Death wobble solved! But my brakes went out :(

[linx310]

Well my new tires did the trick. I got rid of the 40 year old dry rotted and mismatched (they were both NDT and NDCC!) set my M38A1 had and replaced them with a brand new set of Denmans.



I took the rims and the tires down to a tire shop and had them professional mounted and high speed balanced by a computer.

Me and my brother went for a 45 minute ride and it cruises at 45-50 mph smoothly with no wandering or death wobble. And because i replaced almost every steering component it steers like new.

The trip went fine until I pulled into a gas station a mile from home to get some thing to drink. When I went back out to drive home my brake pedal was as hard as a rock.

I managed to get it home using the emergency brake.

I tried to get the master cylinder top cover off but bubba has stripped it (i will post pics latter) so I could not get it open this time. Last time I was able to get it open by hand, not this time.

To get brake power back temporarily I had my brother push down on the brake pedal and I cracked open a bleeder screw to release some of the fluid. There didn't appear to be any air in the lines. I also inspected all the brake lines and didn't see any leaks.

Since the top fill cover is stripped I am going to have to remove the master cylinder to get it off. Rather then reinstall the old one which has a bunch of crap in it i am sure, I ordered a new one from Midwest military.

When it arrives i am going to put compressed air into all the brake lines and flush the fluid out completely and install the new master cylinder.

[maeserik]

I think it is your MC. There is a little valve in the MC wich let a little pressure in the brakelines after releasing the brake pedal. In our club there was a member wich had the same problem. He unscruwed the brakelightswitch a little to let the pressure go away and he could brake again for some period. With a new MC things would be solved, my opinion. Replace the MC with a new one, it is a safety part !
Clean the lines and replace the parts wich looks in a suspected state.
(rubber flexible parts, wheelcylinders)

Erik

[linx310]

Yea thats what i decided to do. I just ordered a completely new master cylinder rather then to keep fiddling with it.

[wesk]

Don't overlook aged rubber hoses. Their inner lining can collapse and act like a restriction and not let fluid pass. In some cases they will still let fluid pass but then trap it towards the brake causing the brake to drag. The industry standard life on rubber parts is 10 to 12 years.

[linx310]

Don't overlook aged rubber hoses. Their inner lining can collapse and act like a restriction and not let fluid pass. In some cases they will still let fluid pass but then trap it towards the brake causing the brake to drag. The industry standard life on rubber parts is 10 to 12 years.

Can I buy these rubber hoses at a automotive store or do I need to special order them?

[Dano]

Any good army jeep parts supplier will have them.
Danny

[wesk]

Any good CJ3B/CJ5 jeep parts source will have them, like NAPA and etc. Take your old hoses to the store with you.

[TomM]

Be prepared to also replace a couple of the steel lines since they can rust into the hose ends and will be destroyed when you remove them. The toughest lines to make are the S lines on the steering knuckles. Mail order vendors sell them.

While you are at it, its easy enough to pull the wheels and inspect or replace the wheel cylinders too. These are all safety items that have to work together.

Tom

[wesk]

Two tips on loosening the steel line fittings.

1-Lots of penetrent like PB blaster and let it soak for a day.

2-Use only quality flare nut wrenches that prevent rounding the nuts off.