While looking for wheel cylinders for my 3/71 240, a vender told me that the later model cylinders will fit with only a minorod to the break line. Anyone ever do this swap? If it is this simple, why has it not been discussed? Surly $50 wheel cylinders areore favorable than $225 cylinders.

Any info on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all the great support,

Eric

;0)

I don't know about 1971 models but I bought the Centric wheel cylinders from Rockauto for my 1973 240z and fitment is perfect. I kept my original ones for future use with a rebuilt kit

Why don't you just buy a rebuilt kit?

NLA on the rebuild kits :0(

The wheel cylinders were changed on about 6/71, the earlier kits are difficult at best to get a hold of, and the wheel cylinder themselves are over $200 ea. The later kits and cylinders are everywhere and much more reasonable. Thus the ?, will this swap work, or is it sales BS ?

P.S.

It was rock auto that first told me that the early kits were NLA, after they refunded my purchase of said kits.

I am operating from memory, which is suspect, but it was my understanding that the later model the brake connection was in a different location. The existing line can be reworked to work.

Charles

Thanks Charles,

That's the info I'm looking for, cam you substantiate that this is indeed correct?

I posted this in another thread for some reason.   

 

I switched the short hardline from one side to the other and had less bending to do to make them work.  http://www.classiczc...linder-problem/

 

If you do get the cheaper Centrics you may have to bend the the flat steel arm that catches the adjusting wheel.  Your e-brake is supposed to adjust after a few pulls but mine didn't.  So I took the tire back off and saw that arm wasn't making contact with the teeth on that adjusting wheel.

 

The OE cylinders have the inlet hole in the center and the new ones are at an angle on the back end.  Or vice versa? can't remember right now.

Thanks,

glad you were able to make it work.

I just ordered a pair of cylinders and a pair of new lines.

Thanks again for all the help,

Eric

P.S.

Does anybody know of a more affordable option for the master?

I bought the later wheel cylinders also for my 72.

 

Bought a couple of flared metric hard lines at the local parts store and bent them to fit.

 

Worked like a charm.

Thanks,

glad you were able to make it work.

I just ordered a pair of cylinders and a pair of new lines.

Thanks again for all the help,

Eric

P.S.

Does anybody know of a more affordable option for the master?

What is the difference between the pre Sep 1971 and later Tokico version other than the bleeders on the other side?

I changed mine about two years back because the bore was pitted and a kit wouldn't fix it. BECK/ARNLEY 0722694 from rock auto. I changed the tanks to keep the original look.

A piece of advice: I dismantled mine before installing it. It still had some machining filings from fabrication which would have reduced its life span considerably.

Its worked perfectly since, no leaks

Aftrr receiving the new cylinders, it appears that the only diff from early and later 240 wheel cylinders is the location of the inlets. Cant believe there isn't more talk abou this. The earlier cylinders cost $225+ each, and the later were readily available at the local parts store (O'Riley) for $35 each. Even with new hard lines and new soft lines, it still saved over $150 each. Now I understand if you have a period correct show car, you may want the earlier, but on a daily driver?

Anyway,

thanks for all the responses, really glad I asked the questions.

Oh yah,

Also took the advice to look inside before installing and glad I did, mfgr really did a terrable job of cleaning and final assembly.

Thanks again,

eric

;0)

I had the later wheel cylinders on my car at one time, but that was when I couldn't get the brakes adjusted. I ended up pulling them off and putting the early wheel cylinders on while replacing every brake component with Nissan OEM parts, or direct replacements. (The drums were new, but aftermarket) I really don't think that the wheel cylinders were my problem. I believe it was bad brake hoses.

 

Anyway, you may be able to buy the later backing plate hard lines, but if not you will have to hand bend custom hard lines from the wheel cylinder to the brake hose manifold at the top of the backing plate. Be careful to match the arc of the original line as much as possible, and make sure that both sides are exact mirror images of each other. The the screwball drum system on these cars the wheel cylinder slides in the backing plate during operation, and the hard lines have to flex as it moves. It is imperative that the steel brake lines do not interfere with the wheel cylinder movement, and that both sides work the same.

I'm no brake expert, but I believe your impression is correct. The only significant difference between the earlier and later 240 wheel cylinders is the location of the brake hardline where it connects to the cylinder.

 

However, I'll offer up one additional option... In 77 they changed from the single piston floating cylinder design (70-76) to a much more reliable dual piston fixed cylinder design (77-787). And by swapping the brake backing plates and E-brake hardware inside the drums, you can upgrade to the later design and use the 77-78 cylinders.

 

What's the downside? (There's always a downside...) You have to pull the stub axles to get the backing plate off. So if you're doing wheel bearings or something and have the backing plate off anyway, it's a convenient time to upgrade to the newer design.