MnTom

I just got done replacing the rear wheel cylinders for the brakes and WOW!! what a differance. I put the ones that Infidel said were for a one ton chebby. Now it feels like I only push about 1/2 as hard on the pedal and stop faster than before. I don't know for sure but it seems my stopping distance is a lot less too. I highly recommend the upgrade to anyone who wants better brakes. All I did was go to a NAPA store and told them I want part number 4637337 and they were only $12.99 each. The hardest part was getting the drums off. After that it was a piece of cake. Thanks Infidel for the tip.
Tom

perk

How do you get the drums off? I wanted to check my brakes sat, but I couldn't get them things off.

Crimedog

Someone on here has a way... put the rear axle on jackstands, put one lug nut back on, and fire it up and go up to 10 mph, then slam the brakes. The drums are supposed to come right off.

DZLPWR

I tried that this weekend too with no prevail???

MnTom

I was lucky and didn't have much problem getting the drums off. Last year I put new brakes on (after a seal leaked) so it wasn't tough. The only way that I know is to back off the adjuster and use a big hammer to "rattle" the drum off.
Tom

infidel

Knew you'd love the larger cylinders, if every other mod could be so cheap...

I've removed more stuck drums than I can count, after learning the jackstand slam on the brakes trick I've never had to take a hammer to one nor loosen the shoes since. Learned the hard way why one lug nut should be loosely put back on after chasing a drum down the street.

If it doesn't work try forward and reverse slams. Make sure the clips over the studs that are only used for shipping are removed and toss them. If that still doesn't get it try penetrating oil on the studs for a few hours. It's only rust that has them stuck. If the shoes need to be loosened to remove the drums it means that they were rubbing excessively or you're trying to pull the drums off cockeyed.

INJECTOR JACK

I'm glad to hear that the chevy wheel cylinders worked out. I'm going to convert my 96 3500 If it works out I will do my old mans 98 2500 s/b. You don't have any trouble with the abs? My truck some times goes into abs with the car trailer behind if to much trailer brakes are applied, Scarry stuff!

Thanks for the great info guy's

CAPTCOOL

INFIDEL, will this work on a 99 2500? how does it affect the abs?

infidel

The 4637337 cylinders fit on all models with rear drum brakes. The results won't be as dramatic on later models as the 2500s started using the larger 3500 cylinders at some point, but you still feel the difference. No one has ever mentioned abs problems with this mod to me.

Lil Dog

Sounds like a good mod to me.. I will mark this thread for the future upgrades...

I just had the brakes checked when I had new rubber put on. They just used a BFH and whacked those drums till they finally came off. The drive-stop technique scares me a bit...LOL..

J-eh

MnTom

Actually, I do have a slight problem with the ABS. Some woman almost pulled out in front of me and before I got too hard on the pedal there was a slight screech of tires and then the ABS kicked in. I have never had the ABS kick in on dry pavement. Gonna take some gettin' used to before winter. The pucker factor might increase!!

Steve Roseman

I used the jackstand method for drum removal and it worked great. Had to do the forward then reverse several times but it worked. I think the ABS was making it more difficult, couldn't get a hard stop on the drums. I'm about ready to do away with rear anti-lock, can't stand when a vehicle tries to think for me.

redramnc

Did the cylinder upgrade on mine a while back - had to go forward and reverse about twice to get both sides loose.

Another little trick an old brake shop owner/mechanic/mechanical genious (thank you, Mr. Means ) got me started on is to X the shoes from rivet to rivet about half the depth of the shoe. This allows the heated gases that are generated on the surface of the shoe during braking a place to escape off of the shoe surface much like cross-drilled rotors. You just need to use the thinnest grinder wheel that you can find and make sure to use a dust mask while doing the grinding and HEPA vac up the resulting dust. I do mine with a cheap air 4" cutoff tool and the cheap thin cutoff wheels that came with it but a Dremel might do the trick (haven't needed to try one yet).

I have been doing this on various vehicles for 25 years now and have never had any wear problems or shoe problems. I use the best Raybestos or Porterfield shoes that I can get for each vehicle to start with. It seems to me to increase rear brake action as well as longevity of the pads. But, as with any mod, YMMV.....

1dslram

Do these cylinders help the 96 - 3500? I have excessive front brake wear on my truck ever since I bought it. I have thought about replacing the pads and rooters with aftermarket parts. I hope this will help as it is a lot less expensive.
Thanks
Bruce

infidel

Yes, very much so.