Drum Brakes/ wheel Cylinders

[madhouze803]

Bare with me here Please:
Ok So a few months ago when I bought my 92 Ranger the front brake line to the right side blew. Easy Fix ok Done, went to bleed and found the line running to the rear behind the ABS block rusted and blew, No Problem RIGHT couldn't find correct fitting at 4 different parts store so welded it close and used as a plug. SO this weekend I decided to do the right thing and fix the brakes and NOT be half ass about it. Found the right fitting, bought the line I needed and got it all hooked up. Next went to bleed starting with right rear and of course bleeder broke so I pop the drum off and find the shoes were shot (NO PAD WHAT SO EVER). Off the parts store I go shoes, hardware,adjusting screws and levers wheel cylinders. Got everything replaced and went to bleed again. Everything seem great no rubbing, hanging up, petal pressure so I take it for a test drive around the block. Get up to about 40 and ease on the brakes, feels good start going again and get on the brakes and NOTHING. I limp home look under and break fluid is coming out of the right rear drum. Took it all back apart and the seal on the wheel cylinder came off. This Time I double checked everything (to make sure I did it right) but disconnected the parking brake lever from the cable. put it all bake together Bled again and seems good tighten and clean it up and go to take it for another ride and as I'm Backing out the drive I Lose brakes again.
Looked under and coming from the right rear. Took it all apart again and find the same thing (seal on the right of WC popped off) SO I fixed it again and just put my original halfass plug back in the ABS block Because its taken 3days to get this far and Im DONE for the moment.

I hope I provided enough Info in my story here But I'm baffled I can Only Think its the wheel cylinder but wanted to see what someone else thinks.

Thanks in advance

 

[tmcalavy]

the WC is toast, change it.

 

[PanamaExpat]

Definitely sounds like you bought a bad wheel cylinder. I would take it back for an exchange.

 

[killj0y]

just went through something similar and I said F*ck it! and just replaced everything! wheel cylinders, shoes, hardware, and resurfaced the drums. Maybe i should have changed out the bleeder too...brakes are one thing you don't want to take chances on....

 

[Andy D]

Auto Zone has WCs for about 12$ Drum brakes are a PITA. They have to be adjusted to work . Also , all the little pieces have to be right. Ive been messing with drum brakes for ages. They have enough differences model to model, so I take off broth drums and do one side at a time. It is possible the WC was thrown too far because the shoes are backed off too much. I had to replace most of the hardware and lines to fix the Rat's brakes. The brakes were fine until I jostled a line working on a frame repair. I managed to save the front rotors, the MC, the rear hose, and the drums. The hard ware had rotted off and the shoes and pads were cracked. I bought truck and drove it home 65 mile and figured the brakes were fine. The stuff was frozen solid or rusted to nothing when I tried to open the bleeders. The hoses were toast, so were the hard lines. It was an unexpected expense of 150$. OTOH, It stops great and will continue to do so for sometime. Later on, I was messing with one of the flares , and several pounds of fine beach sand trickled out. So that explains the rusty under side.

 

[killj0y]

Auto Zone has WCs for about 12$ Drum brakes are a PITA. They have to be adjusted to work . Also , all the little pieces have to be right. Ive been messing with drum brakes for ages. They have enough differences model to model, so I take off broth drums and do one side at a time. It is possible the WC was thrown too far because the shoes are backed off too much.

yea i spent probably 100 bucks but the whole thing needed to be redone otherwise somewhere you'll find a weak link...

 

[madhouze803]

The WC's are new But i see the that everyone else agrees that the WC is crap. Another buddy of mine suggested that the drum its self might be worn down too much and causing the WC to push farther than it suppose to. So I'm gonna replace the WC first and if its still doing it then, if so off to get new drums. with new EVERYTHING but drums i'm already $100 down. Thanks for all the input

 

[FritzTKatt]

New WC is about $12 around my way too. Do them both, of course. If you have the few bucks grab a line for the ABS block back to the hard line too... the hard line should only cost you a few bucks anyway. Might as well replace it and call your brakes brand new... You'll end up replacing them all anyway.

WC's should come with a new bleeder every time. And the little plastic plug they put into the line hole works great to snap onto the bleeder to keep crap out of it.

 

[madhouze803]

OK update Got up this morning pulled passenger drum back apart and took the WC up to Auto Zone and swapped it for another. A buddy of mine got me a great deal on a set of drums. so after getting home putting new WC in and shoes and gear back together, re-connected the hard line to the ABS block and bleed the brakes. I forgot to adjust the screw back out and didnt feel like crawling back under it so I drove forward and reverse about a dozen times or more and the petal stiffened right up. I've finally got ALL 4 brakes again. Thanks guys for the input.

 

[nitrofan1]

just went through something similar and I said F*ck it! and just replaced everything! wheel cylinders, shoes, hardware, and resurfaced the drums. Maybe i should have changed out the bleeder too...brakes are one thing you don't want to take chances on....

+1! NEVER play with your brakes or tires. When I do a brake job front or rear everything gets replaced (rotors & drums machined if possible). It's almost shocking how many times I recommend springs on a shoe replacement and the buyer says they look fine, why should I spend $8.00 extra?

 

[Andy D]

I generally fix only broken stuff. But everything was broken. Or about to break. I had no trouble driving the truck home. I was babying it because the clutch was so bad. And I drove the truck a little until the clutch wouldnt move the truck any more. It was for the best, a hard stop could have blown any of the lines or hoses, anywhere. The hard lines were so rusty. I was mad at the time , but the brakes failed with the truck blocked 2 feet in the air. So no drama . It really wasnt a bad job redoing the stuff. Parts are cheap and available down town. 20$ here , 30 $ there. The rotors drums, the MC and proportioning valve and a rear hose were all that was any good on the entire system. I had to stop somewhere. The truck is just a week end worker. 3rd vehicle. No rush to get 'er done. I was replacing stuff that was fairly new, that had been driven through salt water and then allowed to sit for a year. I would definitely replace the rear hardware when doing the rears. The kits are the cheapest parts in the whole system.

 

[wallisonline]

Has anyone replaced a wheel cylinder on a 98 chevy cavalier ?