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[Gord]

Well, I finally plucked up the courage (and got some time) to change these spark plugs!
First thing I’d like to say is, “That was fun, but lets not do it again any time soon!”

I had no problem with plugs stripping out the holes, no plugs breaking off or anything like that but those two in the back on the passenger side… well lets just say it was a struggle! EVERYTHING seems to be in the way, the transmission dipstick tube, the heater hoses among other hoses and what not!! The driver’s side is much easier, still fun but not the fun on the other side!

Two or three of the plugs were quite rusty and all were really worn, ready to be replaced. I wasn’t expecting the rust but it explains why I had an intermittent miss and why I had a miss for a while after I got some water on the engine.

Anyway, all seems to be good now, so far… hope it stays that way.

I’m not sure what the ‘flat rate’ is for this work but I’m sure if I had to work on flat rate I’d starve to death!! 😛

I’ll try to upload some pictures of the old plugs for your viewing pleasure…

Thanks to all,
Gord

Attachments:

• IMG_0004.JPG

[Gord]

Thanks for the tips… I plan to be very careful but I think the hardest part is going to be getting at the rear plugs, so I’ll try to get some practice with the front ones first!

The service manual I have says the spark plugs should be torqued to 8-12 Nm or 71-106 Lb/In

Thanks again!

Gord

[Gord]

Thanks for the tips… I plan to be very careful but I think the hardest part is going to be getting at the rear plugs, so I’ll try to get some practice with the front ones first!

The service manual I have says the spark plugs should be torqued to 8-12 Nm or 71-106 Lb/In

Thanks again!

Gord

[Gord]

Well, it appears I just need to ask the question in this forum and things will fix themselves!! 😆
I took the truck out for another test drive today and guess what? no missing no hesitation nothing… like brand new again.

I’d just like to thank the elves that came and fixed my truck last night! :woohoo:

I suspect there is still something not 100%, but when I change the spark plugs I may find it… dirt or ??

Anyway, right now I’m a happy man.

[Gord]

Well, it appears I just need to ask the question in this forum and things will fix themselves!! 😆
I took the truck out for another test drive today and guess what? no missing no hesitation nothing… like brand new again.

I’d just like to thank the elves that came and fixed my truck last night! :woohoo:

I suspect there is still something not 100%, but when I change the spark plugs I may find it… dirt or ??

Anyway, right now I’m a happy man.

[Gord]

Thank you so much oh wyse one!!
I was wondering about removing the hubs/axles, but I was too chicken :ohmy:
I’ll use the brakes as is for now but keep it in mind if they get worse.

Cheers,
Gord

[Gord]

Thank you so much oh wyse one!!
I was wondering about removing the hubs/axles, but I was too chicken :ohmy:
I’ll use the brakes as is for now but keep it in mind if they get worse.

Cheers,
Gord

[Gord]

Thanks to everyone for your replies. Everyone seemed to think the problem was with the cables… rusted/frozen. I got a chance today to have a look and all the cables seemed to be working OK. I got my ‘lovely assistant’ to operate and release the park braked while I watched everything with the wheels/rotors off. Everything seemed to be moving and I could see the leaver moving the brake shoe out. Strange that it seems to move only one shoe, but it may work like ‘normal’ drum brakes where one shoe sort of pushes on the other??? or maybe with the drum on, it will push the other shoe as well? Not sure.

Anyway, the shoes looked like they had lots of material left on them so I just ‘buffed’ them up a bit with some sandpaper and washed the whole thing down with brake clean. I also tried to get some anti-size in between the working parts, kind of hard when it’s still together. Which brings up another point… I had ideas of changing the shoes but I really could not see a good way to get them off!! There is really very little room between the hub, where the wheel lug studs attach and the brake shoes. I think I know what has to happen there are three springs that need to come off as well as two hold down clips, but I’ll be darned if I know how I’m supposed to get in there to remove/install them!

So I cleaned everything up and put it back together. In the service manual it talks about ‘burnishing’ new brake shoes by driving at about 30 MPH and put the transmission in neutral then stopping the truck with the emergency/park brake. I did this and after, the brake seemed to be a bit better. I don’t know if it was the cleaning/sanding or the burnishing, but I think the park brake is acceptable now. It’s still not great, but I think it’s better than it was.

Thanks again very much to everyone.

Gord

[Gord]

Thanks to everyone for your replies. Everyone seemed to think the problem was with the cables… rusted/frozen. I got a chance today to have a look and all the cables seemed to be working OK. I got my ‘lovely assistant’ to operate and release the park braked while I watched everything with the wheels/rotors off. Everything seemed to be moving and I could see the leaver moving the brake shoe out. Strange that it seems to move only one shoe, but it may work like ‘normal’ drum brakes where one shoe sort of pushes on the other??? or maybe with the drum on, it will push the other shoe as well? Not sure.

Anyway, the shoes looked like they had lots of material left on them so I just ‘buffed’ them up a bit with some sandpaper and washed the whole thing down with brake clean. I also tried to get some anti-size in between the working parts, kind of hard when it’s still together. Which brings up another point… I had ideas of changing the shoes but I really could not see a good way to get them off!! There is really very little room between the hub, where the wheel lug studs attach and the brake shoes. I think I know what has to happen there are three springs that need to come off as well as two hold down clips, but I’ll be darned if I know how I’m supposed to get in there to remove/install them!

So I cleaned everything up and put it back together. In the service manual it talks about ‘burnishing’ new brake shoes by driving at about 30 MPH and put the transmission in neutral then stopping the truck with the emergency/park brake. I did this and after, the brake seemed to be a bit better. I don’t know if it was the cleaning/sanding or the burnishing, but I think the park brake is acceptable now. It’s still not great, but I think it’s better than it was.

Thanks again very much to everyone.

Gord

[Gord]

Well, I finally got a chance to replace the front brakes on the truck so I thought I’d post an update with what I did…

I’m sure those that do this sort of thing for a living will chuckle when I say it took me basically all day, but this is my first real repair so I’m quite proud of myself. Well I came out alive anyway and didn’t brake anything!!! 😛

What I did:
– replaced front brake pads
– had both front rotors machined
– cleaned and repacked wheel bearings
– replaced wheel grease seals
– replaced one brake caliper and bracket

Details:
I started about 9:00 am by removing both rotors and replaced one lug stud. The old one was not broken but it was starting to stretch, kind of strange.
Off to the machine shop to get the rotors turned. I had phoned ahead of time and they said they could do them. Got them into the shop about 11:00 and they were done by 1:00. I discovered when I took the rotors off that the grease seals I had were wrong, so I had to get two different ones. The guy at the machine shop said the rotors were still within tolerance so that was good. I can’t remember exactly but I think he said he took about 10 thousands off one rotor and about 15 thousands off the other. He asked if the truck sits a lot, I said yes, he said he sees that a lot where the imprint of the brake pad shows (rusts) on the rotor.
Got the rotors home and just started to clean and repack the bearings when I discovered I was out of grease!! Another trip back to the parts store!! :angry: Back home to finish the bearings, what a messy job, grease all over the place. Kind of strange that when you want the rotors to be clean, it is the messiest point in the process. When I took the nut off the spindle to remove the rotors I noticed it was finger tight and if I rocked really hard on the rotor I could just hear the clunk back and forth. Keeping in mind Eric’s advise that loose is better that too tight, I re-installed the nut to this same tightness.
Now I had to get the old caliper off. Not too much of a problem and I noticed that the old caliper had copper washers so when I installed the new one, I used the new copper washers they gave me. So far so good.
Now all I had to do was install the new brake pads and put the calipers back on. I put a little more silicone paste on the new caliper slide pins and checked the other but it was OK because I had had it apart a couple of weeks ago and put some lube on it then. Then a bit of anti-seize on the pads where they contact the brackets. The only tricky part was to hold the pads in place while I slipped the caliper back on. Those little springs that hold the pads away from the rotors are surprisingly strong!
All back together and took it out for a test drive… what 6:00??? where did the time go!! :ohmy:

Parts used/price:
Rabestos Disc brake pads part # ATD824C (ceramic) $49.79
SKF oil seal part # 24017 for 2 $42.78
Brake caliper with bracket front left Raybestos part # FRC20960 $85.00
Raybestos lug stud part # 28928B $ 1.00
Machine 2 rotors $70.00

plus grease and lots of rags!!

Summary:
I think it went quite well. Would have been a lot faster if I didn’t have to take the rotors in for machining and didn’t have to go back to the parts store for grease. Only one minor flesh wound on my hand, still have all my fingers!!
And the most important part, the truck stops nice and smooth now with no noise, so the customer is happy.

What next:
When I was tightening up the caliper bracket, I noticed the ball joint is loose. Not sure if I’ll replace that next or replace the rear brakes, they need doing as well.

Thanks so much to everyone on this forum, you gave me the courage to try this. I’m sure I’ll be back to ask even more questions in the future.

Take care!!

[Gord]

Well, I finally got a chance to replace the front brakes on the truck so I thought I’d post an update with what I did…

I’m sure those that do this sort of thing for a living will chuckle when I say it took me basically all day, but this is my first real repair so I’m quite proud of myself. Well I came out alive anyway and didn’t brake anything!!! 😛

What I did:
– replaced front brake pads
– had both front rotors machined
– cleaned and repacked wheel bearings
– replaced wheel grease seals
– replaced one brake caliper and bracket

Details:
I started about 9:00 am by removing both rotors and replaced one lug stud. The old one was not broken but it was starting to stretch, kind of strange.
Off to the machine shop to get the rotors turned. I had phoned ahead of time and they said they could do them. Got them into the shop about 11:00 and they were done by 1:00. I discovered when I took the rotors off that the grease seals I had were wrong, so I had to get two different ones. The guy at the machine shop said the rotors were still within tolerance so that was good. I can’t remember exactly but I think he said he took about 10 thousands off one rotor and about 15 thousands off the other. He asked if the truck sits a lot, I said yes, he said he sees that a lot where the imprint of the brake pad shows (rusts) on the rotor.
Got the rotors home and just started to clean and repack the bearings when I discovered I was out of grease!! Another trip back to the parts store!! :angry: Back home to finish the bearings, what a messy job, grease all over the place. Kind of strange that when you want the rotors to be clean, it is the messiest point in the process. When I took the nut off the spindle to remove the rotors I noticed it was finger tight and if I rocked really hard on the rotor I could just hear the clunk back and forth. Keeping in mind Eric’s advise that loose is better that too tight, I re-installed the nut to this same tightness.
Now I had to get the old caliper off. Not too much of a problem and I noticed that the old caliper had copper washers so when I installed the new one, I used the new copper washers they gave me. So far so good.
Now all I had to do was install the new brake pads and put the calipers back on. I put a little more silicone paste on the new caliper slide pins and checked the other but it was OK because I had had it apart a couple of weeks ago and put some lube on it then. Then a bit of anti-seize on the pads where they contact the brackets. The only tricky part was to hold the pads in place while I slipped the caliper back on. Those little springs that hold the pads away from the rotors are surprisingly strong!
All back together and took it out for a test drive… what 6:00??? where did the time go!! :ohmy:

Parts used/price:
Rabestos Disc brake pads part # ATD824C (ceramic) $49.79
SKF oil seal part # 24017 for 2 $42.78
Brake caliper with bracket front left Raybestos part # FRC20960 $85.00
Raybestos lug stud part # 28928B $ 1.00
Machine 2 rotors $70.00

plus grease and lots of rags!!

Summary:
I think it went quite well. Would have been a lot faster if I didn’t have to take the rotors in for machining and didn’t have to go back to the parts store for grease. Only one minor flesh wound on my hand, still have all my fingers!!
And the most important part, the truck stops nice and smooth now with no noise, so the customer is happy.

What next:
When I was tightening up the caliper bracket, I noticed the ball joint is loose. Not sure if I’ll replace that next or replace the rear brakes, they need doing as well.

Thanks so much to everyone on this forum, you gave me the courage to try this. I’m sure I’ll be back to ask even more questions in the future.

Take care!!

[Gord]

Thanks for the reply and good timing…
Just this weekend I decided to have a closer look at the front brakes to get a better idea what’s going on. I took the calipers off and discovered that one of the pistons (there are 2 per caliper) on the left side is seized, so that caliper will need to be replaced. One of the slide pins on that side was also quite sticky, so I removed both and cleaned and lubed them. The calipers now move freely on the pins, at least.

I’m going to do some looking around and try to find a shop that can machine the rotors. I have not yet measured them but I hope there is enough material left to clean them up. New rotors go for over $100 each so I’m really hoping I don’t have to get new ones.

The ‘shopping list’ so far is one new caliper, new brake pads and new grease seals. (and the machining of the rotors)

That should take care of the front brakes… next on the radar is the rear brakes…

Wish me luck! 😉

[Gord]

Thanks for the reply and good timing…
Just this weekend I decided to have a closer look at the front brakes to get a better idea what’s going on. I took the calipers off and discovered that one of the pistons (there are 2 per caliper) on the left side is seized, so that caliper will need to be replaced. One of the slide pins on that side was also quite sticky, so I removed both and cleaned and lubed them. The calipers now move freely on the pins, at least.

I’m going to do some looking around and try to find a shop that can machine the rotors. I have not yet measured them but I hope there is enough material left to clean them up. New rotors go for over $100 each so I’m really hoping I don’t have to get new ones.

The ‘shopping list’ so far is one new caliper, new brake pads and new grease seals. (and the machining of the rotors)

That should take care of the front brakes… next on the radar is the rear brakes…

Wish me luck! 😉

[Gord]

Thanks very much for the quick replies, this forum/web site is fantastic!!! :cheer:

Perhaps I should have been clearer in my original question… the disc is the type with the integrated hub. It’s not the type that just sits on the wheel studs, the disc, hub and studs are all one piece (well, OK you could replace the studs). That’s why I was asking about replacing the wheel bearings, they come out when you remove the disc.

So it sounds like I should just replace everything… disc, pads and bearings (and the grease seal of course)… better make a shopping list!! May also need to take out a loan, those discs are not cheap!

Thanks again,
Gord

[Gord]

Thanks very much for the quick replies, this forum/web site is fantastic!!! :cheer:

Perhaps I should have been clearer in my original question… the disc is the type with the integrated hub. It’s not the type that just sits on the wheel studs, the disc, hub and studs are all one piece (well, OK you could replace the studs). That’s why I was asking about replacing the wheel bearings, they come out when you remove the disc.

So it sounds like I should just replace everything… disc, pads and bearings (and the grease seal of course)… better make a shopping list!! May also need to take out a loan, those discs are not cheap!

Thanks again,
Gord

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