Re: '88 Grand Wagon brake job

I redid the brakes on my 85 GW many times. I would advise that this job 
could take
longer than you might think depending on what you find. You should find a 
way to
still get around while the truck is being fixed. You will probably find
that 
it is
usually the cheaper replacement parts that are the right fit. (at least in

my case). I
had the finned drums. Replaced both of them. I also ended up breaking off 
bleeder
screws at times, involving having to get new cylinders. Its easy to take 
them out and
bring them in so you get the right rebuild kits. And don't forget the 
one-man brake bleeder
kit (unless you have two men!).

Fred
85 GW

"Mark Corbelli" <m_corbelli@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:oHyEj.16889$Id3.9329@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> OK so I took off one wheel today (the one that I was told was the bad
one) 
> and the drum is really rusty and the rim edge is broken off in places.
It 
> doesn't look that bad but I can tell if you were to drop it on it's
edge, 
> it would probably break a few big chunks off.
>
> I went to Autozone to price parts, and I decided to completely redo both

> sides- new drums, springs, pads, and shoes. Now the weird part. Spring
kit 
> and pads are standard, in stock $6 and $22, so $28 so far. However, they

> show two drums- one is "plain" and is $61 each and has to be ordered.
The 
> other is "finned" and is $15 in stock. The picture on his computer is
the 
> same exact drum for each, so I don't know how to tell the difference. 
> There are two different brake cylinders. One is for a 7/8" brake line
and 
> one is for a 15/16" brake line and he said it won't be stamped anywhere,
I 
> have to bring it in. One is $11 in stock and the other is $45 and has to

> be ordered. The problem here is I drive this car and I'd rather have all

> the parts when I start rather than disassemble one day and reassemble a 
> few days later.
>
> Anyone know how I can tell which drum and wheel cylinder I have? One 
> solution would be to order all the parts, use which ones I need and then

> return the rest.
>
> I also bought a cheap brake tool kit at Harbor Freight for $8. I figure 
> I'll only be doing this rarely so why by Craftsman. The tools have no 
> instructions, so I guess I'll be looking for help on the internet.
>