[2002-07-16 21:15 -0700] phil hans (hansph_99@YAHOO.COM) wrote: > The mechanic wants $1000 to do this. I'm sure I can > do it cheaper myself. Is this job doable? > > Phil > '80 Westy Hi Phil -- It's very doable. I have done both parts. The rear drums are very straight-forward if the drum is not rusted on too insistently. It can be very hard to separate the drum from the center part the bearings are embedded in... on occasion, when I just couldn't separate the two, I've resorted to the 3/4" drive breaker bar and a 6' lever to get the big bolt off. The Hoover wisdom holds that using the hammer-type wrench for the axle bolt does permanent damage to the bearing races... anyway, once you're into the drum it's pretty much painless. Might as well replace the slave cylinders while you're in there, if it hasn't been done in the last 20 years... The master cylinder is less complicated but more of a pain. The trick is to keep air out, as one can never fully bleed the master cylinder once it's installed (or at least that's my understanding... if I'm wrong we'll soon hear about it!). I've tried various kinds of plugs and so on to keep the fluid in the new master cylinder until I'm ready to connect the brake lines, and due to the stiffness of the brake lines and related difficulties getting them lined up and started in the master cylinder, have always ended up a brake-fluidy mess. Once you've got it in there, don't do what I did and run it out of fluid while bleeding the brakes! Arggh. Then you get to start over.... Gary |
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