Rear brake work... how bad is it?!?!?

[Old Man Powell]

Ordered all the parts for my brake project. Gonna be fun...ehhhh! Not worried about the front end. I've done plenty of master cylinders and calipers. However, I've really only done one or two drum brake jobs. Got the manuals downloaded of course. This will definitely be my first time working on a "dually" rear end. How hard is it to get the axles out? Is the hub assembly that comes off pretty heavy? Will the drums be the typical pain in the rear to get off? Should I go ahead and get an industrial size bottle of Ibuprofen and a swear jar started... Johnny 5 need info!

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Bendix Twinplex Drum Brakes

Drum/hub is about 50lbs
Heaviest portion of rig is the rear so 3 to 4 ton jack and 3 ton or larger jack stands are required.

WARNING: Do not loose the cone washers used to bolt the axle to the hub.  They have a split in the side that allows them to expand/contract however they can get stuck on the studs.  Sometimes you have to use a pair of pliers to get them off / on.

M500 [RM400] Brake system

Links to different subjects at top left.

Dave

[Old Man Powell]

Holly "schnikies"... got the first 2 of 3 boxes of brake parts yesterday. I knew the brake shoes were going to be big, but you just don't realize how big till you see them in person. Pretty sure I've owned cars that had smaller tires than these shoes. Can't wait to tear into this project... i think!

[Dave R]

i to am dreading the rear brakes repair. been doing drum brakes for a long time and hopping there pretty close to the same. went to Dave's place to get part #s and pictures and email addresses if i run into a problem. just the shear size has me baffled. not only do i have to worry about drum brakes but the components before the  brakes. never had any problems fixing anything on mh but been putting this to last item on list

[Old Man Powell]

I lucked out. Did the front brakes... master cylinder, lines, calipers and pads... and once I finished bleeding the system everything seemed great. Jacked up the rear end and spun the wheels. No drag or noises. Ole girl is stopping on a dime so decided not to dig into rear brakes. Will monitor closely and when the time comes at least I already have all the parts.

I highly, highly recommend looking for parts on the Raybestos website. I got the part numbers for all my parts and then purchased them from RockAuto.com. Prices were great and recieved eveything within a week. Just a suggestion.

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

I highly, highly recommend looking for parts on the Raybestos website. I got the part numbers for all my parts and then purchased them from RockAuto.com. Prices were great and recieved eveything within a week. Just a suggestion.

Thanks for saying that.  The 70-73 chassis era is about the only ones where you have difficulty finding parts.

Dave

[ClydesdaleKevin]

If you have to do it in the future, its not that bad a job.  I did it myself with written help from folks here, and I was still a seriously inept mechanical newbie.

Hardest part was wrapping my head around how the rear axle worked.  Once you remove the outer bolts, smack it with a hammer hard, and it scoots out a bit, dislodging the cone washers.  Then you pull the axles.  Then you unlock the lock washer for the wheel bearing.  I forget exactly how I did it, but I think I had to bend something out of the way.  Then undo the washer and nut, and the drum is free.  And its HEAVY!  Freakin' huge, but manageable. 

With the drums out of the way, the backing plate is right there with the shoes and hardware and cylinders.  Get new springs and hardware if yours are crusty.  They probably will be, so get them ahead of time.  DON'T try to save leaking wheel cylinders like I did.  Just get new ones.  I had to do this job TWICE because I tried to save the old ones.

Not a hard job.  But they are heavy, and the job is time consuming.  Leave yourself at least a whole day to do it, starting early in the morning.

Kev

[Dave R]

i too am saving this project for last. decided to just check around for parts and some are readily accessible. Went to the local rv store. they recommended a garage that they refer to for such projects. they quoted me  $4000.oo dollars to do the brakes. i was sitting down and almost fell out of chair. spilled a little of my coffee and lost a the blood in my face there for a couple seconds. after i regained my composure, i asked if they were chroming the brake pads and shoes and gold plating all the brake hoses as well? CRAZY
anyway glad to here you had no issues. hopefully i will have the same luck as you.

[Mr. T]

Be sure to have a rolling floor jack for the drums and plywood or concrete for it to roll the drum out of the way.  And like Kevin suggests, don't go cheap.  Replace everything.


Don

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Allretta truck parts always got me JUST the right parts, quickly, that I needed.  Also, if you take the drums off, replace the grease/gear lube seal while you are at it.  Don't try to reuse it.  Its a cheap part and easily replaced.

Kev

[DonD]

A Chevy but similar sizes here. I took mine to a trusted shop, New everything, springs, seals, wc, shoes etc. Had a blown seal which soaked the shoes and ruined them. Not much stopping power either. There was evidence of a fire in there too!! ! $500 total.

[Stripe]

I know I have rear disk and it's just a bit less complicated than drum, but I still fear taking the rear apart and seeing something that will not be good, lol..