The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline leaky brake or melting tire :)

Hi there bolters...

Well it looks like my driver side rear wheel is leaking dark oil from somewhere. My friend said "uh I think your tire is melting or something". Snort.

I was told probably just a "rear wheel seal". It was pretty small but appears to have gotten larger, maybe a cup of fluid has run out of it at this point (got all over the driveway, dangit). I have noticed the brakes are squishy, not a lot of stopping power, and it pulls to the right when stopping. I guess if the left rear brake is not working great that makes sense. Right?

I searched several times on replacing brake stuff and it seems like everyone hates doing this kind of thing, even mechanics. Lots of tales of busted knuckles, etc. And something about machining which sounds intimidating. Since I'm a quite clueless, relatively muscleless girl, I figure I need to take it to a shop.

My questions,
a.) is replacing a seal super hard like it sounds? And I guess I need jacks and stuff if I were to do it right? If you're replacing seals do you have to do all of them at once?

b.) do normal auto shops do drum brake jobs? And if so are they super expensive? I read online that I should expect to spend 500 bucks! That seems pretty steep to me, jeez! FYI the brake lines are new, and i crawled under the truck to see if there were 'bulges' in the lines going to the wheels (someone told me to look for that but I really dont know what I'm doing) and saw nothing that stood out.

I appreciate the tolerance around here for cluelessness.

Thanks for any advice anyone might have. And have a good weekend!

Sarah

I've never done the seal, but the brakes shouldn't be that hard.

From what you're telling us, I'd guess that it's the brakes that are leaking. You probably only need to replace the wheel cylinder, and IIRC, in '53 they were using bendix brakes on the half-tons, so you should be able to get parts for it at your flaps.

You will have to bleed out the system once you've done the job, but that's pretty easy to do if you've got a friend or a bleeder cup.

I don't think I'd drive it very far -- or very fast -- until you get that looked at.

How's your emergency brake?

Hello, BTW.

Welcome aboard!

It could be one of two things leaking, as Brendan points out. Either the axle seal or the brake slave cylinder would create a puddle in that spot, and someone with experience (there's that word again) would be able to tell right away which it is by the smell of the fluid. Both repairs will involve cleaning - if possible - or replacing the brake shoes on ONE side, although it would hurt nothing to overhaul both sides at the same time.
Normal auto shops do drum brakes, yes. But the garden-variety shop might want to replace all the parts they find in there to head off any liability issues. That might indeed run $500. On the other hand, if a reputable brake-specialty shop is satisfied, you won't be looking at your rear brakes for a long time. There's a lot to be said for peace of mind. If you can find a shop which will let you inspect the progress of the job and will answer questions, well, the education itself could be worth the money.

I would recommend having help from, or watching, a professional for your first brake job. It's not something you want to get wrong...

Grigg

If I could have charged the prices they get now when I was in business I would be rich now & could pay someone to work on my stovebolts. I would miss the fun though. What you describ is pretty basic mechanical work. I don,t know if you could do it yourself or not. You probably have the best guess. There was a gal on this websight putting new front springs on her truck a while back. I would have bet she would never get it done but she did. That is some tough mechanical work. If you like to get down & dirty you could do it. I,ll guaranty you will get plenty of help from this websight. There are some very knowledgable people around here. Perhaps A fellow bolter in your area might come over & help.

As stated it can only be two things, a leaky brake wheel cylinder or a leaking rear axle seal. If it is a wheel cylinder this is easier to fix and is certainly something that needs to be addressed for safety reasons. '53 are bendix brakes, they switched in '51. This means as said the parts are available and relatively inexpensive. If you have lost a cup of fluid you would certainty be low in the master cylinder. The master cylinder is under the driver's side floor board and should be checked for fluid. If it is low, you are probably looking at a wheel cylinder replacement and replacing the brake shoes. The machining that people are talking about is probably "turning" the brake drum. A lathe is used to cut a fraction of the braking surface off of the drum to make sure it is uniform and smooth. This is only done by a machine shop and the drum has to be within certain tolerances (thickness) to be able to do this.

If it is the axle seal, this is a little more difficult because the axle will need to be taken out to replace it. If I remember correctly, that rear seal is a bit spendy. When you say "dark oil" that suggests it is a axle seal. Brake fluid is a light clear fluid, axle lube is heavy (90 weight) oil. (Although brake fluid leaking from the drum on the wheel will pick up a lot of dirt.) If it is a axle seal and the brakes are done at the same time, I think you could easily expect to pay $500.

You can price all of the parts discussed here online with the vender catalogs. However you local parts store should have these parts. Good luck,
Steve O

This is some great info. I appreciate the input.

I'll check the master cylinder and see if I'm low. I have had a couple of guys give me shop recomendations, so I'll give em a call.

Thanks so much, everyone.

Brake fluid will take the pigment off the tire the fluid will look black...Smell will tell you if its brake fluid or gear oil....Smell the master cylinder
to find what brake fluid smells like and will wash off with water, gear oil won't washoff with water and is oily. Hope this helps...

It's the rear grease seal. If you lost that much brake fluid, you wouldn't have any brakes. The gear lube has mixed with the black brake dust inside the drum and comes out looking like what you describe. It's easy enough to fix but must be fixed properly. After the seal is replaced and everything is degreased, you must replace the shoes. The oil is soaked in and will never go away. If you are willing to do the work and supply pictures, me and my fellow 'Bolters can give you step by step assistance in this repair. It's one of the easier jobs, just labor intensive and time consuming. Basic hand tools and a floor jack and stands are about all you need.

Go for it, it's the only way to learn,
Scott

Hey Scott,

Thanks for the insight. I checked the master cyl and it looks a little low, but certainly not as low as it would seem if the leak was brake fluid. I'm going to get some pics tonight and post them to this thread and see if that helps.

So I need to get a rear wheel seal, and new shoes (plus a jack and jack stands I guess). I don't currently have a jack or jack stands but I have a friend who says he can help w/ that.

Looks like you're ready to dive in, good luck. Take pictures as you go for future reference and do one side at a time so you can compare how to reassemble,
Scott

Hi GirlDriver,
Anyone can admire your willingness, tenacity and desire to get your truck fixed up so keep goin' kid!
Along the way you will acquire a great deal of knowledge, confidence and cool and groovy tools, not to mention lots of friends here on 'The Bolt'. Looking forward to your pictures and the latest progress report. Did you get your shop manual yet?

Isnt there SOMEONE in her part of Texas that could go by and take a look for her?

I'm only about 90 miles away. I'd supervise if you bring it out here. I avoid Dallas every chance I get.

Hey Cletis!

Thanks for the offer, that's really great of you. I'm a little scared to drive it much since it's a break thing...god I can just imagine losing breaks at 40 mph! Maybe you and I can hook up in the future...I REALLY want to learn to do this brake thing...so I sure could use someone who knows these old trucks. I have a couple of guy friends who are mechanically smart but I'm surprisingly protective of my old bolt...and I can't yet distinguish good advice from bad.

I did get my shop manual and I'm digesting it slowly, reading a little, looking up terms, reading a little more, etc. The brake section is complex and a little intimidating, so I figure I will bite the bullet and take it to a shop. I did call one and they said I could "be as involved as I want in the repair process" and they'd put it on the lift and show me exactly what is going on there.

SIGH. I really want to do it myself but I'd hate to make a rookie mistake and put myself in jeapordy.

You sound like a very sensible person. No one knows but yourself what you can do. Nothing burns a person out on this hobby more then getting in to a job that you can,t handle. You can spend a lot of money & then if it doesn,t go right you get flustered & depressed. It is a fun part of the hobby to do your own work but some is better left to professionals. You can still do a lot of detail & cleanup work. It,s amazing what you can do with arosols & masking tape.

Good advice from the auld Wrenchbender, but I would add one thing: You don't know what you can do, either, until you try. But the brakes are not really a thing to start experimenting on without competent supervision.
A mechanic will tell you that one of the most expensive things to fix can be the "work" of an incompetent. Where brakes are concerned, a surgeon might agree.
Furthermore, Sarah, you've said your emergency brake doesn't work. Just this once, I'd drive it gently to the brake shop at a time when traffic is light, and have both those issues addressed by a pro. We all, here, want you AND your truck to stay alive and unbent.