Driving With Two Brakes

"Brent P" > wrote in message
. ..
> In article >, Nate Nagel wrote:
>>Brent P wrote:
>>> In article >, Neil wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>The price they quoted was $110, but I don't know what that includes.
>>>
>>>
>>> It should include two wheel cylinders and at least relined shoes. Given
>>> the price of wheel cylinders and brake shoes for my old drum braked car
>>> that sounds like a decent price. It's nearly all parts unless 10 year
>>> old VW parts are ALOT cheaper than for a 35 year old ford.
>>>
>>
>>Maintenance parts are really cheap for older watercooled VW's. About
>>the only car I've ever worked on that was cheaper was an old MoPar
>>A-body. (several of them, mostly a '67 Dart and a '69 Valiant. I miss
>>the Valiant, too bad the owner wasn't speaking to me when she decided to
>>sell it...)
>
> I saw your price list there... the rear wheel cylinder I bought for the
> mav last year cost me around $40 at Napa.... Even more than a decade ago
> when I replaced the front ones they cost me $35 each or so....
>
>

Per the message I post in a new thread ("Driving With Two Brakes - Part
Two"), it was actually $130 they quoted, and it was ONLY for the wheel
cylinders. They say they're not going to replace the brake shoes, but only
clean them (even though there's brake fluid on the outside of the brake
cylinder).

In article >, Eeyore wrote:
>
>
>Ed Pirrero wrote:
>
>> On Apr 4, 3:42 pm, "Neil" > wrote:
>> > An additional note re. this. The reason this came to light was because my
>> > son's emergency brake wasn't holding the wheels. He brought it in, asking
>> > them to adjust the emergency brake, and they told him that the reason the
>> > emergency brake wasn't working was because of brake fluid that was leaking
>> > out of the rear cyclinders. (They said that one cyclinder was leaking a
>> > little, and another was leaking a lot.)
>>
>> Considering it's a mechanical hand brake mechanism, fluid (or lack
>> thereof) isn't going to do anything, unless both rears are so
>> contaminated the brake shoes won't hold in the drums.
>>
>> Seems unlikely.
>
>That's exactly what happens. The friction material loses its friction when
>saturated with brake fluid. It is an oil of sorts after all !

It would depend on the design of the back plate and drum I would guess.
The wheel cylinder that went on me last year was discovered in part by
'what's that puddle'. The shoes never got any brake fluid on them. It
just went along the back plate through the over lap with the drum and
down to the ground.

I would think it possible for the parking brake to slip because of
contamination, but it would be unlikely IMO... then again the car may
have a drum brake design that any leaking brake fluid goes on to the
shoes.