Some brake questions

Well, you guys have pretty much sold me on the cunifer line, (even though Audi uses it),but I'm a little concerned about over tightening it. The chart says to only tighten it 1/6 of a turn, that might be pretty hard to accurately judge on such a small fitting, potentially leaving it too lose or too tight. I'll have to check about torque limits on steel lines, seems like it should be higher and more forgiving, more idiot proof maybe. Can anybody confirm this?

Does anyone happen to know the pressure in our brake systems?

tobyS said:

Does anyone happen to know the pressure in our brake systems?

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Depends how hard your applying the brakes. I have a pressure gauge on my truck, and when I really push them it can go to 1600 PSI. Normal application goes to about 800 PSI .

Thanks Rusty...was wondering since the design value on the 5/16" is at 1800#. Burst is plenty high so it should not be an issue.

russojap said:

Well, you guys have pretty much sold me on the cunifer line, (even though Audi uses it),but I'm a little concerned about over tightening it. The chart says to only tighten it 1/6 of a turn, that might be pretty hard to accurately judge on such a small fitting, potentially leaving it too lose or too tight. I'll have to check about torque limits on steel lines, seems like it should be higher and more forgiving, more idiot proof maybe. Can anybody confirm this?

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My rule of thumb is to tighten until it quits leaking, take it around the block and tighten again if any are moist. Never had a problem.

EDIT: This is assuming you have a good flare on the end of the tubing and the surface on the cylinder isn't messed up. A bad flare won't tighten no matter how you crank it.

I replace a brake cylinder on one hub and found that the shield cover is now rubbing on the brake drum. Are the shields needed or should I just get replacements for all 6?

Back2Wyo said:

I replace a brake cylinder on one hub and found that the shield cover is now rubbing on the brake drum. Are the shields needed or should I just get replacements for all 6?

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There is nothing in there that is not needed. The wheel cylinder shield sheet metal could have been bent wrong on last installation or something else bad might be happening, like parts breaking off due to animals that last worked in there. See damage due to adjuster breaking off. Assure all the parts are there and intact and look around for loose parts.
I suggest take it all apart and clean and paint it all, but I wasn't working in the cold and rain and snow.
Pictures for the General.

Back2Wyo said:

I replace a brake cylinder on one hub and found that the shield cover is now rubbing on the brake drum. Are the shields needed or should I just get replacements for all 6?

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The shields are there to protect the outer rubber seals of the wheel cylinder from debris which can get in the brake drum and spin around causing all kinds of problems. If you get some fine gravel in there which is really easy to do off-road, it can tear the seals to pieces from spinning around in the drum. Think of a centrifuge and the debris spinning around. The shields when properly installed protect the fragile outer seals.

I thought so. I'm trying to locate new ones to have on hand.