9" drum brake issues: can I reuse cylinder if piston came out?

[jcook100]

Hello there,

I am new and hopefully follow protocol here. I have a new-to-me 1991 2WD Ranger (4.0) with 9 in drum brakes. I am currently replacing them and have 2 questions.

1) I was surprised and disappointed when pulling off the drums to find that some of the interior parts were incorrectly placed or the wrong size. For instance, the adjuster cables on both sides were too long and just hanging freely in there. I was able to confirm at the auto parts store that they were in fact the 10" size adjuster cables, even though I definitely have the 9" brakes. Since I was unable to follow what was already in there (one side had the pads switched too), I had to do my best with diagrams online and the Haynes manual that I have, whose pictures must be for a slightly different model. Since there are 3 sets of 2 springs (3 colors), am I correct that one spring of each color goes on each side? Can anyone confirm that I have attached them correctly? (see picture)

2) I made the rookie mistake of pressing on the brake after fitting and bleeding the system WITHOUT the drum on. I blew one of the pistons out of the cylinder. I tried putting everything back together, readjusted, re-bled the system, and tested again but with the drum on. This time, the same cylinder failed but did not spit out the piston. My question is, can I reuse the same cylinder if the piston pops out? If I can, any idea why it failed on me when I tried it?

Thanks!

 

[adsm08]

1) Yes, the spring colors correspond to their position in the assembly, and so one of each color goes on each side. Long thin shoe goes in the rear, short thick shoe goes to the front, if you do that wrong the adjuster assembly WILL fall apart the first time you set the parking brake, or once the shoes wear enough to actuate the self-adjusting mechanism. I have many many test runs of that particular incorrect assembly and that exact failure to be very sure I am correct about that part. It does however appear that you have everything together correctly.

2) I would not. If it held pressure and didn't leak when you retried it it may be OK. I assume you mean it is leaking when you say it failed but didn't spit the piston. That probably means a piston seal is damaged. Probably best to get a new one in there, brakes are one area to not mess around and not halfass things.

 

[Ranger850]

You either should replace it or get a rebuild kit for it, IIRC there's not much in price difference. In my experience, once you blow it out, it's toast.

 

[jcook100]

Sounds good. Yes, by "failed" I mean leaking. They are only like $14 I think, so I will grab a new one and give it another shot. Thanks!

 

[Ranger850]

if they are $14, then the rebuild kit is like $12. lol

 

[adsm08]

if they are $14, then the rebuild kit is like $12. lol

Even I'm not that cheap.

 

[Ranger850]

Even I'm not that cheap.

"A penny saved is a penny earned" - Ben Franklin
(sarcasm)

 

[Dirtman]

I don't think Ben franklen ever did 80mph down a highway trusting that penny he saved to stop him.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I would buy two... do both sides

 

[8thTon]

I don't think Ben franklen ever did 80mph down a highway trusting that penny he saved to stop him.

I read on the Internet that he would not go faster than 60mph.

 

[Ranger850]

I was just joking. Notice the * (sarcasm) * at the bottom. But here we go anyways.

As easy as it is to rebuild them, the rebuild kit should be cheaper, more people would do it. I've got bad cylinders from the parts warehouse and had to replace them, and could have rebuilt them in less than the time it takes to get the new one. And I was just the lathe operator, our Mechanic was good and he taught me right, I have full confidence in my work.

But I would still just rather buy a good new one than have to rebuild a bad old one.

 

[19Walt93]

Years ago we would rebuild the cylinders on every drum brake job, often replacing only the cups after honing the cylinder, and we had zero comebacks. When disc brakes first appeared we would rebuild the calipers only if they leaked or stuck, we could get caliper pistons and seal kits fairly cheap and rebuilt calipers weren't in the picture yet. The price of labor made rebuilding counterproductive.

 

[Ranger850]

Years ago we would rebuild the cylinders on every drum brake job, often replacing only the cups after honing the cylinder, and we had zero comebacks. When disc brakes first appeared we would rebuild the calipers only if they leaked or stuck, we could get caliper pistons and seal kits fairly cheap and rebuilt calipers weren't in the picture yet. The price of labor made rebuilding counterproductive.

Agreed, with everything. But in the case where time is money, we wanted to get the cars out of the bay so another can get in. It wasn't an everyday practice, but sometimes rebuilding cylinders did occur.

 

[19Walt93]

At the time we were required to rebuild cylinders on every brake job. When I started running the shop I stopped the practice, if they moved freely and didn't leak we left them alone and we didn't have any problems because of it. I wanted to sell every dollars worth of work the vehicles needed but none that they didn't need.

 

[adsm08]

I wanted to sell every dollars worth of work the vehicles needed but none that they didn't need.

Too bad nobody seems to have this kind of integrity anymore.

I have ruled out two of the closest dealerships to me for places I will work because their service managers have a policy of "every car needs something for inspection".