hydros.biz Lowrider hydraulics information

Ok here we go, typical cylinder . There are many many was to do the same thing. Here I am showing the most ghetto way possible, without any real tools.

OK we remove the screw on cap from the sleeve, but, the cap does NOT slide off the rod.

Here's the problem, the end of the rod is smashed or what's called mushroomed.

Just normal for soft metal, the cylinder might be on the low end.

The rod is stuck tight in the casing, I can't pull it out with my hands. What to do...

There's all kinds of ways to get the rod out, but since the end cap was being held by the mushroomed rod, I had an idea...

I'll just slide the donut on from the top and use that to get the rod out. A little foot pressure and holding onto the casing and pop it went.

Think twice before ever pulling something toward your face, just hold the casing and push with your feet, or lock your arms and lift with your back.  

Here it is. I could have ground down the mushroomed metal first, but this way I have more control while at the grinder. (safety).

Part of the shaft or rod while at the grinder, this is called a beveled edge.  

Here it is just before the rod went to the grinder. Not too dirty. That bronze looking thing in the middle is the sleeve. It keeps the shaft from moving side to side in the casing (housing) of the cylinder. You need to take it all apart and clean it with brake clean or soap and water (must dry it real fast afterwards), WD40, alcohol

Next step is to pull off the teflon "whats you call them" Here I am using a toothpick. The reason why I show a common toothpick is you may not have a dental pick to use. Plus the dental pick can nick the shaft if you are drinking a few brews.

Another thing, parts of the cyllinder can be very sharp, be careful of the threads, and shaft cap where the o-rings go.

Pain and loseing blood gets old, (when you're old)

You can pick up dental picks at surplus stores, Harbot freight, swap meets. Even use a small screw driver.  If you can find the hard plastic type of pics, those might be better as you can work faster without damaging anything.

Here I did it backwards, that's when I remembered. Take the second o-ring off first, not the first. Slide the toothpick in sideways. If you are using a metal pick, just grab it and rip it out. The o-ring might even break, making it that much easier to replace with the new one.

Once  the pick gets in sideways, straighten it up and slide the o-ring up and over the pick

If the shaft need a little touchup, use a scrubby. When you are done, clean off the stroke. When you thinks it's all clean, get a clean rag with a lite coat of oil or solvent and wipe the shaft. If the rag comes clean, then the shaft is clean.

Here the rag is still dirty the first time I checked it.  

Slap the o-rings back on, top ring first. Then I install the teflon rings or what ever they are called.  The teflon rings on this type is one layer, there are some that go around twice.   I like to wrap these on.

Here the rings are all on. Note the offset the teflon rings. I don't want the opening from each ring on the same side. I like 180 degree them, meaning one is like at 6:00 oclock and the other at 12:00 oclock.

This is most likey a waste of time, just a habit I picked up when rebuilding engines.

Now it comes time for the casing. I tried to clean it out with a rag, then checked it with a pin light, see all the rust and pits.  This is what I see from this end, meaning there might be more at the other end.  

There are a few ways to clean out the casing. One is to use a fine sandpaper, or emery cloth, then there is a cylinder hone, and in a pinch, you can use a scrubby.


Here is a brake or wheel cylinder hone, you might be able to pick these up at NAPA, or the tool trucks. Use a drill an less than 1000 RPM and push and pull on the drill so the hone goes up and down inside the casing. You want the honing done at what's hatch marks, meaning like a bunch of sideway XXXX's.

The best tool is the hone type, there are two. the one you see below can only work on a few different size cylinders that are close in ID (inside diameter).

The other is the universal type, it has a type of spring that allows the honing stones to move at least 3/4". You can use these on a lot more different size cylinders.  I don't like using this type because you need to be more careful when using them. They always seem to break.  

Here I am showing the scrubby, You 'll need to hold the scrubby stationary if you are using a drill. I like to use a stick with a slit or chop sticks. This will take longer if the casing is all messed up with pits and rust and groves.

Slid a section of the scrubby into the slit of the stick and then wrap the scrubby in the direction of the drill rotation. The insert the scrubby into the casing and drill away. It may take some time to clean up.

Use the sand paper the same way. On sandpaper or emery cloth, try to get the wet type. Shoot some light oil down the cylinder. The grit should be fine and end with a finer grit.  

I don't hone using sand paper, but if I was to guess at what grit works, I'd start with 400, and see how it does.  Most likely if your cylinder is like the one above, I would have started with 320 and ended with the 400.  Remember to work the drill up and down to get the XXXX hash marks on the cylinder walls. Again this might be a waste of time, but a habit on my part.

When cleaning out the cylinder, remember, you are doing just that, cleaning, not taking metal away. Go easy.  

The casing after a few minutes of using the brake hone, checking and rechecking. It's not perfect, but much better. I'll stop here, as the o-rings don't travel this far down as we are looking at the bottom end of the cylinder.

Again clean all part before you put them back together. Here once again I am checking to see if the casing is clean, This one took awhile to clea

Now to assemble, you should dip the shaft cap and o-rings in a light oil. and also lube inside the casing, before inserting the rod back into the casing.  

Here is what happens when you are in a hurry, don't pay attention, don't check to see if any rings are popping out of the ring lands, don't use enough lube. This Teflon ring might still be usable in a pinch, but I'd rather use new ones.

Tighten up the end cap real good. You can put the cylinder into a vise to tighten the end cap, but be careful not to crush the casing. To prevent the cap from turning another thing you can do is to add LOCK TIGHT. Remember, all threads need to be clean and dry first. LOCK TIGHT only gets hard in the absence of air.