New or rebuilt Master Cyl.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 111
Likes: 0
From: HOUSTON , TEXAS , USA
New or rebuilt Master Cyl.
Thinking of replacing my rusted slightly leaking unit. Only checked Autozone so far and it is $30 for a remanufactured and $85 for new. Which way would you go or is there a better place to buy? Any experiences? Thanks in advance.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 5,635
Likes: 4
From: Orlando Floriduh
Re: New or rebuilt Master Cyl. (CORKYVET)
NEVER EVER use a rebuilt master cylinder. They are 99% junk. When they fail you can't stop. There really ought to be a law against selling rebuilt brake cylinders. :mad :bs :U
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 49,198
Likes: 0
From: All in!
Cruise-In IV Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03-'10
Re: New or rebuilt Master Cyl. (silvervetteman)
NEVER EVER use a rebuilt master cylinder. They are 99% junk. When they fail you can't stop. There really ought to be a law against selling rebuilt brake cylinders. :mad :bs :U
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 29,745
Likes: 3
From: Exiled to Richmond, VA - Finally sold my house in Murfreesboro, TN ?? Corner of "Bumf*&k and 'You've got a purdy mouth'."
CI 6-7-8 Veteran
CI-VIII Burnout Champ
St. Jude Donor '06-'10, '13
Re: New or rebuilt Master Cyl. (79er)
there are no major problems with rebuilt units. The only thing that wears are a couple of rubber seals. Do you really want to pay another $50 for a "new" metal casting or a metal casting that is used. It's not like the casting it self was a item subject to wear, it's just a casting.
Kind of like calipers, the only things that wear are the piston seals and the piston bores. Hone the bores or sleave them, put new seals in it and you have a part that is in the same condition as a new unit. It's not like the caliper casting itself was subject to wear.
If they are willing to put a one year warrenty behind the parts, then they realize that the chances of failure are very low.
Hell, I have picked up rebuilt items with lifetime warrenties, where as the "new" items have either a 90 day or 1 year, tops.
I would be more concerned with which company did the rebuild than just the fact of it being a rebuild.
Kind of like calipers, the only things that wear are the piston seals and the piston bores. Hone the bores or sleave them, put new seals in it and you have a part that is in the same condition as a new unit. It's not like the caliper casting itself was subject to wear.
If they are willing to put a one year warrenty behind the parts, then they realize that the chances of failure are very low.
Hell, I have picked up rebuilt items with lifetime warrenties, where as the "new" items have either a 90 day or 1 year, tops.
I would be more concerned with which company did the rebuild than just the fact of it being a rebuild.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 5,635
Likes: 4
From: Orlando Floriduh
Re: New or rebuilt Master Cyl. (BSeery)
The real problem is that ANY pitting from corrosion or flaws in the casting wil quickly ruin the new seals. The bore must be perfect or leaks will come back. Rebuilds are just cleaned and honed and re-sealed (by low paid workers who must meet production times and could care less if a few cylinders don't work.). Once pitts and corrosion start, it is like rust, It never quits. Have you ever seen a rust repair that lasted? That's what happens with master cylinders. So... the casting really does "wear out". That is why Corvette calipers are replaced with stainless steel lined ones. If there were no problems with rebuilt calipers then there wouldn't be any market for stainless lined units. Corvette calipers are configured like master cylinders in that the seal is on the piston and demands a perfect bore. Standared type calipers are just the opposite so a new piston will suffice. There are places that will sleeve master cylinders. Those are fine but if you are taking about the average chain store rebuilt variety I still say STAY AWAY from them.
[Modified by silvervetteman, 2:12 PM 5/11/2002]
[Modified by silvervetteman, 2:12 PM 5/11/2002]
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 1,603
Likes: 0
From: San Francisco, CA
Re: New or rebuilt Master Cyl. (silvervetteman)
I think this depends on how much time you have. I think it is unlikley that the MC will install fine and without warning fail as you are on the highway off-ramp at 70mph, (although anything is possible.) The scenario with the rebuilts is, not always, but often something like this: install one, brakes don't work, take it back, brakes work for a while, take it back, get another, can't get pedal, take it back...you get the idea. I know these rebuilds usually have long, if not lifetime warrantees. Evidently, manufacturers can do this because they manufacture them so cheaply that they can afford to replace them when they fail. If you don't mind doing the same job again and again, the answer is obvious. :confused:
