Rear wheel cylinders: Life threatening necessity?

[toyotafan113]

Rear wheel cylinders: Life threatening necessity?


=================================================


Situation: This '98 Corolla was never serviced since Jan 1998. I plan to replace:

• front brake rotors
• front brakepads
• rear drums
• rear shoes

Upon getting the quote estimates, many shops ask whether I need to replace the rear wheel cylinders. “If leaking,” they say, “can be catastrophic.” The shops say the cylinders are cheap, ~$20, but I assume they will use an aftermarket product and not the OEM.


=================================================


Web window-shopping yielded few options:

• Raybestos brand from Ebay ($)
• Bendix, Beck/Arnley, Wagner from RockAuto ($$)
• AISIN or OEM from AutoAnything or PartsGeek ($$$)

The OEMs are about 3 times expensive than the Ray/Ebay brand.


===================Questions====================== ==


Q1:


Replacing the (rotors&brakepads) + (shoes&drums) cost ~$150 per axle, but replacing the rear wheel cylinders alone cost $200. “We need the fluid to bleed and wholly replace that too,” or so the shop service managers say. Is the price justifiable?


---------------------


Q2:


Shall I replace the rear wheel cylinders together with the shoes and drums? How likely are the rear wheel cylinders broken or leaking?


Currently, I know neither the leakage of the wheel cylinders nor the diagnostic method to determine their leakage. Is there a way with naked eyes to tell the leakage of the cylinders without lifting the car? I have a small body and can crawl 2 feet into and underneath the car.


Again, this is '98 Corolla, 51K ODO, with zero service record. I would rather have the cylinders replaced to make this car reliable, but am asking you beforehand for your opinion.


---------------------


Q3:


Do you recommend getting the OEM cylinders instead of any aftermarket brand? My budget is tight but not too tight to discard the OEM options.


I appreciate your help.

[CJCride]

Get a shop manual, they show you how to peel back the seal and look for leaks. If you are not inclined to do this then get an honest mechanic in your area, ask neighbors.
Better yet ask here on TN!

[ahabion]

hrm... it's too bad you don't live closer otherwise I'd do it for you for like 100 bucks or something lol

Anyway, I just did this entire brake service two weeks ago myself... and if you're capable of handling an oil change, you'll be able to do all four brakes... mind you, the only thing you may run into a snag on are the rear drum brakes and their springs... BUT youtube has great answers for this... check out this guy who i've grown to like because he has a lot of good solid information.

You Tube

You Tube

and

You Tube

You Tube

my total tab of getting all the stuff to do my brakes (parts, tools, and fluid) costed me just over $200 bucks... new rotors (old ones were worn down pass the machine mark), new pads, new drums, new shoes, new hardware for the rear brakes and new adjustment hardware for the rear brakes... The only bad thing is that I had to run to several different Autozones to pick up everything BUT since you know you want to change it, order them online and be done with it...

I got all OEM brand stuff... here is a breakdown of Autozone stuff that I got...


Duralast/Brake Drum - Rear - Quantity: 2

Duralast/Brake Rotor - Front - Quantity: 2

Duralast Gold/Brake Pads - Front - Quantity: 1

Brakeware/Brake Drum All-In-One Kit - Rear - Quantity: 1

Brakeware/Brake Drum Self-Adjusting Kit-Rear - Quantity: 1

Brakeware/Brake Drum Self-Adjusting Kit-Rear - Quantity: 1

Duralast/Brake Shoes - Rear - Quantity: 1

[BigTDogg (MA)]

Originally Posted by toyotafan113

Rear wheel cylinders: Life threatening necessity?

Situation: This '98 Corolla was never serviced since Jan 1998. I plan to replace:

How many miles on the car? How many winters?

If the rear wheel cylinders are not leaking, no need to replace them. If they are leaking, replace them both and bleed the entire system. You should flush and fill your brake fluid every 60k to 75k miles anyhow. My driverside cylinder was leaking at 120k miles, so I had both of them replaced.

As far as cost, the shop should only really charge you for a fluid flush on top of a rear brake service, as they have access to the rear wheel cylinders while replacing shoes and hardware. Anything more than an additional hours worth of labor is overcharging (parts and fluid not included)