With the help of my next door neighbor, and the local NAPA store, which had the wheel cylinder on the shelf... I just tackled a repair on drum brakes for the first time. This happened to be on the '52 Chevy DeLuxe.
The brake fluid reservoir went dry, so I started looking for signs as to where it had gone. I found what I needed to see on the inside of the front passenger tire. Had what appeared to be a wheel cylinder leaking.
Tore it all down to the cylinder, and carefully lifted the boot on the end of the cylinder that looked wet with a screwdriver... and yep... brake fluid pours out from under the boot.
The local NAPA store had a wheel cylinder on the shelf and ready for pickup in 30 minutes, for what I thought was a completely reasonable $20.49.
Was it as cheap as RockAuto? No. But I had the wheel cylinder in my hand in 30 minutes. But NAPA was actually cheaper than a Raybestos wheel cylinder through Amazon ($21.52).
My neighbor walked me through all of the steps, but made me do all of the work. While I was working, he went through his toolbox and gave me duplicates that he happened to have, of all of the special tools that I used today... along with the tool to adjust the pads as they wear. So now I'm all set up for the next time.
I've done all sorts of work on disc brakes in the past... but never on drums.
The brake fluid reservoir went dry, so I started looking for signs as to where it had gone. I found what I needed to see on the inside of the front passenger tire. Had what appeared to be a wheel cylinder leaking.
Tore it all down to the cylinder, and carefully lifted the boot on the end of the cylinder that looked wet with a screwdriver... and yep... brake fluid pours out from under the boot.
The local NAPA store had a wheel cylinder on the shelf and ready for pickup in 30 minutes, for what I thought was a completely reasonable $20.49.
Was it as cheap as RockAuto? No. But I had the wheel cylinder in my hand in 30 minutes. But NAPA was actually cheaper than a Raybestos wheel cylinder through Amazon ($21.52).
My neighbor walked me through all of the steps, but made me do all of the work. While I was working, he went through his toolbox and gave me duplicates that he happened to have, of all of the special tools that I used today... along with the tool to adjust the pads as they wear. So now I'm all set up for the next time.
I've done all sorts of work on disc brakes in the past... but never on drums.
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