Tilton Hydraulic Masters worth rebuilding?

[DanEC]

Pulled my brake master cover and the 3/4 inch one is leaking from the boot so I guess the seals are shot. This is the second 3/4 inch one I've had fail. The clutch master was bad before I even got the car running and this one is shot with less than 50 miles. Not too impressed with Tilton.

I took the clutch master apart (which I replaced with a 7/8 one) and found some scuffing scratches in the top of the bore apparently from the piston lands hitting it. I got them out using 600 and 1000 grit sandpaper wrapped around a deep socket. I will probably hit it with some 1500 and also polish the lands on the piston.

Looking for those who have rebuilt these things in the past and if you were successfull or should I just spring for a new one? I would like to rebuild so I don't have a growing collection of these things laying around. I suspect there must be something about the 3/4 inch ones - maybe the piston/bore clearances are a little too tight and slight eccentric loading on the push rod causes the piston lands to scrape.

[Rick Parker]

and slight eccentric loading on the push rod causes the piston lands to scrape.

This is the issue. They can be rebuilt with great success. Similar to redoing a brake wheel cylinder. Find yourself a small 2 stone hone.

[strictlypersonl]

We've had very good service from the Tiltons over the years, so I can't say what is going wrong in your instance. If you want to go "radical change", Wilwood has equivalent units (260-3374 and 260-3376) that should interchange quite nicely. For the price, it's hard to justify the risk rebuilding.

[ERA Chas]

I rebuilt both Tiltons in my system over the years and their rebuild kits are very good. No problems after.

[DanEC]

It's tempting to just order a new one for $72 but to cut down on all the clutter and spare parts around my work bench I think I will try a rebuild kit for $21. I have a hard time throwing old cores and spare parts out. Maybe I can improve on their assembly.

Thanks

[1795]

Let us know how that goes. I am a little concerned about your difficulty with throwing old parts away...we are not going to see you on the next episode of Hoarders are we ??

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by 1795

Let us know how that goes. I am a little concerned about your difficulty with throwing old parts away...we are not going to see you on the next episode of Hoarders are we ??

Actually, I fear I may be featured on that show, Lord of the Car Hoarders. The last decade or two I can't seem to bring myself to get rid of anything.



And then there's my other garage and my 1000 sf or so of walk-up, floored attic. Anyone need a cat back for a Lightning or set of tailpipes and tips for GTX? Brake drums, intakes, carbs, window glass, body trim, pressure plate, oil pans, water pump core, etc? It's become an affliction.

[eschaider]

Originally Posted by strictlypersonl

We've had very good service from the Tiltons over the years, ... For the price, it's hard to justify the risk rebuilding.

These^^^ are wise words from a wise man. That piece is simply put, a throw away. Buy a replacement and enjoy driving the car.

Ed

[Dirty Harry]

You might give a good look to the possible side loading on the piston. I've had the same Tilton's on my car for 22 years and 14K miles.

[DanEC]

Well, the tilton rebuild effort was a failure. The rebuild kit piston/seals actually looked to be better quality than what I removed from the old clutch MC core - but I couldn't get it to make any pressure. Although the coarsest thing I used to polish the bore was 600 sandpaper, followed by 1000 and 1500, it must have removed enough material to prevent the seals from sealing and it appeares to be bypassing fluid. I cracked the brake light switch and the outlet line both loose and never could get any pressure from stroking the brake pedal. I took the leaking MC apart that I was replacing and it is far too badly scored to try to rebuild. So I ordered a new MC from Summit.

[DanEC]

Looks like I gave up on the rebuilt Tilton MC too soon. I decided that before I pulled it back off that I would hook my Phoneix bleeder system up to the rear calipers and try to vacuum fill the system and MC. That worked pretty well and then I finished up pumping the pedal and letting the speed bleeders do their thing. The pedal seems normal. It will probably be a few drives before I can verify the MC is sealing tight.

[tboneheller]

The rebuild on my front master cylinder went well until the front brakes decided to stay applied at all times. A new one was purchased for around $40.00, but also had to replace the cooked brake pads & rotors. Lesson learned.

[Rick Parker]

Anyone contemplating this needs to have a Small 2 stone hone in your arsenal, it makes life so much easier
Lisle 10500 2 Stone Brake Cylinder Hone | eBay