Wheel cylinder replacement

[bartenderfloyd]

I have a leaky wheel cylinder (and a broken spring) on the passenger front wheel.  This will be my first time replacing anything on these brakes so I have some questions I hope you can help answer.  I took the drum off the wheel and the top cylinder spit out a bunch of fluid when the brake was applied so I definitely need to replace that one. 

1. Do I replace just 1 or is it advised to replace both?

2. Is rebuilding worth it or should I not even bother, I'm not concerned about cost?

3. I've had very good experiences buying from oldmoparts.com, is that the best place to get replacements?

4. I believe I take the nut off the back of the top cylinder but the bottom one is different.  It looks like it goes through the  steering rod.  Is that correct?

5. When they say "left" and "right" cylinder, is the passenger front the "right" wheel?

 

Thanks and Happy Father's Day!

Edited June 19, 2022 by bartenderfloyd

[Plymouthy Adams]

actually it is advised that when doing brakes, the axle is done complete.....so if doing a front left...you will do the front right, you do not have to do front and rear at the same time....it is only normal to shoot the piston from the cylinder if you apply brakes with no drums on to stop the shoes from over travel.  If your cylinders are not pitted...one should be able to rebuild with no problems.  And yes, right is typically the passenger side in the good ole US....left and right surely beats near side, far side in terms of placement.

Edited June 19, 2022 by Plymouthy Adams

[bartenderfloyd]

The shoes look good. Are you saying I should replace all 4 wheel cyliders?

[Los_Control]

1 hour ago, bartenderfloyd said:

1. Do I replace just 1 or is it advised to replace both?

2. Is rebuilding worth it or should I not even bother, I'm not concerned about cost?

3. I've had very good experiences buying from oldmoparts.com, is that the best place to get replacements?

4. I believe I take the nut off the back of the top cylinder but the bottom one is different.  It looks like it goes through the  steering rod.  Is that correct?

5. When they say "left" and "right" cylinder, is the passenger front the "right" wheel?

 

 

1, I agree with PA on this. Depending on your vehicle, sometimes you will have 2 wheel cylinders per wheel, 4 wheel cylinders for both left & right.

It is kinda the norm to repair brakes per axle, not per wheel. ... So if the right wheel cylinder is leaking, possible next week the left will start leaking ... do both sides and all wheel cylinders.

 

2, It is worth it if yours are worth rebuilding. If yours are older original type wheel cylinders. .... If your current wheel cylinders are recent china replacements and leaking ... probably not worth rebuilding.

 

3, no idea. 4, no idea without looking, 5, PA got it right again

 

6, Bonus answer .... If you do go with replacing the wheel cylinders. Save the old ones for now. There has been some discussion about possibly the rods in the new cylinders are not the same length as the old .... some may have adjustment problems with the new cylinder push rods, I would compare them with your old before installing.

[Los_Control]

Just now, bartenderfloyd said:

The shoes look good. Are you saying I should replace all 4 wheel cyliders?

Do you know what was done to the brakes the last time they were worked on?

Keep the shoes thats fine.

 

If someone replaced all 4 wheel cylinders 3 years ago with the current aftermarket parts .... one is now leaking .... then maybe just replace the one.

 

If they were last worked on 15 years ago and now 1 is leaking, I would want to work on all 4.

[bartenderfloyd]

I have no issue replacing all 4 but I wasn't sure if that was the norm.  I know it is when changing brakes though.   I can't really tell the age of the cylinders, they look ok to me but I have no reference to compare.  Here's a pic.  Stepped on the brake and the top one shot out fluid under the rubber seal.

[Los_Control]

I would entertain the idea of rebuilding them. At least pull them apart and look at the cylinder walls.

I bought my wheel cylinders from here. .... I wanted to rebuild mine but they were simply too far gone after sitting for many years.

https://dcmclassics.com/25-Brake-Parts?p=2

 

I was able to rebuild my master cylinder though which was a bonus.

 

When I was 16 I had a job at a Texico gas station and I was often told to rebuild the wheel cylinders ... while the mechanics did all the shoes, drums, springs etc...

I would disassemble them, clean them up with a rag with the cylinders still bolted to the backing plate. If they got removed they were replaced.

If they looked good I would then use fluids and a hone to clean the bores up. The piston & springs all got cleaned up. I replaced the rubber cup with a new rubber cup.

 

We had a small metal cabinet hanging on the wall, open it up and it was simply filled with all the different sizes of rubber cups.

The decision was made by how pitted the cylinders were. If not too bad just hone them enough to clean them. Install the same size cup in them.

If minor pitting, hone the crap out of them then go to the next size larger rubber cup. We never went more then 1 size larger.

If we put it back together and they leaked, we replaced the complete wheel cylinder.

 

We did not replace the spring, or the pistons, we cleaned, honed, replaced the rubber cups & that was it .... if they needed more they were replaced with new wheel cylinders.

That was how we did it in the 1970's

I see DCM at todays prices selling the cups for $2.50 each. So $10 to go through all 4 wheel cylinders + the brake hone tool and fluids like spray oil & brake clean ...

 

If the existing cylinders are not leaking, chances are a good clean and new rubber cups & be like new again. The one that is leaking will need special attention.

[belvedere]

6 hours ago, bartenderfloyd said:

 I took the drum off the wheel and the top cylinder spit out a bunch of fluid when the brake was applied

Do you mean that you applied the brakes with the drum off?  If so, don't do that...it will cause problems for you.

[Loren]

Here’s a tip.

in your photo you can see an arrow on the anchor bolts.

Before you take anything apart, mark the shoes and mark where the arrow is. Since it is so easy with phone cameras take a picture as well.

After you change the cylinder (s) put everything back the way you found it. Shoes in the same place and arrows pointed exactly as they were.

This is the only way you can get the adjustment right without the special tool to center the shoes.

You might scan the shop manual before you start to visualize what I am talking about.

[bartenderfloyd]

1 hour ago, belvedere said:

Do you mean that you applied the brakes with the drum off?  If so, don't do that...it will cause problems for you.

Yes, I had to see where it was leaking.

[bartenderfloyd]

43 minutes ago, Loren said:

Here’s a tip.

in your photo you can see an arrow on the anchor bolts.

Before you take anything apart, mark the shoes and mark where the arrow is. Since it is so easy with phone cameras take a picture as well.

After you change the cylinder (s) put everything back the way you found it. Shoes in the same place and arrows pointed exactly as they were.

This is the only way you can get the adjustment right without the special tool to center the shoes.

You might scan the shop manual before you start to visualize what I am talking about.

Yup, I figured that and took lots of pics. Thanks.