Well I tore into my rear brakes first. I started by filling the master and checking to see what I had. This truck was last licensed in 74, brake system completely dry. I was able to get some fluid into the wheel cylinders but the left rear started to leak, not a big surprise. I am amazed that of all the things I've taken apart, I have only broke two bolts on this truck. All the bleed screws came loose, the flat head screws that hold the drum to the wheel hub came loose with my impact driver. The left cylinder had over extended because there was no wear material on the shoes! No evidence of brake lining either. There was not galling of the drum or on the brake shoe. It was just not there, only the glue was left.
I removed the right rear brake and found the same situation, no linings on the shoes. My local NAPA is getting them relined for me and I purchased new Huck cylinders from Napa too. So. I tore into the front brakes to see what I would find and They looked real nice. I will replace the cylinders on the front too. I don't trust the old brake parts not to fail in the near future so all wheel cylinder and shoes all around for this truck. I will rebuild the master cylinder if it is rebuildable otherwise replace that too along with new lines and hoses. One thing I noticed is on all brake drums, there was a paper gasket between the drum and the hub on all wheels. I've never seen this before on any vehicle with drum brakes. This being a 3/4 ton I have 12" on the rear and 11" on the front. The front drums remove with just the flat head screws and a little tap and they came off, did not have to take the bearings apart to check the brakes. I will go through and repack reseal the hubs before it goes on the road but not at this time. Here is a picture of the gaskets I found on all four drums.
Good plan on just replacing all of the brake components. For a vehicle that has sat that long, that is your only real option. In my case, on both trucks I did frame offs on... I tried to rebuild both wheel cylinders and the master cylinder ... turned out to be a waste of time and money ... and made a mess of the shop floor. Just go buy them already rebuilt and save your energy for projects with more chances for success. Don't cut corners on brake system components.
Keep up the good work, BTW. Oh, and I think they are called hubs, not rotors. Rotors go with disc brakes.
~ John
A kid raised on Hotwheels, Matchbox and Tonka cannot be reasonably expected to own only one vehicle as an adult.
1949 Chevrolet 3804 In the Legacy Gallery | In the Gallery Forum 1973 IH 1310 Dump 1963 Kaiser M38A1 2001 International/AmTran RE3000 "Skoolie" 2014 Ford E-350 4x4 (Quigley)
Those gaskets are intended to keep the drums from rusting tight to the hubs, and it looks like they did their job well. You can make new ones from something like a file folder or some other piece of thin cardboard if you can't find a source for the original gaskets. Use a brake drum as a template to locate the holes in the right place. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
There are paper gaskets between the rear axle hubs and drums on 3100's as well. I believe their main function is to keep axle lube that may get past the seals from the inside of the drums and contaminating the brake shoes, making them grab. On the inside of the axle flange there's a "cup" that catches and routes leaking lube to a hole that matches up with one on the drum to so it goes to the outside of the drum. They do function to reduce rusting of the drums to the axle flanges also, but I don't believe that's their main purpose.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
OK that makes sense, I noticed a hole on the face of the hubs that went to a passage in the back that leads down to the seal area in back, it was full of dried up grease. In fact you can see that hole in my front hub picture along with the two flat head screw holes.
