# Need advice on rear brakes.



## Hot_Rod (Feb 10, 2011)

My rear drums, shoes and wheel cylinders are shot. Shop quoted me 317$ for everything installed. 

Is it possible to find a rear end thats been swapped for disc's or replace the drums with a disc swap kit, for less than changing the drums and crap? 

I'm currently in a bind and had to spend my money on taxes(grr) and need to save every penny possible. 

The brakes are so bad in the back that my e-brake doesnt hold and I need to get my car inspected. Stickers out... :/

Advice?
Thanks.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Hot_Rod said:


> My rear drums, shoes and wheel cylinders are shot. Shop quoted me 317$ for everything installed.
> 
> Is it possible to find a rear end thats been swapped for disc's or replace the drums with a disc swap kit, for less than changing the drums and crap?


Doubtful, just judging from what I paid for my disc brake kits. However if you do the work yourself, I just checked a couple of the usual parts stores on-line and you can get new drums for about $56 each, new wheel cylinders for about $10 each, and shoes for about $18 ($9 a side) - so that's about $150 in parts to fix what you have.

I'd be suspicious of a shop that told you all that needed replacing just to fix the parking brake though. First off, hydraulics (wheel cylinders) have nothing to do with the parking brake. It;s probably just out of adjustment. How well do your brakes work otherwise? Are the rear brakes making any sort of grinding or other noise when you apply them?

Try tightening up your brakes using the self-adjusters (put it in reverse, back up, apply the brakes pretty firmly, roll forward just a tad ----- lather, rinse, repeat several times to see if that tightens things up). You can also take some of the slack out of the parking brake cable using the adjustment that's approximately under the trans crossmember. Even if your drums and shoes are completely shot, you should be able to adjust the parking brake tiight enough to make it hold well enough to pass inspection - but you didn't hear that from me 
Bear


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## Hot_Rod (Feb 10, 2011)

Me and my dad actually checked the drums, e-brake and etc and everythings worn smooth out. As if the drums and things havent been replaced at all. 

Adjusted and tightened up the e-brake cables as tight as they'd go and it wouldnt hold the car. 

Brakes dont work as well as I'd like and sometimes the brake light comes on if I apply alot of brake. I know for sure the stuff needs replacing, the wheel cylinder leaks and yeah.


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## danthepontiacman (Jul 5, 2008)

If you can do the work yourself you can rebuild all for drum breaks for around $360, my tempest had the original drums at 166,000 and they had been turned so many times they were paper thin. Intact the old break shoes I took off were still good, you had to install theme then shush theme all the way out and it still nearly stop the car. My fix? Got all 4 new drums witch are much heavier then stock, had to do some work to get the hum off the old ones and on the new ones( studs dont dig in enough cuz of the thickness diffrence)I got the rear break hardwear kit and it had all new springs In it and amusement stuff for the rear and I got the front kit and I got new shoes. After it all came in me and my dad rebuilt theme well let me put it this way, I rebuilt theme with his instructions since that's my first at break work. All was around $360, they worked good for a year then my peddle hit the floor ha so instead of buying a new master cylinder I rebuilt it too and that's been bout two years and still havint had to add any break fluid, car stops great considering it's not a power break car but with the quadrajet it's fixing to get I'll be sure to buy a power break fitting. Title cost includei g master cylinder kit was bout $400, if you got time I'd go with doing it yourself but it helps to have someone there to hold things. Oh and I wanted to strangle my dad when we got done and I found out they made a break spring install tool! I used needlenose pliers and I don't recamend that. Kinda weird being in my 20's and working on a car built 19 years befor I was born but what a blast! Goodluckwith the breaks man and stay the heck away from the needlenose!:lol:


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

I'd just replace the worn out parts with NAPA stuff or boneyard stuff and run with it. Cheap and effective. Rear disc brakes on these cars is really not needed 99.9% of the time and offers no real advantage on the street.


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## lewy222 (Apr 17, 2011)

They are easy enough to do yourself. My only advice is to take one side apart at a time, that way when you dont know how a spring goes,etc, you can just look on the other side. When you put the new shoes on and try to get the drum over them, it probably wont fit...you need to back off your brake adjustment (screw assembly) and then adjust to the new parts. It's usually as easy as spinning the wheel and moving the adjustment screw until you hear the shoes lightly rub the drum.


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## Hot_Rod (Feb 10, 2011)

Yeah me and my Dad are going to do them ourselves. I have discs on the front FYI, lol.

Thanks for the info, guys. Much appreciated.


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## likethat (Oct 5, 2007)

If the drums are not cracked or do not have groves in them, just run them. Same with the wheel cylinders, no leaks, leave them alone. Clean it all out, light lithium grease on the ware spots on the backing plates, and the same with the adjusters. Take a part, clean, grease. Install every thing and adjust the shoes out till the drums drag just ever so slightly. Remember short shoe toward the front of the car, long shoe back. When installing them
Buy the 2 drum brake tools for the job and new shoes. It should be fine. If any thing it might need the spring kits. They are like $10 each side, shoe maybe $20, grease $8, tools $20 more. $68 bucks top.

If drums and wheel cylinders also need replaced. Then maybe $120-$150 more.


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## Hot_Rod (Feb 10, 2011)

Turns out the wheel cylinders were fine, didnt leak or anything. So we just replaced the drums and shoes. The drums had ridges/grooves in them so yeah they were worn smooth out. 

Brakes actually stop the car now and my e-brake works. Fixed my problem.. I guess I didnt even have rear brakes for a bit cause the car responds when I apply some brake now, which is always good! Lol.

So I get what I think will fail my car during inspection fixed (e-brake) and turns out I had to spend ANOTHER 100$ for a shop to fab up some tail pipes, they failed me for dumps before the rear axle. OY... Didnt know that was an issue since ALOT of hot rods are done that way. Just another way to pick on us ole car owners I guess.

Oh well, I needed them anyways. Car's alot quiter and doesnt vibrate now. Thank God for helpful parents.. They helped me out with some funding.


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## Jeff's Classics (Feb 24, 2010)

Glad you got it fixed and inspected. Great to keep one of these old Pontiacs on the road!
Jeff


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