Well guys, I ran into an issue. It has to do with the gear ratio thing. I wasn't able to get the ratio due to me not understanding how to do it. I marked everything and rotated the tire but in 1 full tire rotation the drive line spun like... 1.5 times. I have a video, I just need to edit it and post it up.

On another not, I checked out my drum brakes and WOW they are a mess. It seemed like the pads were not touching the drums at all. The star adjusting wheel on the driver side was kind of stuck until I took to some channel lock pliers and forced it too move. I adjusted it quite a bit and the drum still slid on without touching the pads. I fired the truck up and had my mom push the pedal with her hand while I tried to remove the drum and it didn't move so I figured it was good enough.

I did the other side and it was a bit easier except the auto adjuster thing that sits on the star wheel wasn't on the wheel. It was angled all the way down to the back side of the pad. I couldn't figure out why so I worked around it, got the pads to where they touched the drum when I slid it on. After all was said and done and the wheels were on, I test drove it and the pedal doesn't quite go down as far as before and the first time I hit the brakes there was a bit of a "clunk" and the rear brakes grabbed but afterwards they seemed to work normal. The truck just doesn't stop good (which is normal).

Anyways so the total for both brake kits and new wheel cylinders is $50.76 which is pretty good. The drums don't look terrible so I will probably get those turned and re-use them. It will be a little while before this happens but i know that the rear brakes work at least. Just not well.

I will post pictures and the video once they are off my phone.

 

Have you replaced the braking fluid? it looses its properties over the years and stops transmitting the braking power to the cylinders. Replace the fluid and bleed the brakes, then you should be a little happier,

 

No, unfortunately I have not. In fact, since I've owned it I have only had to top it off once and that was like 3 cap fulls of fluid.

Anyways so I got the video up.



I feel like an idiot for not understanding how to do it but the way the numbers came out after 1 rotation confused me.

Onto the brake photos
This was the driver side.


The pads are fairly thin. The cobwebs just go to show how long it has been since they were worked on.


The inside of the drum.


New lugnuts to replace the old broken ones.


Passenger side


It's a bit blurry cause my hands were numb but this side the pads are a bit thicker.


All buttoned up with shiny chrome nuts now.


Once I get done with my exhaust work I will probably move to the brakes. I just want to wait till it warms up, I don't want to work with those springs with stiff fingers.

My neighbor has the tools to do it and I can get all the parts I need.

 

Fairly thin? those pads are GONE, replace them ASAP or you risk damaging the drums too. The link in my sig. will serve you right, the setup is basically the same for most drum brake systems.

 

Yeah I planned to use your write up when I do my brakes. Unfortunately it can't get done ASAP, money is tight and I already plan to order some headers and mufflers. After that I should have plenty to afford the kits I need.

 

My rear brakes had cobwebs in them too, but the stuff all looked pretty new in there on mine. I wish my brakes were that easy looking to work on, my stuff is pretty big and heavy duty.

 

Drums shouldn't be THAT hard to do. In fact I think the front hubs (for 4wd not sure on 2wd) are more difficult than drums. I think the worst part about drums is all the small parts, but like everyone says, keep one side together so you have a mirrored image to look at. Plus Encho has that writeup he did for drum brakes which has all the info.

It shouldn't be too hard to do this, just time consuming since I am going to take my time and make sure I don't screw it up

 

It's easy, just when everything gets big and heavy like mine it gets a little harder haha.

 

Yeah I spose. Today though, the hardest part was lifting those dang tires on and off the studs. I had to roll the tires onto my feet and use my feet to try to lift them up high enough to slide it on the studs. I hate doing all this but love having big tires

 

The brakes are more important than the exhaust, and right now you just need new pads to be on the safe side.

P.S.: Drum brakes are a pain in the a** to work on and keep working properly... I would go with a disc brake swap just to avoid working on drum brakes.

 

They are very important but I thought you had to replace all the springs if you do pads. Kind of one of those required things right?

I could probably get the brake stuff and hold off till a nice day comes along to work on it.

 

No, you don't have to replace all the hardware everytime.

 

So judging by my pics, do you think I should get new wheel cylinders? That should take almost $20 off the total. Mine were dirty but I think they could be reused.

 

Springs you don't always have to replace.. Shoes and drums you do.. Unless you turn the drums and buy new shoes.. This is why in swapping my 10.5 sterling and Dana 50 front in..

 

I plan to turn the drums and get new pads. But my hardware looks pretty old so I might as well go a step further and get springs too, that way it will all be fresh.