Grunau technique wins again

[Peter Ross]

Hi folks, I was about to send some brake wheel cylinders to Bob for treatment (stainless steel sleeves), but they had not weathered well in storage and I couldn't budge the pistons. Bob suggested forcing them out with the help of a grease gun. As suggested, I cut the end off an old brake hose, tapped it for a grease fitting (5/16 BSF was at hand) and pumped grease in. After squeezing really hard, one piston would come out. Before it came out completely, I found a socket which matched the diameter of the cylinder, and put the assembly in a vise (socket to piston) and more grease pressure forced out the other piston into the socket. Sometimes the other piston still wouldn't move so I removed the free one, the seal and spring and used a shop press (and the socket for clearance) to move the recalcitrant one. A few grams of grease is a whole lot cheaper than new pistons. Many thanks Bob! Cheers, Peter Ross TC 8892 Bolton, Massachusetts [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]