DIY 002a Bendix Poppet-Valve Type Booster

Post your Tips Tricks and How Tos
Post Reply
User avatar
59lincolnrag
Air Education & Training Command
Air Education & Training Command
Posts: 217
Joined: Wed 24. Dec 2008, 06:03
Gender: male
Music instruments you're playing: Acoustic Guitar ... when I was young
Location: South Jersey 08062

DIY 002a Bendix Poppet-Valve Type Booster

Post by 59lincolnrag » Tue 29. Sep 2009, 08:15

DIY002a Bendix Poppet-Valve Type Booster ..RevB

RevB-Delete incorrect list of applications.Add correct Applications for this unit.Correct description in text(a58pacer)
Thank you a58pacer for supplying valuable information

Bendix Treadle-Vac

Poppet-Valve Type is the early version of this unit.
The Treadle-Vac manufactured by Bendix was available for various years on many cars of the 1950s (all GM, Edsel, Lincoln, Mercury, Hudson, Nash and even Mercedes). The Treadle-Vac was superseded in 1959 by the familiar Delco-Moraine power booster.
There were several types of power cylinders used. I will cover Poppet-Valve Type in this section.
( Parts are not available for the vacuum booster )

Bendix Treadle-Vac
Poppet-Valve Type
Lincoln 1956-1958 (L-3, L-4, L-5 and L-6)
Continental Mark II 1956-1957 (F)
Mercury 1956 (M and M-3)

First let me illustrate some differences.
HPIM2311.jpg
These are various booster types. Different diameters. Generally speaking the larger diameter unit (6")is the Poppet-Valve Type Booster. The smaller Diameter (5 1/4") Pictured in the middle, is the newer design Hydraulic- Reaction Type and the Disc- Reaction Type. This smaller unit replaces or supersedes the Poppet-Valve unit. The units are interchangeable but maybe not correct for the specific model that you have. In fact my two 59 Lincolns one has a 56 Mark II Pop type booster while the other has the correct disc -reaction type they both stop just fine.
Notice the heat shield on the far right unit. This was used on the early Lincolns and Mark II 's due to the placement over the exhaust manifold.
HPIM2312.jpg
There are several types of tops /covers for the master cylinder....some were vented and some were not. This illustration shows several screw-on lids. Plastic and metal.
HPIM2333.jpg
The castings ....some were vented and some were not. The vented unit was used with the Poppet-valve booster that vents to the back of the casting just in front of the dust seal. The purpose of the vent was to allow brake fluid that leaked past the packing seal to find its way back into the reservoir. This prevented the brake fluid from entering the vacuum booster and having it drawn into engine or auxiliary vacuum canister. By then the packing seal was comprised and you still had to break it down for repair.
Both of these castings are in perfect condition and are usable. The green finish is correct for these units. It protects the casting from degrading. I will use both of these casting for my cars even though the vented unit in not a numbers matching part the counter bore is perfect.
HPIM2329.jpg
Here is the Poppet-valve booster ...
HPIM2327.jpg
The piston and packing assembly removed from the cylinder
HPIM2328.jpg
The piston and packing assembly removed from the cylinder in the foreground and Another unit just behind it.
2002 Lincoln Blackwood
1959 Lincoln Continental Coupe blk on blk
430 Tri-Power Super Marauder
1959 Lincoln Continental Convertible wht on wht
2006 Lincoln Town Car

User avatar
a58pacer
Airman
Airman
Posts: 30
Joined: Sun 26. Sep 2010, 20:17
Gender: male
Music instruments you're playing: Piano

Re: DIY002A Bendix Poppet-Valve Type Booster

Post by a58pacer » Thu 30. Sep 2010, 18:10

The Treadle-Vac used two different sizes of vacuum cylinders, as noted in the article: their sizes were 5-1/4" i.d. and 6" i.d.

The 6" i.d. units were only made in the slide valve and poppet valve T-V's, and used in the following vehicles:

Slide Valve T-V: 1953-55 Lincoln, 1953-55 Mercury
Poppet Valve T-V: 1956-58 Lincoln, 1956-57 Continental, early 1956 Mercury

All other makes and models used the 5-1/4" unit, which came in all four T-V varieties:

Slide Valve T-V: 1952-54 Packard, 1953-54 Oldsmobile, 1954 Nash Ambassador and Statesman, 1954 Hudson Hornet and Wasp, 1954 Pontiac, 1954 Chevrolet.
Poppet Valve T-V: 1955-56 Chevrolet, 1955-56 Pontiac, 1955-1957 Oldsmobile, 1955-56 Packard, 1955-56 Hudson and Nash, 1956 and 1958 Cadillac, 1956 Rambler, late 1956 Mercury, early 1957 Rambler "6", early 1957 Hudson and Nash.
Hydraulic Reaction T-V: 1957-58 Chevrolet, 1957-58 Mercury, 1958 Edsel, 1957-58 Pontiac, late 1957 and 1958 Oldsmobile, 1957 Buick, 1958 AMC, 1959 Checker.
Disc Reaction T-V: 1959 AMC, 1959 Edsel, 1960 International Harvester 1/2 ton truck, 1959-60 Lincoln, late 1959 Oldsmobile.

gauss
Last edited by a58pacer on Tue 15. Nov 2011, 15:13, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
59lincolnrag
Air Education & Training Command
Air Education & Training Command
Posts: 217
Joined: Wed 24. Dec 2008, 06:03
Gender: male
Music instruments you're playing: Acoustic Guitar ... when I was young
Location: South Jersey 08062

Re: DIY002A Bendix Poppet-Valve Type Booster

Post by 59lincolnrag » Fri 1. Oct 2010, 06:11

Thank you 58pacer ....
There are quite a few variants here ...Im trying to sort them out....I appreciate the additional in formation..
Im trying to Identify the castings ...some have stampings some don't ...some have vent tubes on the top covers some dont..some covers are flat....with no vent tube.......
The collection of carcasses I do have here in the shop is only a small sample of all the variants.
My goal here is to illustrate refurbishing the (MEL) master cylinder and the two different power vacuum cylinders the reaction and pop type.
and of course the scattered variants in between..... I have been trying to source "pop" parts but it seems they are manufactured only for rebuild shops..
2002 Lincoln Blackwood
1959 Lincoln Continental Coupe blk on blk
430 Tri-Power Super Marauder
1959 Lincoln Continental Convertible wht on wht
2006 Lincoln Town Car

User avatar
a58pacer
Airman
Airman
Posts: 30
Joined: Sun 26. Sep 2010, 20:17
Gender: male
Music instruments you're playing: Piano

Re: DIY002A Bendix Poppet-Valve Type Booster

Post by a58pacer » Fri 1. Oct 2010, 17:05

Per your request, 59lincolnrag, here is my Bendix #73554 power brake tester set up with a 1958 Oldsmobile "O-8" Hydraulic Reaction Treadle-Vac under test. I got the Treadle-Vac a few years ago from a collection of rebuilt units that had been purchased from a rebuilt auto parts supplier.
NEW-3.jpg
The input rod pressure is exerted through brake fluid pressure hand-generated with the lever on the left and injected into the ram on the right. I forgot to apply vacuum to the Treadle-Vac! (Red-faced) That's okay, there was no vacuum source connected to this set-up anyway! Bendix recommends a 1/4 horse vacuum pump.
NEW-2.jpg
Input pounds are read on the left, output PSI next to that. On the right, vacuum is indicated in both as-available (constant) and as-user-adjusted (control). The knobs control the hydraulic input pressure and the vacuum applied.
NEW-1.jpg
There's a close-up of a T-V in the testing jig. (BTW, in the picture I forgot to attach the vacuum line to the unit, but this setup was just for show anyway.)
I picked this tester up on eBay a couple of years ago for a whopping $25, and it was listed as a pickup-only item (no shipping considered!). It just happened to be about 15 miles from my home. The input pressure gauge was blown, so I rounded up a replacement from a gauge supply in Orange County, and transferred the "Bendix" and "South Bend, Ind." labels to the new gauge face to keep it looking somewhat authentic.

The whole guts was jammed up with congealed brake fluid, but patience won out and it's now 100% operable. Total investment about $50 and a bit of arm and leg-work.

The Bendix Service and Sales Catalog I picked up 25 years ago at Acres of Books in Long Beach, California, provided the test specifications for this set-up, and all Bendix brake units through model year 1957. With vacuum of 20 in.Hg, this unit will produce between 100 and 190 psi hydraulic pressure with 30 pounds at the input rod, and 700 to 850 psi with 110 pounds at the input rod.

The Mercury/Edsel units will put out between 60 and 140 psi with 30 pounds input, and between 550 and 700 psi with 110 pounds input. The difference is probably accounted for by the differences in the pedal linkage pressure multiplication factor between the Olds and the Merc.

gauss
Last edited by a58pacer on Tue 15. Nov 2011, 15:04, edited 4 times in total.

User avatar
59lincolnrag
Air Education & Training Command
Air Education & Training Command
Posts: 217
Joined: Wed 24. Dec 2008, 06:03
Gender: male
Music instruments you're playing: Acoustic Guitar ... when I was young
Location: South Jersey 08062

Re: DIY002A Bendix Poppet-Valve Type Booster

Post by 59lincolnrag » Fri 1. Oct 2010, 17:36

WOW how cool is that!!.........Im excited....OOOOHH Baby!!
2002 Lincoln Blackwood
1959 Lincoln Continental Coupe blk on blk
430 Tri-Power Super Marauder
1959 Lincoln Continental Convertible wht on wht
2006 Lincoln Town Car

Post Reply

Return to “Tutorials Tips Tricks and How To. Written By Board Members”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests