This past weekend, I finally got around to working on the brakes. I noticed the front pads were kind of thin when I rebuilt the front suspension a few months ago, but since I don't drive her much, I figured the repair would be down the road some. Well, with hunting season fast approaching, it was time.
I went ahead and got rear shoes along with the front pads so I could possibly address the initial left-rear lock-up when you first hit the brakes in the morning. This has been happening for quite a few years and just happens once with the first stab of the brake pedal.
Front pads were easy and I made quick time of the pad swap. The rear... that took a bit longer!
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I got the passenger rear done first, then set about getting the driver side done. As soon as I took the driver side drum off, I noticed a slight wetness on the wheel cyliner dust boot.
Great! As I was searching town for parts, the passenger wheel cylinder started leaking... WTF?
As it was, I had to hit two different parts stores just for the pads, shoes, and brake kits. Turns out there was only one store (in all of San Antonio) that had wheel cylinders! And it was a different one from the first two! (And this was across three different national chains!)
So, my "couple hour" brake job ended up lasting a total of 6 hours! Final piece of the puzzle was flushing out the old brake fluid with a pressure bleeder, and then I was done. So far, no leaks and the intial drive the next morning showed no signs of the old "lock-up" issue in the rear brakes!