Oppo, learn me on brakes

"My bird IS the word" (mybirdistheword) 04/19/2018 at 12:15 • Filed to: Brakes

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Due to receiving much less tax return then I initially planned, I decided to do the brakes instead.

What does that entail? Well, right now for sure: All new lines, hoses, and taking my booster/master cylinder to be rebuilt at a local shop. All in all, I don’t expect this to cost much.(relatively)

But.

Whiiiiiiiiiile I’m in there... I should probably replace some of the other stuff. Right? Most of it doesn’t look too bad actually (unlike alot of other stuff on the car) but certain things leave me very conflicted and or worried.

Noticeably, rock auto lists a package for the front calipers, rotors, and pads for an insane 147$. Questions about quality run high. Although, compared to OE GM, how bad can it be?

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=7595844&cc=1250570&jsn=438

My rotors have been sitting for 3 years and I don’t know at what point the rust will make them unusable. I don’t have any pictures but I can take some if oppo wants.

At the least... I figure I should replace the bleeder screws (cheap) and the rear drum wheel cylinder (also cheap). Should I buy the rotor kit? should I replace all the nonsense with my drum brakes (springs, adjuster ect?) or is what I am doing enough? This is an opinion, obviously. I would like to know from your hooptie experience whether this stuff usually fails or if I should just let it ride for now. It will add about another ~250$ (which isn’t alot of money for this) for absolutely everything.

If anything, I am more concerned about the huge amount of work this all adds. Here is the total list of possible “additional” items. (as far as I know! feel free to add stuff that I need)

Wheel bearings

Bleeder screws

Wheel seals

Wheel Cylinder

Drum brake hardware kit

Drum brake self-adjuster repair

Total caliper/rotor/brake pad kit, or possible caliper rebuild instead. Cheap or expensive?

Wheel bearing dust caps

Front discs rear drums, if that needed said. Thanks guys!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > My bird IS the word 04/19/2018 at 13:20

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With the front brakes, that package on RockAuto is probably a decent bet. The calipers will be rebuilt OEM castings usually, and the rotors are going to be a little softer than original in worst case, most likely about the same. The way you establish they’re likely OE calipers is if there’s a core charge. Honestly, calipers are so cheap that if you’re going for preventative maintenance, there’s not much point in rebuilding them yourself.

Your existing rotors may or may not need replacing, and most surface rust from sitting will scrub off with a little use. Or, you could take them to a local shop and get them turned for probably $12 a side. That depends on how close they are to the end of service life, though. Hard to say without pulling them unless they’re deeply grooved or have a big shelf/edge on them.

For the rear drums, I’d say replace the wheel cylinders (will come with bleed screws) and shoes if needed. Springs are typically okay to reuse for a long while, but if you have doubts you ought to be able to get them locally once you can see them. Same with the self-adjust.

As to the wheel bearings, I’d say check for motion while you have the wheels up. Definitely regrease in front if the hub is a captive design, and check for level of wear/replace if needed - rear is likely fine for a good while yet.

My bird IS the word > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 04/19/2018 at 13:26

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The front rotors and pads were fine when I brought the car home, part of me is thinking to just spend the money on the parts so I have them. not like most of them will go bad from sitting on a shelf anyway. If I remember correctly the rear pads were fine as well. Thanks for your help.

traitor joe > My bird IS the word 04/19/2018 at 13:56

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It’s almost always cheaper to buy the brake parts separately than to buy one of those “kits”. Same goes for buying a new master cylinder and brake booster rather than having them rebuilt.

Anyway, I guess a lot of your question boils down to what kind of restoration you plan to do. If you are tearing the whole car down to the frame and rebuilding it like new, then it makes sense to replace every part of the brake system. If you just want a driver, why fix what’s not broken? Personally, I would bleed the brakes and then drive it for a little bit (slowly). Dump water on the rotors and brake hard, it helps burn off the rust. See what everything looks like once the rust is gone. 3 years isn’t very long for a car to sit. I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t have to replace a single thing.

If you do plan to do the work, I would recommend reman or new calipers, since they are cheap and rebuilding them yourself can be a pain. If you are going to open up your drum brakes, just replace everything. The parts are cheap and you’re going to be taking it all off anyway.

My bird IS the word > traitor joe 04/19/2018 at 14:13

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it’s alot of budget stuff. I want to eventually do a full restore, but right now I am just trying to get it functional. For me, the cost is low enough (especially compared to the peace of mind) that doing it all at once makes sense. If it really isn’t necessary though... I may just leave it. Thanks though. maybe I will just do the drums and bearings and leave the fronts be.

DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time > My bird IS the word 04/19/2018 at 14:52

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I’d say if your going to be doing the rear shoes and wheel cylinders, thus having to un do all the springs and such, you may as well replace the hardware to prevent having to come back again in the future and do it, since drums are a massive pain in the ass.

I probably wouldn’t worry about the rotors since surface rust comes off easily from just driving it. If they have room to get machined, it wouldn’t hurt to do that. Although personally I wouldn’t mess with it.

My bird IS the word > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time 04/19/2018 at 14:55

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I don’t actually have to replace the rear shoes. I have read it’s good to replace the wheel cylinder though, considering I can replace the bleeder that way as well (corrosion) That seems like a good idea.