All,

New to the forum. I recently purchased a 1970 F100.

I'm learning quickly all the things that need assistance.

First and foremost....upon crawiling under the truck I noticed fresh fluid on the drivers side rear disk brake.

I was planning on trying to build out a power brake scenario first and foremost...but I'm tihinking this might deserve attention first.

I've searched high and low on the interwebs for assistance. All I can assume is that I have a 9" rear end...possibly floating. So no pin in the bell housing.

I checked the door for numbers...but times have erased everything.

What am I in for?? I'll take suggestions.

My local shop quoted me nearly $500 for this:
Rear brake service $135
Shoes $42
Wh/Cyls $32
Axle SEals $7
Bleed $35
R&R L Axle Seal $90
+Drums if needed $140

I'd love to do it for less.

~bird~

 

1. you do not have rear disc brakes. U have Drums

2. You have a f100 and it should be a 9" rear.

3. To be the owner of a classic vehicle you'll be dropping 20-50k into one of these trucks if you don't learn how to do your own wrenching.

4. Get a manual and start reading it over & over until it soaks into the how to do stuff.

It sounds like you have big plans for your classic but then you have pay for someone to work on it.. The two will leave you dollar less & broke.

Orich

 

Welcome aboard, pal. We can help you through the job if you wish to do it yourself and learn. You can get it done for about $125 and a lousy Saturday morning.

First, go on Youtube and watch one of the million videos on a standard drum brake job. If you want to continue:
1) Pull rear drums. Take a picture of everything for reference. Pull the linings on one side. Leave the other in place.
2) Go down and drop the drums for machining. Buy new linings, axle seals, wheel cylinders, brake fluid, a flare-nut wrench to bust brake lines off, rent a slide hammer with a hook to pull old seals.
3) Go to work. Simple hand tools will do the job. When you are done you will need wifey to bleed the brakes.

The guys will be in with other suggestions but the above will get you going. The main thing is to dive in. These trucks are not complicated. And yeah, a manual is a must have for you.

 

Is it brake fluid or differential fluid? Maybe you could pull a drum off, clean it up, and then check after a short drive to find which is leaking. Or both? If the axle is leaking maybe a bearing is shot? Jiggle the axle up and down to check for play.

 

"These trucks are like an onion". Or, trying to pull a thread off of a wool sweater without the whole thing unraveling.

Give strong consideration to replacing all the hard steel brake line and hoses. The quote they gave you for the other stuff, includes labor? Not too bad if that's the case.

I'm surprised they were willing to give a quote at all.

Remember the onion part, it's impossible to be realistic without actually digging in and seeing what's what after 50 years.

New wheel bearings, front and rear isn't a bad plan. People brag about how much weight they can load on these old trucks and "they don't make 'em like that anymore" but they don't talk about the wheel bearing failures or axle/wheel separations too much. I replaced everything but the pedal on my '64 to include wheel drums, for about $500 in parts. I contracted some of the labor out. There's just no way around it, "whoa" is just as important as "go".

 

A '70 F100 would most likely have a Ford 9-inch rear end. It could also have a Ford 9-3/8" rear end or a Dana 44. Then again, given the length of time since the truck was built, somebody could have changed the rear end to something different.

If the rear end has a 'hump' on the back of the housing, it's most likely a Ford 9-inch but could be a Ford 9-3/8" rear end.
Both of the 9" and the 9-3/8" rear ends have removable 3rd members that unbolt from the front of the housing. A Dana rear end will have a bolt-on cover in the center of the back side of the housing and no removable 3rd member.

This is the stock 9-inch rear end under my '69 F100. You can see the 'hump' on the back of the housing.



A Bumpside 9-inch 3rd member will have a single vertical rib on the face of the casting. This is the C7AW-E 9-inch 3rd member in my '69 F100.


A 9-3/8" 3rd member will have two widely spaced vertical ribs. The top horizontal rib will curve downward on the left side of the casting. The 9-3/8" rear end was only available in the Bumpside F100's from 1968-1972.


A Dana rear end doesn't have a 3rd member. The gears come out the back of the housing by removing the bolt-on cover.

 

Rockauto.com has brake parts for our trucks much cheaper than anyone else I've found.

 

Thanks for the help Gents. I'm glad to see these forums are as helpful as harley forums i've been following for years.

I'll keep ya posted on the progress.

 

I compared Rockauto prices to local Autozone and Napa , any savings RA had got eaten up by shipping in the end . Then there's also the Warranty issue , If a part goes bad I have to wait for R/A to ship and me to return . when local is just a walk in .
That's my $.02

 

2x with Mike, And it really makes it bad if your vehicle is a daily diver or not.
Saving 5-10 bucks in a failed part totaling a 10 days of down time for the vehicle. Plus putting off the project.

Buying a M/C or a wheel cyl. I'd buy these parts loco auto parts store.
Ez returning.
Orich

 

I merely made a suggestion. I saved about $200 on a complete brake job, for my '68 F250, dealing with Rock Auto and haven't returned a thing. Buy where ever you'd like.