4 remaining in the system.
Oh, yeah, there's a problem with dot5 in ABS systems from memory, just in case you were going to trick up the Blitz brakes!

[Ryan]

Hi Howard,
Went past repco after work and bought 1.5 litres of dot3 brake fluid.
And currently have that tight brake cylinder soaking to free up. Plan is to use compressed air to open it up after its bath.

In other news I replaced a water pump ( hooked up to one of our farm's water tanks ) tonight after it decided enough was enough and it turned itself into a sprinkler.

[Ryan]

Hi guys,
Still working on the brakes. All disassembled now, well nearly.
What is a good source of Ford Brake cylinder rebuild kits or rubber seal kits?

Also, I have 20litres of army green acrylic lacquer which I will be using to paint the old truck. Does anyone know what sort of primer I should use under it?

[Ryan]

Cleaned the brake master cylinder today and was in the process of reassembling it when I broke the retaining internal circlip ( part no. 2174 ).
Can these be bought seperatly?

[Private_collector]

Originally Posted by Ryan

Also, I have 20litres of army green acrylic lacquer which I will be using to paint the old truck. Does anyone know what sort of primer I should use under it?

Ryan, if it's acrylic, you had better use acrylic undercoat. Same brand would be ideal, if you can. If you had used an enamel or 2 pack underocat, you will have problems with adhesion or worse. You can paint enamel over acrylic, but definately NOT the other way around.

Acrylic over enamel will cause the enamel to react very badly to the solvents in the acrylic (thinner). You get a problem known as 'frying', where the enamel will wrinkle dramatically and come away from the surface it's covering. It can be mild, or it can look severe enough to appear as though you have just put a coat of paint stripper on it.

Acrylic can be satisfactorily sprayed over previous2 pack, provided certain steps were taken when the previous paint was applied. Best avoided though if at all possible.

What type of paint did you apply previously? If you are painting the surface for first time, and if bare metal, use an etch primer before you undercoat. You will achieve a far better adhesion over etch prime, compared with standard primer alone. If surfaces have already been primed, don't stress about it, it won't come tumbling off. Just that optimum grip is achieved with etch first. Incidentally, etch prime is only useful on bare metal. There is virtually nil advantage to using it as a primer unless you run out of primer and just want to finish that last little bit!

When you are applying the top coat, make sure you use thinner of the same brand as the paint you are spraying. Many people will say you can use 'general purpose' (G.P) thinner, but while this is OK you will get the very best atomisation and spraying quality with the right thinner.

Hope this helps, and if you already knew some of this, excuse me from preaching. It's not always information that people get told when they buy paint.

Love ya work

P.S: A good friend of mine, Andy Cusworth, gave me a good tip on how to store leftover paint in he tin. He said to pour a little of the thinner into the can just before you seal the lid again. Pour it gently so it stays on top, instead of mixing into the paint itself. It seals the paint underneath and the paint won't start to dry out. It works really well and was something I had not given any thought to....ever. You can teach an old dog.