Brake Parts Needed for an M-300 72 D20 Brave

[Clyde9]

From: 54PrairieSchooner  (Original Message)    
Sent: 1/10/2005 3:13 PM

Does anyone know if NAPA or another quality parts supplier (besides Alretta) carries wheel cylinders, hoses etc. for subject rig?  Just want to do some comparison shopping..if so, anyone already have stock #s available?

Thanks....

John



Sent: 1/10/2005 6:51 PM

I bought the correct brake parts for my 1969 D-24 (M-300 chassis) at my local Federated Auto Parts store.  The master cylinder was only about $65, and the rear wheel cylinders were only about $24.



From: denison    
Sent: 1/11/2005 1:47 PM

    Years ago I was able to get wheel cylinders from;  Heavy Fleet Products, 3170 Draper Dr #5, in Fairfax, Va    703-691-8195.  Draper runs north from Lee Highway (Rte 50), a couple of blocks west of Fairfax Circle.   But I had to walk in and show them the old parts.
    The place I found that was willing to discuss ordering brake hoses for me, and sold me wheel cylinders  was:  Fredericksburg Auto Parts, 400 Amaret St, Fredericksburg Va. 540-373-8630.  Amaret is one short block east of Rte 1 in Fredericksburg, a block south of where Charles St. intersects Rte.1 I think.  I give the phone numbers so you can check on their hours, not their inventory.  Both outfits wanted to look at the old parts, since I didn’t have the actual Bendix part numbers, and they couldnt cross index to my “application” - a 72 Dodge M400.   
    I had good luck with the Independent Parts Warehouse, 5433 Buffalo Ave. Jacksonville FL.  904-353-0962.  I got a master cylinder from them, but here again,  by walking-in-with-the-old-part.  They were helpful and upbeat, but didn't carry brake hoses at that time - 2003.  Its easy to reach from I-95, if you are passing through Jacksonville.   There are other members of that same auto parts group; Pronto Auto Parts; but only one affiliate in Virginia.  That one was in Springfield Va, but they wont sell to the public, not even if you walk in with cash. Which I can understand.    CRW Parts, at 1211 68th St. in Baltimore, Md. 410-866-3300 was another Pronto affiliate, who said they did sell retail, and if you brought in a part with the casting number on it, would certainly try to get the part.
    Since your brakes are mostly Bendix, they would have come with casting numbers on the sides of the wheel cylinders and master cylinder.  If yours were replaced already, there might not be a casting number.
   A big advantage of Alretta, is that he will get you the correct parts promptly, and you wont have to wander around searching.



From: 54PrairieSchooner    
Sent: 1/11/2005 6:38 PM

Dave and Lowell: Thanks.  I did some checking at napaonline.com by first typing in 72 Dodge 1-ton truck; M-300 in the Vehicle search; no luck there other than a listing for brake shoes. I typed in D-300 and got a pretty comprehensive listing of stuff....$27-31 for what appears to be new wheel cylinders and about $17.00 for a Tru-Stop w/c which I think is a rebuilt item.  A set of four wheel cylinders from Alretta was $85.00..not bad and competitive with NAPA and Federated it would seem.  Given all of that and the uncertainty of whether or not those (NAPA) parts will work, Alretta is the best value because I'm certain to get the right part the first time and Geoff is extremely helpful and ships within two days. Plus, buying from Alretta helps him keep brake parts in stock and in demand, so we will all hopefully have support for many years to come.

R/John



From: denison    
Sent: 1/11/2005 8:08 PM

Roger on keeping Alretta's inventory turning over. You are lucky with your wheel cylinders. My RV needs 4 of them on the back axle, about $85 Each!



From: cooneytunes    
Sent: 1/11/2005 8:32 PM

Wanna.....I used NAPA's break pads on the front discs of mine, they looked real good, no complaints, but only have about 700 miles on them, and like denison, mine needs 4 cylinders on the rear axle too, I checked around on wheel cylinders, and I'm going with Alretta's.
Timmy



From: Slantsixness    
Sent: 1/12/2005 7:58 AM

John,
Fredericksburg Auto Parts still has and can get this stuff, if not, Lane's (just behind them) may have it , or can order it and a lot of times, Lane's is cheaper, too.

Tom



From: olivereaman    
Sent: 1/14/2005 12:37 PM

Denison,

       Is there anything major wrong with the wheel cylinders that would prevent you from honing the bore and putting new parts in them? I think for $340 + tax, I'd check into it. I've rebuilt quite a few over the years because they were either not available or so expensive that it was prohibitive.

John



From: denison    
Sent: 1/14/2005 2:41 PM

My experience is, that if the wheel cylinder is already badly pitted - which I believe is the case with most cylinders that have begun to leak, then honing it and putting in new rubber cups may get you an extra year at Most.    If you hone the cylinders when they aren't that badly pitted, you might get a few extra years.  Just taking them apart, cleaning them out, and polishing the bore and installing the new rubber will help.    Its something to do while you are finding the new cylinders.     When you really cant get new cylinders, and the old ones are leaking, you can the wheel cylinders bored out to take a brass sleeve.   This is more expensive than new wheel cylinders, IF new ones are available.



From: Slantsixness    
Sent: 1/14/2005 9:51 PM

Rebuilding wheel cylinders is not good.

You can't check them for leaks easily. (I mean BEFORE they're dripping out the bottom, and those darn axles, geez... too much work for a "maybe they'll not leak" scenario) So it's best to use new parts if you can find them. They're around.
Tell them it's a 1972 Wonderbread truck on a M300 chassis. If you say Winnebago, the truck parts guys will say: "Win a what? I didn't know I entered that contest"

Try Truck parts suppliers. Alretta isn't the only game... Some of the older truck parts places still have got Stock from the 60's and 70's.... I've found things everywhere, even at a Dodge Dealer sometimes!

Tom



From: brakeparts    
Sent: 1/15/2005 11:47 AM

I have been reading this thread with a bit of bemusement as folks have batted back and forth about the relative merits of repairing or replacing wheel cylinders, honing, sleeving, the costs of buying new parts from this vendor or that one, Alretta this or that, etc.
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Folks, these are typically occasional use vehicles which sit and rot/rust from lack of use and exposure to the environment. Brake fluid is hydroscopic and gathers moisture over time regardless of use. Do you know that brake fluid has a 24 month lifespan?
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Read any new vehicle owner's manual in the last ten years or more and they all tell you to replace brake fluid every 2 years without a mileage quotient. Brake fluid transforms itself into a corrosive soup that eats away from the inside at all iron/steel surfaces. The sale of wheel cylinder repair kits is all but dead today, because the cost of new wheel cylinders is way down for common parts. Repair of cylinders does not often succeed and the effort to repair is substantial.
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Unfortunately, many of the Winnie chassis have special wheel cylinders and these are low volume/special market parts. There is a lot of misinformation out there in the aftermarket about what fits these vehicles and the Class A chassis do not generally share parts with any other Dodge. WannaWinnie's truck is a more common chassis and his needs are quite reasonable - $85 for all four wheels plus shipping, no tax outside Ma. That is value compared to another auto parts store... and there is a reason for that - size and volume.
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Alretta is a true warehouse distributor, a specialist in vehicle brake parts for all makes and models from Fiat to F800 - if it has juice brakes, we service the parts. Now a trip to Advance or Napa or AutoZone may be closer and more convenient, but it should never be less expensive for the same quality products. We know our products and we know these chassis and how to differentiate them. We are a Wagner warehouse distributor and provide other major US manufacturers. You will never see foreign made hydraulics here.
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Which leads me to a final point - there are quite a few different chassis here between 1965 and 1981 model years, class A & C vehicles. Do not presume that a 72 Winnie has the same parts as a 73 or a 71 truck, as this will not be so necessarily. That is where I can help, saving time and money from misadventures with local parts houses.
-
Happy motoring - be safe; stop carefully!

Geoff Rosenberg
Alretta truck Parts Inc.
brakeparts@mac.com



From: bboat101    
Sent: 1/15/2005 9:50 PM

Geoff,
Perhaps you could start a new discussion sometime on 'going over your brake system for your newly purchased Winnebago'.

I think a lot of us on the board here have just recently (or in the future) gotten a winnie, and probably would like to hear from someone in the industry on things to look at. Not in a service manual sense (although that's good to have) but from a professionals point of view -as if YOU had just purchased the rig.

thanks,
Brian



From: denison    
Sent: 1/16/2005 8:12 AM

My personal viewpoint: is to assume the worst about your brakes; that nothing has ever been maintained at all and if the RV is more than about 8 years old, some brake parts either need to be replaced, or at least dismantled for close inspection.
When I got mine it was 19 years old. It evidenced grabby brakes on the 9 mile drive home. So the drums all had to come off. None of the wheel cylinders were usable. Some were just leaking, a couple were stuck from rust. The master cylinder did not leak, and may have been a replacement. I inspected all of the metal lines, the hoses, (the inside of the vacuum hose for the hydrovac boosters was dry inside). This work occupied me for many hours in March, April, and May of 1991. After re- assembly I tested it with aggravated stops. Then I wrote up the date and mileage of all my repairs.
As part of my vacation preparations I check the fluid level in the master cylinder, and I write down what I see, compare it with my records. From time to time I inspect the inner sidewalls of the tires and the brake backing plates, looking for signs of fluid leaking, and the brake lines and hoses get an inspection each year when I bleed the brakes. The master cylinder was replaced in 1994.
This takes about a quart of fluid. I begin by siphoning the fluid from the master cylinder reservoirs and putting in fresh, then do my bleeding. On mine I bleed the boosters first, then the wheel cylinders.
About each 6 years I have taken the drums off, for another inspection, to clean out the wheel cylinders, and ensure the self-adjusters are free to work. (Usually they are getting stiff by that time.) I have also replaced the handbrake cable on mine. It requires periodic adjustment.
When I first got my RV I began soaking all of the brake tubing connections and fittings with penetrating oil, and over the first 4 months I was working on it I got all of the brake line flare nuts to free up. Since then I keep a light coating of oil on the outside of the fittings - to slow down corrosion.
If I had disc brakes on my RV I would include exercising the piston as part of my bleeding. I find the typical calipers arent too complex to disassemble, and the new rubber parts aren't expensive. The muck you get from the interior of the caliper might give you nightmares. I also do this on the two 1987 family minivans, both of which have over 200k miles on them, and still have their original calipers, though both are on their 3rd set of rotors.
I keep all of my records of work and the parts replaced. This is for my own future planning, and for the benefit of whoever gets the RV after me. My grandson maybe (he is 11 months old now.)
If you aren't able to spend this much time on the brakes of your motorhome - I recommend budgeting so as to have the funds to pay a brake mechanic to do it, then keep a record of what was done, the date and mileage. Your brakes should be the best maintained part of your motorhome. I would put the steering and lubrication 2nd, the tires 3rd, and the roof as 4th.



From: michaelhtfd    
Sent: 1/25/2005 11:38 PM

HEY JOHN,

THE M300 BRAKE JOB IS THE SAME AS A D300 WITH A DUAL WHEEL SETUP (MORE PARTS AVAILABLE FROM NAPA)...I HAVE EVERY PART FROM MY COMPLETE BRAKE JOB ('69 M300)...IF YOU NEED ANY HELP, PICS, NUMBERS, SPECS, ETC...LET ME KNOW.

THANKS,

MICHAELHTFD



From: 54PrairieSchooner    
Sent: 1/26/2005 7:54 PM

Michael, thanks. That would be appreciated...especially if I get in the middle of the brake job and need to get something same or next day and/or Alretta is out of stock.   You might also post a list for all since the M300 appears to be a fairly common chassis. Here are some of the items...again, I've yet to find prices substantially better ('best value') than Alretta so far:

Front and rear brake hoses
Shoes (premium)
Drums (only the rear are available as far as I know)
Hardware kits
Self-adjusters

Thanks!

John