9" drum brake issues: can I reuse cylinder if piston came out?

[8thTon]

Too bad nobody seems to have this kind of integrity anymore.

I have ruled out two of the closest dealerships to me for places I will work because their service managers have a policy of "every car needs something for inspection".

Yeah it got to the point that I would leave them some small easter egg to find, like a wiper blade or a minor bulb.

 

[adsm08]

Yeah it got to the point that I would leave them some small easter egg to find, like a wiper blade or a minor bulb.

The place I take my stuff right now is pretty lax. I pay through the nose for the actual inspection ($50 for the cars, $75 for the truck) but I only get told about major stuff, and their "shop foreman" often asks me what is wrong with the car or if it passes when I make the appointment. The last thing they failed me for was a wheel bearing that was pretty bad.

Last year when I took the B2 in he asked if there was anything wrong with it, I told him it had a bad ball joint and I was going to do them that weekend, so he stickered it on Tuesday.

 

[8thTon]

The place I take my stuff right now is pretty lax. I pay through the nose for the actual inspection ($50 for the cars, $75 for the truck) but I only get told about major stuff, and their "shop foreman" often asks me what is wrong with the car or if it passes when I make the appointment. The last thing they failed me for was a wheel bearing that was pretty bad.

Last year when I took the B2 in he asked if there was anything wrong with it, I told him it had a bad ball joint and I was going to do them that weekend, so he stickered it on Tuesday.

That's a place worth maintaining a relationship with. I think the garage we've started using might work out similarly, or at least I hope so. We used to use a garage just like that where they knew I did the work and would let us know if I'd missed something - sometimes I'd ask them to do it just to play ball.

Sometimes a mechanic can recognize an older vehicle that is well maintained by it's owner, based on obviously new parts properly installed. Doing the job properly and cleaning things up matters in creating the impression you know what you're doing.

 

[19Walt93]

There's way too much of that now, they'll advertise low ball prices and cut the paid time down so the tech needs to upsell something to make a living. Our techs were all paid hourly and after I retired the dealership changed hands but all the techs stayed and are still hourly because they refused to work flat rate.All the newly hired techs are flat rate, unfortunately. I'd rather have the tech working on my car be concerned about how well he can do the job and not worrying about trying to cut corners and shave off a few minutes. The best techs think like craftsmen, not accountants. I always thought my pay was in exchange for my time, knowledge, and efforts, not my integrity.

 

[adsm08]

That's a place worth maintaining a relationship with.

It is. The worst part of dealing with them is the owner. He knows my history, and my qualifications, and tries to hire me every time I talk to him. I worked at a parts store that he did a lot of business with and so I have seen how he handles his credit accounts. I do not want to work for him. I'll do business with him all day long, I just won't work for him.

There's way too much of that now, they'll advertise low ball prices and cut the paid time down so the tech needs to upsell something to make a living. Our techs were all paid hourly and after I retired the dealership changed hands but all the techs stayed and are still hourly because they refused to work flat rate.All the newly hired techs are flat rate, unfortunately. I'd rather have the tech working on my car be concerned about how well he can do the job and not worrying about trying to cut corners and shave off a few minutes. The best techs think like craftsmen, not accountants. I always thought my pay was in exchange for my time, knowledge, and efforts, not my integrity.

I really wish PA would cut back or eliminate their inspection program. I agree that cars used on public roads should be maintained to a minimum standard, but PA is one of the strictest.

I actually prefer working flat-rate to hourly, but I am very good at what I do, and I'm not greedy. I'm OK with loosing time on diag to make sure I get it right, especially if I know I'll make time on the repair. My hours turned were rarely the highest in the shop, but in a shop of 16 my personal CSI was always in the top two, and once the salaried shop foreman quit I became the boss's fixer who had to deal with the people who were already mad at us because he knew I'd take the time to get it right. Even with all that I still averaged about 50 hours a week, so I was still winning. In my mind there can be a good balance between flat-rate and quality work, and it's best struck by letting people specialize. That way they can get very good at the routine things, and win often enough that they don't have to sweat it when a looser comes along. If you do the same job often enough you can get very good at it.

The Escape 1.6L burn recall, I did most of those that came through my shop. With water pump, thermostat and PTU seal they pay 6 or 7 hours, and that includes reprogramming the whole car. I was to the point that I was able to do two a day, and do them right, before we were finished.

 

[Pauls 4x4]

I'm a jerk. Since you had a 10 inch parking cable... And the things look alike...

Could it have just been a wheel cylinder link?

I've never popped a piston out unless stuff was shot. And fluid gushes, etc. That wont seal up tight just pushed in.

If they did come out the cylinder is 13 bucks. Just do it.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I wore the shoes down so far on my colorado i had the piston popped outta the cylinder, causing a no brake condition.

Good thing i had a 5 speed.

Either way, when i did the brakes i just jammed the piston in and kept on truckin.

 

[adsm08]

I wore the shoes down so far on my colorado i had the piston popped outta the cylinder, causing a no brake condition.

Good thing i had a 5 speed.

Either way, when i did the brakes i just jammed the piston in and kept on truckin.

We had a Silverdo come in like that one. C/S brake pedal squishy, nasty noise/vibration when braking.

We found the one rear rotor worn through the inboard surface, and the piston hitting on the vanes.


ON the other hand, I love doing rotors on the front of a Colorado.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

We found the one rear rotor worn through the inboard surface, and the piston hitting on the vanes.


ON the other hand, I love doing rotors on the front of a Colorado.

I did precisely that on my 78 F350 dually i had. Wore the rotor right down to the fin, hit the brakes, caliper piston came clean out.

My dads 01 town and country went so long on bad rotors the rotor actually FELL OFF the hub.

 

[adsm08]

I did precisely that on my 78 F350 dually i had. Wore the rotor right down to the fin, hit the brakes, caliper piston came clean out.

My dads 01 town and country went so long on bad rotors the rotor actually FELL OFF the hub.

Our one sales manager had his wife in a Lincoln Edge, and I had it in for a blower issue, did the inspection because it was almost due, found it needed brakes. This was about 4:45 on Friday, we didn't have the rotors it needed (already metal to metal) and he lived about 2 miles from the dealership. I ordered parts, told him to bring it back in Monday, etc.

The car comes back a MONTH later, out of inspection, because the pedal went to the floor while she was driving. Apparently the piston on an Edge caliper is hollow around the ends of the wall, because the caliper piston was leaking from the ends of the wall.

 

[wiesket]

AutoZone the 9" wheel cylinder part #33904 is $13.99. Just had to replace mine on my 94.

 

[jcook100]

Thanks everyone! I ended up getting a new one. I got everything back together and everything seems great EXCEPT...it looks like I have a small leak from the brake line fitting. Did I over-tighten it? I didn't crank on it, but did get it pretty tight. Or could it be corrosion? If I replace the line/fitting, do I need to replace the cylinder (again)?

 

[Shran]

Sometimes you have to crank down on them more than what seems necessary, but use your judgement. Dirt/rust/etc on those fittings can make them seem tight when they're not. You're also compressing a steel brake line against an iron surface so it takes some pressure to make that seal completely.

If it still leaks after tightening it again, I'd pull the line and make sure there isn't a burr on the flare or that it's not bent/distorted and same with the inside of the wheel cylinder.

Just curious, the wheel cylinder that you popped the piston out of - was it new? Looks pretty shiny in your first picture. I probably woulda reused it if so...