I have a 1970 F-100 2WD that needs new brakes all the way around. Apparently it sat for 10+ years before I bought it and every has gone to the big crapper in the sky. Midas gave me a quote of $741.76 (FRR wheel bearing replaced, not all) with the drums machined, and $681.76 without. I do not think the drums need to be machined.

Here is a list of what all it needs and prices from LMC:
* Shoes
FR - $19.95
R - $19.95
* Wheel cylinders
FRR - $24.95
FRL - $24.95
RR - $24.95
RL - $24.95
* Hardware (springs, etc.)
FR - $12.95
R - $12.95
* Self-adjuster kit
FRR - $14.95
FRL - $14.95
RR - $14.95
RL - $14.95
* All wheel bearings
INNER
FRR - $10.95
FRL - $10.95
OUTTER
FRR - $9.95
FRL - $9.95
REAR
Rx2
- $26.95 (39/64" outter dia. x 1-17/32" inner dia.)
- $79.95 (39/64" outter dia x 1-5/8" inner dia)
- $44.95 (35/32" outter dia x 1-9/16" inner dia)

[ FR = front, R = rear, FRR = front right, FRL = front left, RR = rear right, RL = rear left | right = passenger, left = driver ]

Total comes to $268, not including rear wheel bearings (don't know which ones I need). Some things I cannot do and must be done by a professional (like press rear bearings onto axles).

Yea, it needs a lot. I don't have $700 to spend and still have christmas. So, I am exploring my options. I really don't want to do the work myself because I am inexperienced with drum brake systems. What about switching to disc brakes? Could I find a junker truck with good brakes and switch all the parts over?

Any comments or help is welcome!

Evan

 

Just buy a set of shoes and also a brake spoon and spring pliers and jump into the water. My guess is that you do not need the bearings and can reuse all the springs and other parts. Just make sure you clean and pack the fronts well, and check the rears for any rough spots.

Unless the drums are badly groved or way out of round they do not need attention. Also, only do one side at a time so you can look at the other if you get lost.

You could also buy a six pack and invite an old guy like me over for lunch.

 

No, nothing can be reused. The guy at Midas showed me basically everything - looked like sht. All rusted out and nasty.

He also said that because the drums were rusted to the brake assemblies, they had to use a torch and heat up the drums to pry them off.

 

Buy the parts and a shop manual- you'll be surprised at how easy it all really is. Just take your time and do one side at a time. That way you will always have the other side as a reference if you forget what spring went where.

If you get into a bind there are plenty of fellas here that can walk you through it with their eyes tied behind there back .

Good Luck,

Joe

 

Evan, They are blowing smoke up your skirt. No way a brake job os worth as much as an old truck.

I think my local NAPA charges $7.00 per drum to turn (machine) them. A couple pair of lifetime warranty shoes $35ish a pair, a can or two of brake cleaner to spray on and clean up the old dust, and the rest it easy labor. You put the greenest guy in the shop on brakes, not the lead tech.

Grab a bud and have a fun sat. Take some digital photos if you can, that can be helpful.

John

 

Evan, yeah you can swap out to disk brakes from an older model truck... also not cheap to do, will still probably want new pads and machine the rotors, and fairly labor intensive. I still have drums/shoes front and rear, stops just fine... you just have to remember what you're driving, and give yourself plenty of lead time and no tailgating.

You got some good advice here... John is correct, pull the drums and take to a local machine shop (NAPA is reliable) and buy your shoes and some brake pliers from them as well. Do one wheel at a time, it's not as difficult as you're imagining.

 

Drum brakes are stone simple. Give it a try and see if you can't do it yourself. If you replace everything it is still going to bve a lot cheaper if you do the labor.

At least get an estimate form a good local mechanic that you can trust. National chains like Midas are always looking for a way to stick it to anyone who walks in the door.

 

> He also said that because the drums were rusted to the brake
> assemblies, they had to use a torch and heat up the drums to
> pry them off.


ARG! What a moron. Don't take your vehicle back to them. All they did was burn the organic shoe off the drum and toast the seals and bearings on that wheel.

I have never seen ANY vehicle where a drum puller could not pull the drum off with the springs and shoes attached. All they had to do was grind off the back of the hold down pins and pry the drum away at the top and you probably would not even need a puller.

Assuming it was not a front drum which is pressed onto the spindle anyways and has to be pressed off! Using the torch all they did was heat the drum enough so it expanded around the studs enough to be pryed off.

> with the drums machined

Buy new drums for $30+ at Autozone or Advanced Auto. Try to get a matching set made in Canada (they will have the AMC part numbers on them 323 #### vs. made in China). Open a few boxes.

All those prices would cost 1/2 as much at Advanced Auto www.advanceautoparts.com and they carry or can order everything. Most everything you could even order through JCW at a savings.

 

My wheel cyl. were <$10 each at Autozone. Again, make sure they match up, being the same size and same size bleeder screw and not from two different OEMs. They, LMC and Autozone, both probably come from the same vendor in Italy.

 

I have never seen drums that I had to use a torch on. I just replaced the 1/2 ton axel on my 69 F100 with a 1 ton axel. The 1 ton had been sitting in the wrecking yard for 10 years and was rusted pretty bad. I put tires on the drums/hubs and turned them to break the rust loose, backed the adjusters off and used a puller. Even though all of the parts looked bad I cleaned them up on a wire wheel rebuilt the cylindars and put everything back togeather. The total cost for the "rebuild" was less than $50.

 

See, I would want to kind of go that route.....buy all new parts for added safety, but still do it myself. There are still some things that I am not too sure on, though. CHeck my post in the steering/suspension/brake forum.

 

Do it yourself. Like all the boys said. It's stone simple. These trucks are not sophisticated. I did stuff like this when I was 15 and all I had for confidence was that I figured if I took something off and couldn't figure out the rest, then I could always put it back on. You'll only be dealing with a handful of parts at a time. It will just consume a weekend or two. Brake shops do charge those numbers. I don't know why either. They'll have the hole thing done in a couple of hours and they'd make plenty $$ if they charged you $70/hr. I once had the same thing on an 81 F100. Got a $500+ quote from the brake shoe and I ended up doing the entire replacement of everything for about $150 in parts.

 

If you were closer we could do it here.. My son used to work for M...s and basically they were told to screw the people... It cost a lot less than quoted to the same job on our 70.. Don't forget the front and rear seals.

 

I'm probably going to end up doing just the fronts for now (quoted $130 at Oreillys for front parts) and then either not worry about the back or disconnect the back for a few weeks until I can afford them.

 

When you work on drum brakes, only tear apart one side at a time. That way you can go look at the assembled side to know how the parts go together. If you go with discs, get the proportioning valve from the donor disc brake vehicle.