Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Working in 2008 GMC Sierra 1500....

I inherited Dads pickup when he passed away. It's not pretty, but it runs good and that's enough for me. Saturday I put on a front wheel bearing assembly and saw it needed brake pads. So today I got the pads, rotors are ok, and oil/filter. Put on the front brake pads and changed the oil/filter.

Took a rear wheel off and decided to put new shoes on the back, also. No problem taking the thing apart, but whoever came up with the idea of that big spring clip to hold the shoes on the back plate needs to be gelded w/o anesthesia for a start, and then get rough with him. Pain in the wazoo is an understatement.

My condolences and good luck with the truck!

Glad you are getting it up to snuff, Randy!

Go by the new pickup lot and look at window stickers, and you'll feel much better about fixing up that one..

Never seen a drum brake that was much fun. Rears with the parling brake added made them funner.

But having the right tools, like anything I guess & doing a few makes it not so bad. The more ya do the easier it gets.

Never found a drum brake yet that I didnt hate and I have done way too many to count.

I think some engineers are sociopaths, when they design something they laugh like hell thinking about the poor SOB that gotta work on it!!

I have a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado that has almost 400,000miles on it.
The transmission had the gall to go out at 275,000miles. I'm on the 3rd
fuel pump(don't buy anything but AC Delco) and learned that ones made outa of Chineseium won't last...
Best vehicle I've ever owned. I'd keep it if I was you.

It has never ceased to amaze me that you can replace all the brakes, rollers and springs on a class 8 truck in less time than one rear axle on your older pickup. There were some evil engineer sonsabitches working in Detroit back then.

Yea drum brakes are a pain. Could have been an even older vehicle with front drum brakes. Keep that older truck going! As long as the body doesn’t rust out you can keep it as long as you want. Sure parts will fail as time goes on but at least there are parts available! My 1987 4 x 4 suburban has 475,000 plus miles on it. Stuff breaks it gets fixed. One great feature with your older truck is you don’t have to worry about the paint getting dinged in parking lots. Today’s smaller vehicles seem to give a 3 ton monster respect. Maybe it’s less than pristine appearance causes the nicer looking vehicle owners to behave around it as they will have more to lose in a collision.

Randy, borrow a good set of brake pliers - hardened, with long handles - and that cupped end will make the nasty spring work a lot easier. I used to just clamp a vise grip on the end of the spring and stretch/wrestle it into place, but those days have passed.

If it's really nasty, just go get Jo to do it. She'll show you how.

You have a good truck there - it's well worth the hassle.

This. Especially on the AC Delco.

And yeah, drum brakes should’ve gone away in the 70’s……

Funny timing I am doing my front pads on a 2007 Silverado tommorow. I told my wife I dont know if I remember how to do drum brakes for the rear. I had alot of newer trucks 2015 and 2018 but the 2007 is just a great truck. I can work on most of it. Like said before a new truck is more than my first house. Bidenomics sucks

I'll be keeping my 2002 Chevy. Doesn't have a bunch of
electronic crap to fail as it ages.

I know the 2006-2007 have steel brake lines, Duno about the 08, if it does, you might want to change them out while you are at it.

They rust and corrode, once you spring a leak, the whole line set needs to be replaced.

My 04 Hoe has been done twice.
There is one short line that is a total PITA to get to/replace, found out on the 2nd go round that the A-holes didn't replace that one piece/section the first time and it was where the line blew while pulling my utility trailer.

The shop that did the lines the first go round has not seen another of the 7 vehicles I keep up since and never will.

Randy,

Good to see you are alive and kickin.... Give our regards to Jo.

All I can add is I second what Paul had to say....

Changed the rear brake drums on the 2011 Tacoma I 'inherited' that came out of Massachusetts & New Hampshire.

The drum itself, had more of it gone due to rust, than was left on it...

I sure don't miss, living up north at all. Its not the cold or the snow that bothers me... its the road salt and the rust.

When I lived in Minnesota, you don't do any work on a vehicle that you have to remove a bolt or nut, without first heating up with a torch from a welder or what ever.

Had your dad's truck gives you a long service life. I wouldn't want one of these new trucks if I won it in a contest, or someone just gave me the keys to one. Hell I've even thought about finding an old VW bug or my beloved Squareback,
or a good shaped 60s Volvo wagon or up thru the early 80s, 245 station wagon... when they went to fuel injection, it was mechanical fuel injection. An EMP wouldn't phase any of those... and they'll run on about any kind of fuel.

Recently recalled the old tricks we use to use in Minnesota in the winter to keep gas lines from freezing. HEAT additive, takes the alcohol out of ethanol, then adding some 2 stroke oil to it, and I'm not having to buy fuel at the airport for my lawn mover. NOT having ethanol issues with my mowers, blower, chain saw and other power equipment that gets used a lot this time of year.

Don't you miss when the world was simple? That is why I keep running that old 88 4 Runner, buzzing 600K on the odometer...same engine and trans I drove it off the lot with back in 1987, when I bought her new with 2 miles on the odometer.