nkh34

I just took my truck in to have the tires rotated and i had them do a brake inspection just to be safe and turns out my rear brakes are shot. I am wondering if it is worth the 300 bucks to have schwabs do it or to try it myself. i have done the fronts a few times but the front ones arent at all like the back if anyone has done the rear brakes id just like to know if with the combination of parts and hassel if i should just have schwabs do it. Thanks in advance for the replies Nick

country_09

What year truck is this on? 300 bucks is ridiculous. I buy the brakes and do it myself

in2pro

Replacing the rear shoes is not much different from the fronts other then you need to remember to put the retaining springs back in the same places.
The quote you got may have included rebuilding the rear cylinders as they may be leaking...this is something you can also do yourself...
Do one at a time so you have the other to reference

grumpychevy

Do you have disc or drum? If the $300 includes new rotors and a good set of pads, than with labor cost this is probably a fair price however if that price consists of turned rotors which cost about $20-$30 to have cut with new pads which cost $40-$70 depending on warranty than you can see that $200-$240 is all labor cost. If you have drums, than shoes generally cost less than pads however it is wise to buy a new spring set. Drum brakes do require a few special tools to make the job easier but not impossible to do it without the tools. This is just an example for a NBS half ton truck.

nkh34

the truck is a 97 1500 and it has drum brakes the guy at schwabs says (nobody else seems to know what he s talking about) the axle seal was broken. they were pretty messed up if it sits all day and its cold out the back passenger side would lock up and i have a flat drive way and a manual tranny so i never use an E-brake so i just took his word on it. I had them do it but now they cant figure out why my brake light wont go off. i just had the windsheild replaced yesterday and had to do a new radiator last week. a flock of quail can really do damage at highspeed. but i thought 300 was a little steep this is just for the next time id like to have an idea before it happens thanks for all the help