To remove the pushrod...they say, "Pull really hard and it will come out." They didn't say anything about guts coming out with it. After I got the pushrod out, I notice it is about quarter/three-eighths inch longer than the extra pushrods that I have in my pile of parts. I'm wondering if drum brake master had the shorter pushrod than the disc brake master. I'm working on my '74 w/disc and my extra parts are from 71-72 w/drum.
I’ve pulled 2 rods and didn’t have all the guts come off. If I recall, only had a spring clip on MC end on the bal end.
Clip in end of MC must have been broken or installed incorrectly. I've used a slide hammer to pull rods from MC, never had one spill it's guts. The drum brake MC I bought for my Fairlane (so I could drive it home from OH) had two different length rods. Same cylinder used on drum brake Mavericks.
I've never had the guts come out. The '70-'73 pushrod is shorter than the rod for disc brakes. I think '74 may have been the longer rod for both disc and drum brakes. When I converted my '73 to disc brakes, I installed the shorter drum brake rod because the longer one that came with the disc/drum master cylinder made the brake pedal annoyingly high. It's perfect with the shorter rod...
The new MC I got didn't come with a pushrod or the plastic bleeder kit. Only extra parts...if you wanna call it a part, were the rubber pugs pushed in the port threads. I have an extra MC from my Falcon project, but the plunger doesn't have a groove for the clip to lock into.
I'm striking out trying to find a bolt-on replacement MC. The replacements I been seeing have the wrong size ports. I need a 7/16 and 1/2 threads...not 3/8 and 7/16. I thought I found one, but the ports were on the wrong side.
Yeah, when I was looking online at the autoparts stores, seemed like all the master cylinders offered have the wrong size ports...
That's a Ford thing, each MC application uses different size ports. Sometimes you can find adapter(s) but probably easier to replace the fittings and re-flair the line. Here's what I have on my Comet, '74 disc brake cylinder. I'm 99% I replaced the front fitting.
Another problem I'm having is finding the pushrod clip locally. Looks like that piece will be coming in the mail...or I will be fabricating a pedal stop. I'm gonna make up new lines with my old fittings between the master and distribution block then maybe in a few years the next MC will fit with no issues.
When I installed the '89 Ranger MC in my car I used one of these and made a pedal stop: https://www.performanceonline.com/Ford-Mercury-Manual-Master-Cylinder-Push-Rod-Kit/ Advance Auto had a couple adapters that allowed connecting the stock lines to the MC.
I've never been able to find those clips locally. I'd like to order a handful of them just to have them..
Finally, I'm on the road again. I made up my own lines between new replacement MC and distribution block and it leaked because of a bad seat. I waited weeks for the eBay replacement distribution block that never came. I’m dealing with PayPal now to get my money back. While waiting on eBay I decided on going with a Wilwood master to have larger bowls because with rear disc, I ran the tiny factory bowl dry while bleeding the first time. This MC swap called for the adjustable pushrod to be cut down drastically to fit between point A and point B and of course new brake lines between MC and distribution block. No pedal stop needed because pushrod locks into MC. I went to the junkyard and got a distribution block off a ’75 drum/drum Maverick for $20, so far, it's not leaking
Are you familiar with rebuilding these distribution blocks? WCCC has a decent video out on youtube, and sells the seals. Pretty straightforward job, I have rebuilt each and every one in my cars.
Since it was junk, I did take it apart to see what makes it tick. When I pulled the piston out of its bore, the rear O-ring stayed inside the bore and didn't come out with the piston. I tried stuffing it back together, but O-ring was stopping it from going all the way. Fluid was under the plastic warning light switch when I removed it.
