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New vs Used? Brakes on the truck are FUBAR

DrkZide

DrkZide

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Littleton, CO
So I took the truck in to Brakes Plus to have the front pads changed out since they started to squeal and I wanted to put off buying a High Lift until after Christmas. They called me about some of the extra issues they found...

- The passenger rear brake forward brake shoe had come apart and the backing has been pressing against the drum, scoring the drum.
- The passenger rear wheel cylinder is over extended and has lost the plungers
- The front rotors are below minimum specification and need to be replaced (which apparently you need to remove the hubs and press out the studs in order to remove)
- The 4WD does not engage, the forward driveshaft spins but not the wheel.

So all in all, if I get this right. I need two wheel cylinders, two set of pads and shoes, two sets of rotors, a brake drum, a hub kit(?) and whatever the hell is broken on the 4WD system.

Can some of those parts be bought used? Do you guys suggest buying new all the way around? Where can I find out how to re-do the front hubs (Haynes manual maybe?)?

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. :doah:

P.S. Brakes Plus quoted me almost a grand to repair just the brakes, looks like it's mostly labor though.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._473098824341_737969341_5782972_5966821_n.jpg
 
I'd be willing to go to Pick-N-Pull (or your friendly local junkyard) & get used parts. I have been lucky at times, even found a nice non-leaking & tight steering box.

I wouldn't get pads/shoes there, but rotors & drums, sure!

Good luck,
Clay
 
Guessing you are talking about a 73-87 truck or blazer? Labor shouldn't be that high. Especially for anyone who knows how to work on them.

Since you are talking about brakes, I would do it right. Spending the money on quality parts is important. I have seen/heard/ and dealt with soooo many customers that just want to get by with the cheapest repair possible. Brakes are EXTREMELY important. You could jeopardize the safety of yourself, your family, and other families on the road.

To me, this is not a place to skimp. If you have dealt with this shop before and trust them, then I feel they are steering you in the right direction. Don't be afraid of asking them questions to get specifics on whats going on.
 
The rear drums are a piece of cake. The biggest issue will be bleeding them and that isnt hard either. The rotor replacing is time consuming and annoying compared to a 2wd vehicle but not all that difficult. 1K is mighty steep. Especially if it doesnt specify if they are replacing both rotors and drums (which they should). I would just tackle it myself and have the power bleed it when i'm done.
 
I should really put my truck specs in my sig lol Yes it's an 86 GMC K10.

So I should just go with new parts then? I can do all the work myself, I've just never done a rotor job on one of these before so the hub part of it is throwing me off. Is there a place I can pick up slotted rotors?
 
It depends on your ability. If you can do the work why did you bring it to them? I doubt you will find anyone to install used brake parts. The parts don`t cost all that much, weigh that against the value of your time to try to find and remove good used brake parts. If you don`t trust the shop go elsewhere and get another quote. Did the brakes work when you dropped it off, from the sounds of there estimate you had some major brake issues......then there`s the 4WD..
 
str8axle55 said:
It depends on your ability. If you can do the work why did you bring it to them? I doubt you will find anyone to install used brake parts. The parts don`t cost all that much, weigh that against the value of your time to try to find and remove good used brake parts. If you don`t trust the shop go elsewhere and get another quote. Did the brakes work when you dropped it off, from the sounds of there estimate you had some major brake issues......then there`s the 4WD..
Click to expand...


I took it to them because I don't have a hi-lift jack and I didn't want to buy one until after Christmas. I just took it in to have the front pads changed out while I finished some Christmas shopping.
 
Can you do that? I was always taught to never lift from the axle. My experience is in race cars though and I'm pretty sure my floor jack won't lift high enough to get the wheels off the ground. I'm new to the world of 4x4 Off Road trucks.
 
that's the preferred method on 4x4's too much lifting going on from the bumper or frame.
And your jack only needs to lift less than 1/2 of your tire diameter.
Although a 2-1/2 ton jack is usually a good idea, you could probably do it with a 2 ton.
 
I would never use a high lift to work on a vehicle

I dont even really like them on the trail most of the time
 
I'd ask to see the parts thay are talking about too, this to me just sounds too much like,,, "lets do/move/slide this and tell him this was wrong"

Heard it happening to other people, where the brake shop would slide a caliper to one side, making it rub the rotor on one side, and tell the owner of the vehicle, it's not suppose to do that, and get them for a new caliper along with other parts most likely not needed.

Unless your truck and braking system is in really poor shape, to me it hust sounds like an aweful lot of added stuff they're trying to get you for.

And just because your brake are "squeeling" doesn't really mean they are bad, unless it's a metal grinding type noise. Squeeling is just a vibration going on, i have taken squeeky brake assemblies apart, to find a ton of pad/material left still, simply cleaned up all the components, greased the slide pins and anywhere metal to metal contact is made, except rotor surface..:tongue1:. and never had a problem with squeeks again.
 
The 4x4 sounds like a manual lockout bad. Just replaced mine doing the same thing. All new brakes at autozone is only 350-400 bucks. Thats everything (calipers, rotors, pads, shoes, springs, wheel cylinders, and drums. Slotted rotors are available at www.4wheelparts.com but their expensive, it said 140. I dont know if thats apiece or pair. I'm replacing the entire system on mine just for piece of mind. Trucks new to me so I figured 400 bucks, cant go wrong.
 
What's wrong with high lifts? I'll definitely try the axle trick and take pictures of what they were talking about. They showed me everything that was wrong along with measuring the clearances before they put her back together. I know for sure I just need new pads,rotors,shoes,cylinders and a drum. I might pickup the springs while I'm in there. I also do not have a parking brake (lines to the drums seems to be broken (and only going to the pass side)).

Would the manual lockout be something I would see in the process of removing the hubs to get to the rotors? Does AutoZone or O'Reiley have hub "rebuild" kits?

I'm sorry for all the questions, like I said, I'm not new to automotive modifications and repairs, just new to these trucks.
 
The manual lockouts will have to be removed to get the hubs off. Only takes a few minutes to get em off. 6 or 8 small bolts and 2 snap rings. one small external and one large internal. The ones on mine were technically ok but someone had put thick bearing type grease in them. If yours are just gummed up like mine, you can clean them all up then use a real light grease or even lithium to relube them. Or you can pick up new ones at the parts store for $80, clean up the old ones and you'll have spares:waytogo:
 
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