Re: Dad's 5677A

Posted by HH56 On 2020/12/5 9:57:50

And if fluid made its way out of the unit you can bet it was a serious leak and for it to get to the reservoir tank the vacuum section of the booster is probably saturated too. I know you have mentioned changing the brake booster but this confirms the need for repair or replace before you drive the car. To have the fluid be able to be sucked back into hoses I also suspect your unit might be one that has the gasket and flat cover blocking a relief port so fluid and not air is the only thing that can be sucked in. That issue was discovered on Packard versions of the TreadleVac by people on this forum a few years ago.

Definitely either get a rebuilt unit from one of our vendors or if you want to rebuild your own, TreadleVac rebuild kits are available for the hydraulic section. As far as I know, nothing is made for the vacuum section that is available from our vendors. No idea if any other mfgs vendors have that portion. Kanter has kits as probably does Max and Tucson Packards as well as several other mfgs vendors. Pay particular attention to the condition of the pot metal cylinder casting. Frequently corrosion has damaged smooth surfaces where seals need to seat. There are some repro castings available although from last report they need to have a port drilled in the casting to match the Packard version.

Another word of caution based on experiences from several people on this forum. Getting a rebuilt exchange unit from one of our vendors is suggested because we know they stand behind their products. A few have had their units rebuilt by people who advertise in various car publications as working on all units. Results have been less than satisfactory with a couple of them. For someone to just do a rebuild of yours you might inquire and see if Ross has time to do the job or, I believe Kanter will also do just a rebuild.

There is an excellent written tutorial Ross put together that is in the HOW-TO section of this website. Riki also found a link to a YouTube video of a TreadleVac being rebuilt.https://youtu.be/LKbnYmPj9a8 Not sure who that mechanic is but the video does appear to go thru the complete unit.