Brake advice

After a couple days of my brakes feeling weak i took my jeep to les schwab. They gave me a free brake inspection and gave me a quote on the parts that need to be replaced. I've drum brakes and i'm pretty sure their 11"

The Rough Total came to $500. If this was thrown in your lap what would you do?

 

Fix it myself........and I hate brake work.

 

i hate work period.
i have done it myself.it wasnt that hard
(the guys here taught me though...)

 

Seems high to me, ditto on what everyone else has said. See what they were planning to do, price the parts, and spend the extra on beer.

 

The brake system on a CJ is pretty simple. If you're not familiar with drum brakes, just do 1 side at a time so you can use the other side as a reference. Spend a few bucks to get the special tools for the brake springs! If you have to open up the hydraulic system(wheel cylinders, master cylinder, brake lines), get a helper to assist with the brake bleeding-be sure to get ALL the air out.

 

Typically Les Schwab replaces all the replaceable parts to minimize liability. That's most likely why the price quote was so high. I'd do it myself. If nothing else it's one more step in understanding how things work and how to maintain your vehicle.

 

You will have an out of pocket cost of $50 - $60 per wheel if you replace everything with new. Drum(non finned type), wheel cylinder, springs, brake linings. And since you already have drum brakes just do one at time and use the others for an example of how the parts go together.

I had to use photos provided by members of this forum since mine required a cutting torch and BFH to get the drums off. I converted from 10" drums to 11" drums.

 

The rear drums usually need an extra heavy duty puller, and sometimes a torch in addition to that. The pullers run about $75 to $80 on rbay or Amazon. Walck's has all the other pieces that can't be saved. If you have left hand lugs on the driver's side, now would be a good time to switch IMO.

 

Drum brakes can be frustrating if you've never done them before. They are more complicated than disks - and you need to use force (prying and pushing) in a few specific places. But you can save a ton of money over that $500 price if you do them yourself.

If you have 11" brakes, they are probably Bendix type. The Bendix brakes were used on lots and lots of vehicles, including CJs '72-76. The other possibility is Lockheed (?) brakes from a Jeep Utility truck or Utility wagon. Post up a picture once you have the drum off and we can tell you.

Lots of expertise at your disposal here ... if you want to do them yourself. You'll need a few special tools to make the job manageable.

When you get into it, remember that each side is a mirror image of the other - front goes to the front, back to the back, on both sides. The adjusters are also left and right handed - don't get them on the wrong side (they are marked L and R).

 

That's a lot of money and a shop will never do the extras like removing rust and painting parts while it's apart.

I would at least learn how to adjust them if they are not the automatic kind.

Remember you can rebuild your whole system - lines and everything for 500 bucks if you do it yourself.