Rear Brake Drums cylinders and shoes...getting fleeced? (1 Viewer)

[Peter McNeal]

Had the rear Master cylinder go out and kick all the fluid out. Then was told by Shop that rear
brake cylinders need to be replaced in the rears along with the the shoes. They want $700. This seems incredibly high considering what we know the parts cost just to bleed the lines put new shoes and refill the fluid and not even touching the front brakes. Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated even the funny ones.

 

[snaggletto]

Never had a quote for any auto repair that wasn't. I did a rear disc conversion with Poser's parts when one of my cylinders blew. It was only slightly more than a full rebuild of the drums.

 

[greenbeasty]

Like a wooly sheep!
Get your cruiser back home!
Not hard to do it yourself, usually the cylinders can be honed and rebuilt. This is the stuff you need to learn to enjoy the truck for years.
Or do the disk break conversion on the rear. Is your front disk? A little more info on your truck please.

 

[3_puppies]

I could see that price in LA or any major metro area.
Looking at $300? in parts + mark up + turn drums + a few hours labor.

 

[emac]

I bought all new wheel cylinders from rock auto for about $20 a piece. Once bled and adjusted they work great. About two years ago. If you have some basic mechanical ability, do it yourself and do everything. Shoes, all the wheel cylinders, hoses, etc.

 

[shawnfj40]

It always amazes me when people will pay 1,500 to 2,000 to spend 15 minutes with their doctors assistant who actually devotes 5 minutes of time focussed on them but when a mechanic tells them it will cost 500.00 for them to spend 4 hours working on their vehicle, its robbery.

 

[snaggletto]

Many times I've paid professionals to do a job and received far less than professional service. Nobody cares as much about you, your property and your hard earned money as YOU.

 

[4x4veteran]

Do you have any mechanical skill? If so then DIY if you think the price is to high. I call it do it yourself and slave.

You could shop around for a cheaper price.

Check and see if the mechanic have done drum brakes or any experience with cruisers.

Younger mechanics have probably only done disk brakes.

 

[emac]

It always amazes me when people will pay 1,500 to 2,000 to spend 15 minutes with their doctors assistant who actually devotes 5 minutes of time focussed on them but when a mechanic tells them it will cost 500.00 for them to spend 4 hours working on their vehicle, its robbery.

I complain about both, I just haven't figured out how to do my own colonoscopy

 

[Tancruiser]

What year is your cruiser I know the early ones the wheel cylinders are hard to find and demand a premium price .

 

[FineWynsFJ40]

Doing the work of replacing the drums and shoes, and rebuilding your brake cylinders is easy. I've done it myself, and my truck will stand on its nose with no effort on my part. A three-stone brake cylinder hone will last for about eight (8) brake cylinders, enough to do the whole truck. Get new brake drums (I found Amazon to be the cheapest), shoes, and the brake cylinder cup kits (RockAuto has a good selection and pricing). You'll need four (4) cup kits for the rear. You'll need a large (12"-16") and a very large (24") pipe wrench, a torch, and penetrating oil to break all of the components loose if they're seized like some of mine were. Remove the cylinders from the truck, noting the position and side (LH/RH Cylinder, Front/Rear Axle, Driver/Passenger Side - use your preferred method of sorting and organizing). Once separated, clean and hone as necessary, then reassemble. Use anti-seize compound on all threads, adjuster mechanisms, etc. so it won't seize up again.

Since you're doing the rear, you might as well do the front as well. It's not much more work/cost, and you'll be glad you did.

Good luck,
Brian

 

[Poser]

Rear brake drums cylinders and shoes...getting fleeced?

If you have the space to work on it, the tools to perform the work and the time and the talent to do the job, then do the work yourself.

If not, perhaps owning a 40+ year old vehicle and not being able to maintain it is something you need to re-evaluate, because, old vehicles are neat and all, but are not cheap to service/maintain, even when you can do the work yourself.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, I agree you can do it yourself. However if you use all Toyota parts and replace the drums if they are beyond the limits. The price seems ok to me. Have you priced shop costs, insurance and utilities for the shop. Workmanship comp etc... Mike

 

[sggoat]

I'm looking at the same issue--left rear on my 77 is leaking-got the new cylinders and shoes, just the time to do it. Not many shops have the expertise to rebuild dual cylinder drum brakes--do it yourself--you won't be happy with any other-----

 

[emac]

Back to the original question.....I am not sure I would rebuild someones rear brakes (complete rebuild both sides) for much less than $700 including parts. Hoses, drums, wheel cyinders, adjusting and bleeding. Of course I would probably end up repainting the entire rear end, which would lead to new shocks, then cleaning up heat shields, checking wire harness, and the leaking tranny, then that would lead to a frame off restoration.

It may be less expensive to send it to someone!!

 

[JohnnyC]

Thats about right... can you find another shop to do it cheaper ... probably

It’s hard to find good reputable shops

Had just bought my wife’s car (sienna) in to get work done... I had my truck apart in the driveway when it was -3 and was in no mood to try to rush fixing mine for a minivan lol

Had a feeling it was going to be $800 or there abouts ... called one it was 890 another said maybe 800 on a whim called one more they would call me back

Looking at parts because I figured I’d have to suck it up and rush mine to get on hers when phone rang and said they could do it for around 500

That was reasonable enough ... dropped it off next day and several hours later it was done ... they didn’t have to replace a whole hub assembly ... therefor it was a wopping 380 total

Best money I spent in a while ... meanwhile back at my house I was removing shackles and dropped a 24 mm wrench on my face ... square between my eyes

You get what you pay for lol

You can be experienced or not they are easy really to work on ... drums can be a pita at times and it’s just really patience ... as said before rear disc is also an option ... if... you go that way Poser is the man for that

My rear disc has been one of the best mods I did for making a DD out of the rig

 

[3_puppies]

for me the time and energy to rebuild versus replace, is a no brainer. I replace with quality parts.

as for the rear disc swap, unless doing that by yourself, it may be hard and costly to have a shop do it, as it is custom work on an unfamiliar rig. Unless you go to a Landcruiser specific repair place.

 

[Peter McNeal]

Ok thanks to to all who gave input! I am not going to ask how to perform my own colonoscopy. However I am going for the JT Cruiser bolt on disc conversion. Here is the math

4 cylinders at $20-50 each $150-200


2 Drums resurfaced $?
2 sets of shoes $100

Work and springs and stuff

So $399 JT kit and I get disc ready to go and better braking. Even advertised as “less than a drum rebuild”! So no brainer!

 

[shawnfj40]

That kit doesn't come with a Proportioning valve or Master cylinder so do some research first and save yourself the frustration of having really awesome rear brakes and no front brakes to speak of.

 

[shawnfj40]

You might want to check with poser before you jump on the JT outfitter kit. So far as I know JT isn't a supporter here and doesn't have a very good rep for customer service if I remember right? Some others can attest to that better than I can.