Due to financial reasons I have been putting off needed work on my truck. It was only driven rarely, and I am trying to get it back on the road.I knew I had some brake issues, and possibly some rear axle seals leaking.
I started by pulling the front drums and examining the brakes. Shoes looked good, but the wheel cylinders were crap. Both sides were packed full of a white, granular corrosion. I replaced both cylinders, repacked the bearings, and reassembled.
Moving on to the rear, I knew it wasnt going to be good. Surprisingly, both wheel cylinders were ok( I had rebuilt one in the past, but the drums and shoes were coated with fluid. I had hoped it would only be the cylinders, but it was obviously thicker than brake fluid. I went ahead and pulled the axles and hubs. The seals were very hard and stiff. Pulled the bearings out and checked them. Found some slight pitting on part of the inners, decided to go ahead and replace them all.
Got the drums turned and installed new cylinders, bearings, seals, and brake shoes. Removed the differential cover and checked for problems. No sign of dirt or debris, so while it was open, I flushed the axle tubes with water, then sprayed everything with brake cleaner to clean it up. I like using gaskets instead of just sealant, so I took the cover to the parts store to match one up.
As you know, most dont have anything in the computer to go back that far, but we tried everything they had until we found one that matched up. I think it was designated as a mid 70's F@#d.
I bought gasket material and made my own axle flange gaskets using the ball peen hammer method.
Reassebled everything. Started bleeding the brakes. Everything went well except for the passenger rear cylinder. I could just not get it to bleed. At that point I figured I had a bad brake line or blockage in the line, or a bad cylinder. I did NOT want to pull that drum again!
I decided to pull the bleeder screw to see what would happen. Plenty of fluid now. I checked the screw: the brand new bleeder did not have the hole completely machined through. Installed and old bleeder and success!
The rear axle is a Spicer 60, so if any of you have one, here are the #s for my replacement parts
Inner bearing - 385A (34.99 O'Riellys)
Inner race - 382 (19.99 O'Riellys)
Outer bearing - 18690 (29.99 O'Riellys)
Outer race - 18620 (15.99 O'Riellys)
Seal - 455860 (14.99 Autozone)
Brake shoes, rear - BB310 (24.99 O'Riellys)
Housing cover gasket - Felpro RDS 6095 (Autozone 3.99)
Wheel cylinders - 71-142 (34.95 Classic Parts)
There was a range of quality on the seals, so shop around. Some are much heavier duty than others.
I hope this helps someone who may be doing the same thing.
Thanks to all who answer questions here. I would not have attempted to do this myself without your help and this great website.
Jeff
