Brake Master Cylinder from Kaiser Willys SC

Post by **wesk** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 10:26 am

I brought this over from the G503 page:

I purchased a master cylinder from Kaiser Willys in SC they said it was made in USA. I recieved one that was imported and in a box that said Made in Taiwan. I asked for a USA made one and they sent me an identical one as a replacement - same casting, same identification and they were emphatic on the phone that they were sending one "made in USA" before I took delivery. They removed it from the box and sent it in a baggie.
I installed theirs and it leaked.
Thats when I went to NAPA.
Moral of the story is don't do business with Kaiser Willys ever (this was my first and last purchase from them). And try the Friendly Local Auto Parts store when you can or buy from a vendor who will answer questions honestly (Ron comes to mind).
Tom

OKCM38CDN · Post by **OKCM38CDN** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 5:15 pm

I have had the same problem with these folks, give them the Willys Part number, manual page and figure and still get the wrong part...

This is for a '51 Wagon...

Be aware of what you order...

My 2 cents

idiocrates · Post by **idiocrates** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:39 pm

Well now you guys have got me worried. So far, I've purchased a set of front springs, shackles and through bolts all the way around, a water pump, clutch bellcrank shaft, clutch and brake pedal cross shaft, flexible oil lines, and other misc small parts from these guys and they have all fit and been new parts. I started off with them because they offered free shipping and for the leaf springs anyway...that was a pretty big savings. I guess for the small stuff they might be all right but now I'm seriously considering taking them off my list of suppliers.

I used Novak as my supplier for parts on my transfer case and transmission and with the exceptions of a)under sized gaskets for behind the front and rear seals on the transfer case and b)undersized balls for the shifter rails in the transmission shift tower everything worked great.

Of course, this is pretty limited experience but so far anyway I've been pretty happy with both suppliers.

Jim

moby · Post by **moby** » Fri May 01, 2009 6:17 pm

Hi guys, I have had the same problem with that supplyer. poor quality. I bought a z- tube kit . It was crap. I never used it. I bought another from midwest military. It was perfect. a little more money though, you get what you pay for! anyone interested in a z-tube kit? a little rusty and looks like it was welded by a blind guy.

Hawkshadow · Post by **Hawkshadow** » Mon Dec 03, 2012 12:42 pm

I don't get how these guys can be so horrible yet seem to be such a profitable company? Am I missing something?

That aside, is the master available from NAPA? I'm planning on upgrading to a dual master as well, any sources aside from Kaiser Willys?

Post by **wesk** » Mon Dec 03, 2012 10:58 pm

For every product made there are buyers. Some smart and some not so smart. Some complain and some just don't deal with that one again. Every Walmart you walk into you will see row after row of good products intermixed with poor products. The distributor makes money on both just as auto parts vendors profit from selling both quality and poor parts.

Yes this board helps folk point out issues where a vendor was less than fair or honest with them but more importantly it helps our members by letting them no which specific products work well and which don't.

The dual master cylinder was used on 68 and on CJ5's and CJ6's and for the 68 thru 71 years was in the original position under the floor. You can order a rebuilt 70 CJ5 master cylinder through most car parts houses and do the adapting work and fabrication yourself or just buy the kit from Herm the Overdrive Guy http://hermtheoverdriveguy.com/?page_id=828

Deadguy · Post by **Deadguy** » Thu Dec 27, 2012 8:54 pm

I get everything I can from Midwest Military. So far, that has included quite a bit, as my M38A1 has needed to get almost everything reworked or replaced. I originally ordered rims, tires, shocks, and leaf springs from Kaiser Willys. No problems there. I've had problems since, and stopped using them. I ordered a rebuilt T90 and Dana 18 from Novak, and gave them my old ones as a core. I needed an overdrive too, was going to order that from Herm, but they convinced me to get one from them. The transmission and transfer case were fine, although the tip of the keyed 15 tooth transfer case driven gear tip immediately snapped off and had to be dug out of the bottom of the case. The overdrive never worked, and after over a month of back and forth with them, I sent it back. My mechanic buddy told them on the phone that the engagement gear was too worn to work. They shipped it to me a week later, with what looked like absolutely nothing done to it. They said it was "a little worn, but still fine". This is after I paid them $800+ for the overdrive I assumed was at least rebuilt. It still wouldn't work, and I finally managed to send it back for a refund, and got one from Herm. That worked right away.