Hydrovac problem

[Hawkman62]

Hi all, need some Hydrovac help. Saturday I started the 62 Hawk and billows of blue smoke poured out of the exhaust. I had no idea what was happening but after a couple minutes it started to stop smoking. I got in the car and stepped on the brakes and the peddal went down to the floor. At that moment I realized what had happened so I shut the engine off and checked my master cylinder and found it bone dry. I disconnected the Hydrovac vacuum hose, plugged the carb fitting and fired the engine, no more smoke.
I then blead the brakes, including the hydrovac unit. Brake peddal was now firm,BUT, I noticed fluid seaping from the control unit on the Hydrovac
I've been reading and studying the hdrovac drawings and I think what happened was that the diaphragm in the contol unit ruptured and allowed the brake fluid to be sucked into the carb. I have disassembled some of the control unit and found the poppet valve spring broken, but have not taken the diaphragm out.
Well guys, what do you think??? Is it the diaphragm or something else?? Thanks for your help. Rudy

[Dan White]

You are probably right. You can order rebuild kits for these. Lots of little parts!

Dan White
64 R1 GT
64 R2 GT

[52 Ragtop]

Contact Studebaker International, they are having NEW ones made. Ed is in the "testing" stage on them. These are NEW not rebuilt and have NOT been rebuilt 3 gazillion times!!

Jim

[maxpower1954]

Do you know if Ed is making the disc brake Hydrovac or the standard one? Russ Farris

[52 Ragtop]

IIRC, Ed is having both disc & drum ones made. Call SI and speak to Ed, as I'm not 100% sure if he has "road tested" one yet.

Jim

[Hawkman62]

Thanks for the posts and the emails and phone calls received, but I have been unable to locate the necessary parts for the booster, so, I'm going to remove it and go manual. I've got the vacuum line disconnected and blead the brakes and I have good pedal and basically the same brakes I've always had. Apparently the booster has not worked for a long time because I use the same pressure now as before with good results. I've contacted Vern Ediger in Kansas and he is sending me a manual brake pedal(which is longer) to make the switch. With a little luck I should have the Hawk back on the road in a couple weeks. Thanks again for your help.

Rudy
62 Hawk
71 Avanti

[Dan White]

Did you check these guys. They sell refurbished hydrovacs for STudes and will sell the kits:

http://www.remanbrakes.com/brake_boosters

Dan White
64 R1 GT
64 R2 GT

[52 Ragtop]

Rudy, be sure to check and see if the brake pedal is different on a power brake car vs a NON power brake scar! On my 57 Golden Hawk there was a difference in the pedal ratio.

Jim

[Hawkman62]

It been almost a month now since I converted to manual brakes, and I should have done this a couple years back. I have the best brakes you could ask for in a drum setup.
Thanks to all that responded to my need for help, I really appreciate the expertise shown.

Rudy Korb
62 Hawk
71 Avanti

[stall]

At the risk of asking a stupid question :

Whats involved in disconnecting the Hydrovac?

Can the unit still stay in the engine compartment?

Thanks

http://sites.google.com/site/intriguingautomotivehistories/

http://studebakerspeedster.blogspot.com/2008/12/studebakers-new-v-8.html

[Hawkman62]

That certainly is not a stupid question. The answer is yes, the hydrovac can remain. Here are the steps I used to convert to manual brakes on a 62 Hawk.

1. Disconnect the 2 brake lines and if you have the brake light switch in the hydrovac like I did, purchase a brass t-fitting at your local parts dealer, and connect the lines & switch to it.
2. Disconnect the rubber vacuum line from the carb and cover the port with a short piece of plugged rubber hose.
3. That's all that's needed to disconnect the hydrovac. That was the easy part.
4. Remove the brake pad and pull back the carpet to reveal the removeable plate on the floor. There are 6 screws holding this plate and it must be removed to allow the brake arm to be moved sideways.
5. From under the car, remove the hardware holding the brake lever to the frame. Slide the lever off the shaft and be careful of the 2 plastic bushing, they are fragile. Discard this brake arm.
6. I purchased a used brake arm from Vern Ediger in Kansas.
7. You will have to make some adjustments to the push rod linkage to the master cylinder as they are of different lengths.
8 Assembly of the new arm will be the reverse of the dissassembly, with one exception. The floor plate may have to be altered to work with this longer brake arm. I had to elongate the hole to keep the arm from rubbing.
9 Lube the fitting on the brake arm and then bleed the brakes, and you're all finished. Good luck, Rudy

quote:Originally posted by stall

At the risk of asking a stupid question :

Whats involved in disconnecting the Hydrovac?

Can the unit still stay in the engine compartment?

Thanks

http://sites.google.com/site/intriguingautomotivehistories/

http://studebakerspeedster.blogspot.com/2008/12/studebakers-new-v-8.html

[stall]

Rudy, Thanks for taking the time to explain the process. As a eager but inexperiensed mechanic I appreciate it. The only question I have is the brake lever; I'll have to find a longer one. Can i Assume that I need a 55 Studebaker brake lever from a V-8 (could it be a 6) with no brake power assist???

Is this the only brake lever, from the pedal to the Master Cyl.???

Thanks again, Murray




Posted - 09/30/2009 : 12:26:22 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That certainly is not a stupid question. The answer is yes, the hydrovac can remain. Here are the steps I used to convert to manual brakes on a 62 Hawk.

1. Disconnect the 2 brake lines and if you have the brake light switch in the hydrovac like I did, purchase a brass t-fitting at your local parts dealer, and connect the lines & switch to it.
2. Disconnect the rubber vacuum line from the carb and cover the port with a short piece of plugged rubber hose.
3. That's all that's needed to disconnect the hydrovac. That was the easy part.
4. Remove the brake pad and pull back the carpet to reveal the removeable plate on the floor. There are 6 screws holding this plate and it must be removed to allow the brake arm to be moved sideways.
5. From under the car, remove the hardware holding the brake lever to the frame. Slide the lever off the shaft and be careful of the 2 plastic bushing, they are fragile. Discard this brake arm.
6. I purchased a used brake arm from Vern Ediger in Kansas.
7. You will have to make some adjustments to the push rod linkage to the master cylinder as they are of different lengths.
8 Assembly of the new arm will be the reverse of the dissassembly, with one exception. The floor plate may have to be altered to work with this longer brake arm. I had to elongate the hole to keep the arm from rubbing.
9 Lube the fitting on the brake arm and then bleed the brakes, and you're all finished. Good luck, Rudy

http://sites.google.com/site/intriguingautomotivehistories/

http://studebakerspeedster.blogspot.com/2008/12/studebakers-new-v-8.html

[Hawkman62]

Murray, I suggest you call Vern Ediger at 316-830-2634 (he has a Studebaker salvage yard) and discuss with him what brake lever you need. Not being familiar with a 55 Studebaker, is your master cylinder under the floor?? I have a hunch the same brake arm or lever was used in many different Studes. The arm you will need is one from a manual transmission car and I doubt whether the engine size matters. Again, Vern can help you out.
It sounds like a big job but its really fairly straight forward. This was my first conversion and once I had all the parts cleaned, painted and ready for assembly, it took about 1 hour to complete, less the bleeding. So just take your time, remember how it came apart, and all should turn out OK. Later, Rudy

quote:Originally posted by stall

Rudy, Thanks for taking the time to explain the process. As a eager but inexperiensed mechanic I appreciate it. The only question I have is the brake lever; I'll have to find a longer one. Can i Assume that I need a 55 Studebaker brake lever from a V-8 (could it be a 6) with no brake power assist???

Is this the only brake lever, from the pedal to the Master Cyl.???

Thanks again, Murray




Posted - 09/30/2009 : 12:26:22 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That certainly is not a stupid question. The answer is yes, the hydrovac can remain. Here are the steps I used to convert to manual brakes on a 62 Hawk.

1. Disconnect the 2 brake lines and if you have the brake light switch in the hydrovac like I did, purchase a brass t-fitting at your local parts dealer, and connect the lines & switch to it.
2. Disconnect the rubber vacuum line from the carb and cover the port with a short piece of plugged rubber hose.
3. That's all that's needed to disconnect the hydrovac. That was the easy part.
4. Remove the brake pad and pull back the carpet to reveal the removeable plate on the floor. There are 6 screws holding this plate and it must be removed to allow the brake arm to be moved sideways.
5. From under the car, remove the hardware holding the brake lever to the frame. Slide the lever off the shaft and be careful of the 2 plastic bushing, they are fragile. Discard this brake arm.
6. I purchased a used brake arm from Vern Ediger in Kansas.
7. You will have to make some adjustments to the push rod linkage to the master cylinder as they are of different lengths.
8 Assembly of the new arm will be the reverse of the dissassembly, with one exception. The floor plate may have to be altered to work with this longer brake arm. I had to elongate the hole to keep the arm from rubbing.
9 Lube the fitting on the brake arm and then bleed the brakes, and you're all finished. Good luck, Rudy

http://sites.google.com/site/intriguingautomotivehistories/

http://studebakerspeedster.blogspot.com/2008/12/studebakers-new-v-8.html