What can I get away with? Rear brakes.

[323kielr]

Hi All,

I have a leaky rear axle seal and I am no stranger to this job, but my I am feeling a shift in my vehicle maintenance philosophy, and I want to hear some others perspectives on "doing the bare minimum".

I am cheap yes, I mean our family runs 2 gmt400s for goodness sake, but I always try to do the right thing when repairing the rigs, even if I have to spend $17

But in all seriousness, I have done this job in the past (different vehicles!) and I felt that I replaced many parts that maybe didn't need replacing, so my question to you is what NEEDS to be replaced, vs what should be cleaned and reinstalled. Call it recycling! I am trying to reduce my carbon footprint to match that of a Cyber truck. Oh wait...

In the past (other vehicle) I replaced:
Axle seals
Bearings
The entire rear brake setup (from springs, to wheel cylinders, to the heavy as drum)

I am tempted to just replace the axle seal, and brake shoes and clean the rest. Maybe wheel cylinders, because those tend to leak after being hosed down with brake clean in my experience.
Just trying to keep this rabbit hole short.


Thanks, and interested to hear others perspectives.

 

[454cid]

First off, I'm not super experienced with drum brakes. I've had mine apart, but it was years ago. I did do the rear drums on my Saturn a few years back.

Those shoes look like they're really gunked up. I'd replace them... they don't look like they're very thick any way. The springs and stuff are pretty cheap, and I'd rather buy new than clean up old rusty stuff. I'd be more inclined to just clean the cylinders, but they're not expensive either.

 

[Cadillacmak]

I am tempted to just replace the axle seal, and brake shoes and clean the rest. Maybe wheel cylinders, because those tend to leak after being hosed down with brake clean in my experience.
Just trying to keep this rabbit hole short.

I agree, sometimes you just need to replace what is needed, the rabbit hole goes too far at times and you just need to focus on the problem at hand. If its all old and high mileage that's a different situation, then it needs refreshed. I trend towards the rabbit hole and it is not good many times.

 

[Road Trip]

I am tempted to just replace the axle seal, and brake shoes and clean the rest. Maybe wheel cylinders, because those tend to leak after being hosed down with brake clean in my experience.
Just trying to keep this rabbit hole short.


Thanks, and interested to hear others perspectives.

I found myself working on a similar rear brake setup last year on my '99 C2500.
The brakes were smooth, but due to a missing parking brake cable I was forced to
open up one side, discovered a couple of showstoppers, and ended up bringing
them back to full functionality. Didn't take any shortcuts, but also didn't just
throw money at the problem. (Had the original 13" drums turned at a local brake
specialist for $20/drum, new parts as needed, including new rear axle seals, etc.)

For comparison purposes, if you'd like to see what happened in my backyard,
here's a link: (64-lb drums) Note: This takes you to reply #84, and there's a
link back to the initial teardown showing why I had to go there - reply #79.)

Truth be told, the parts to renew the rear drums were way more affordable than I
thought they would be. Almost used the B word. (Bargain :0)

By the way, given the amount of gear oil back there I'd be curious how much axle
runout do you have? Or maybe the wheel bearings were not set up correctly?
Of course the highest probability is that the seals were just too old/too many
heat cycles to care anymore?

FWIW --

 

[323kielr]

Thank you all! It's just one of those temptations we all deal with.

I enjoy the adventure of fighting with all the rear brake springs anyway, and enjoy doing things correctly, so I suppose I'll just go all the way in!

Cheers!

 

[Cadillacmak]

Thank you all! It's just one of those temptations we all deal with.

I enjoy the adventure of fighting with all the rear brake springs anyway, and enjoy doing things correctly, so I suppose I'll just go all the way in!

Cheers!

Last time I went to repair drum brakes, the rabbit hole got me!

 

[rzr6-4]

Last time I went to repair drum brakes, the rabbit hole got me!

I have worked on my drums exactly one time. Next time I touch them, it will look like yours when I'm done.

 

[Schurkey]

I have done this job in the past (different vehicles!) and I felt that I replaced many parts that maybe didn't need replacing, so my question to you is what NEEDS to be replaced, vs what should be cleaned and reinstalled...

...I am tempted to just replace the axle seal, and brake shoes and clean the rest. Maybe wheel cylinders

When it was my K2500 8-lug full-float, that's exactly what I did...but with the additional work of replacing the metal tubing between the brake hose and the wheel cylinders, and replacing the park brake cables. Be sure to examine the surface the seal rides on near the end of the axle tube.

You must be registered for see images attach

The K1500 9.5" semi-float needed an axle shaft. I thought the shaft wasn't bad enough to leak...but it did.

I have worked on my drums exactly one time. Next time I touch them, it will look like yours when I'm done.

Hopefully not. You really do not want a bottom-feeder flat-bracket disc conversion.

A disc conversion where the calipers are properly supported, and with braking capacity suitable for the GVWR, would be another story.

 

[rzr6-4]

Hopefully not. You really do not want a bottom-feeder flat-bracket disc conversion.

A disc conversion where the calipers are properly supported, and with braking capacity suitable for the GVWR, would be another story.

Yes, I am well aware of your distain for the conversions. I have that in mind and I plan to either design my own or buy one and add to it to decrease flexing (engineer by trade).

 

[323kielr]

Changing Subject and vehicle here to a separate Rabbit hole!

Now to my 96 suburban which is getting a new engine from Blueprint this fall. (I am not made of money, but this is the direction we chose to go)

For the rabbit hole, I am trying to balance what needs to be replaced vs what can be scrounged off the old engine.

My Thoughts for buying new:
Water pump
Power steering lines
Power steering pump???
Distributor??? Will the old worn gear damage a new camshaft?
Gaskets
Belts and pulls
Engine mounts
Harmonic balancer??
Oil cooler lines


Scavenge and reuse the old:
All the electric sensors
Everything from the intake manifold and above
Including! The spider injectors... Yes I plan on reusing as I replaced them about a year ago.
Alternator
Fan clutch???

There's obviously more stuff, like hoses, thermostats, spark plugs and such but those are all wear items I plan on replacing.

Please share your thoughts on what is worth replacing while it's out.
What is a mandatory replacement part, and then anything you would trust to keep original (not only to save a buck, but also some of these old parts are just better).


Thanks,