Thread: Wilwood leaks

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I have Wilwoods on all four corners of my '31. I, so far am not totally impressed with them, but I guessing tha pads are still green or possibly the wrong compound. I'll give them some more miles before I decide to change 'em out.

That's not the reason for this post though. One of the bleeder adapters is drooling a bit. Is there any sealing compound or will just Teflon tape carefully applied work

Dave I did that same thing to my `64 pickup about two years ago, still holding!

I tightened it about as much as I'm comfortable with so I'll just tape up the drooler and go from there. Then I'll put a few more stop and go miles on it to see if the stopping power gets better. Wilwood make you guess what the pads are by color plus the pads are made by several vendors and calling Wilwood I found is frustrating.

What compound are the green supposed to be, sinse I don`t know....?

Dave brake fluid eats Teflon tape.

Originally Posted by IC2

I tightened it about as much as I'm comfortable with so I'll just tape up the drooler and go from there. Then I'll put a few more stop and go miles on it to see if the stopping power gets better. Wilwood make you guess what the pads are by color plus the pads are made by several vendors and calling Wilwood I found is frustrating.

I found that the green pads are for racing and very aggressive. They will wear your rotors down in a hurry. I have the light tan pads on mine. They are more for the street .
Also , you want to use the teflon in a tube not the tape when putting in the adapters. using tape on a tapered pipe thread will break the casting if you turn it in too far. The tape makes the taper even bigger and as you turn it in, the casting can crack.

I couldn't get into their site yesterday, but here's all what they recommend for the Dynalites: http://www.wilwood.com/BrakePads/Bra...spx?padtype=71 I'll probably change them out to the BP-10's if the braking effort/performance doesn't get better

It doesn't look like the sell them by color any longer, but mine are not the same which leads me to believe that they are different compounds - guessing street in the front and race in the rear. Neither set of instructions, front or rear which were purchased separately and from different sources(front, came with the TCI chassis and rears, Speedway) gave me what pad was supplied.

And as far as Teflon tape - I do like the stuff in a tube better. Both that and the tape are a PITA to clean off, but probably the tape is worse. Steve - I had forgotten when I posted, but used tape on a T-bucket years ago, but don't recall deterioration.

Some of the Wilwood pads required a very specific break in procedure, especially the race pads. Even the street ones require a specific number of heat cycles to began to work right.

This is the process I used, direct from Wilwood:

"The bedding process is the final "heat cure" for the pads. This final bedding cure differs from an oven heat cure in such that the oven heat cure does not include the pressure, torque, and elevated surface temperatures that are necessary to properly condition the pad for service. As it is with the rotors, new pads must be gradually brought up to temperature and then slowly cooled. If the pads are put into hard service right from the start, damage from fractures or accelerated deterioration due to extreme temperature variations between the surface and the body of the pad can occur. Overall poor performance with the potential for rotor damage are often the results.

Bedding Steps:

Once the brake system has been tested and determined safe to operate the vehicle, follow these steps for bedding of all pad materials and rotors.

1. Begin with a series of 8-10 light stops from approximately 30 MPH down to 15 MPH allowing 20-30 seconds for cooling between each stop.

2. Progress to series of 8-10 moderate stops from around 45 MPH down to 30 MPH allowing the 20-30 second cool down period between each stop.

3. Proceed with a series of 8-10 hard stops from 55-65 MPH down to 25 MPH allowing 20-30 seconds of cool down time between each stop.

4. Drive at a moderate cruising speed, with the least amount of brake contact possible, until most of the heat has dissipated from the brakes. Avoid sitting stopped with the brake pedal depressed to hold the car in place during this time. Park the vehicle and allow the brakes to cool to ambient air temperature."

That should have done it Dave.... Could it be the different pads front and rear??? I've ran with different pads on each end, but maybe there's something in their stopping power that effects their compatibility on the car???? Are they getting any better as you put more miles on them, or just staying the same?

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

That should have done it Dave.... Could it be the different pads front and rear??? I've ran with different pads on each end, but maybe there's something in their stopping power that effects their compatibility on the car???? Are they getting any better as you put more miles on them, or just staying the same?

Yeah, Dave, they are starting to get a bit better. I may run through the break in procedure one more time. I'm going to be out of town for a week (with the laptop) so it will be on hold until next weekend. It's not that the brakes don't work fairly well, it's that I think they could be better for the level of quality.

3 or 4 years ago we put Wilwoods on one of the drag cars....Had to go through the whold brake pad break in procedure 3 times before they had any real stopping power! Been working great ever since....maybe they were just a step or two up on the heat chart or something?

Hi Dave, i'm a dealer for a UK brake expert and they told me that brake fluid can eat the tape and its better to use the liquid stuff, Next time i'm in there i will ask further questions.
To be honest an NPT thread shouldn't need any additions at all and should seal against itself but i have had the occassional problem thread myself.

Originally Posted by IC2

I couldn't get into their site yesterday, but here's all what they recommend for the Dynalites: http://www.wilwood.com/BrakePads/Bra...spx?padtype=71 I'll probably change them out to the BP-10's if the braking effort/performance doesn't get better

It doesn't look like the sell them by color any longer, but mine are not the same which leads me to believe that they are different compounds - guessing street in the front and race in the rear. Neither set of instructions, front or rear which were purchased separately and from different sources(front, came with the TCI chassis and rears, Speedway) gave me what pad was supplied.

And as far as Teflon tape - I do like the stuff in a tube better. Both that and the tape are a PITA to clean off, but probably the tape is worse. Steve - I had forgotten when I posted, but used tape on a T-bucket years ago, but don't recall deterioration.

Dave i seem to remember they need heavy stops to bed in, light stops just glaze them.

Originally Posted by IC2

Yeah, Dave, they are starting to get a bit better. I may run through the break in procedure one more time. I'm going to be out of town for a week (with the laptop) so it will be on hold until next weekend. It's not that the brakes don't work fairly well, it's that I think they could be better for the level of quality.

Since we aren't going away for another day or so (my wife has a stomach bug) I'll again run through the break (brake?) in procedure.

As far as NPT thread leaks yeah, I know what the 'book' says. But I also know that every plumbing supply shop has big bins of tape and compound. Then my own hot water home heating system.........