WOW .. I think they really did shaft.
DIY was a real BBst for me on my 3500. LOTS of rust.

Did they replace both front brake hoses ( to the calipers). Appears they did not. Wheel Cyl -- rear drums?
But NOT the front calipers.. I am guessing - rear drums are not adjusted.
I think these trucks have auto-adjust.. go backwards and lock it up a few times. Some one might confirm that.
No leaks right? Master cyl is full?
I replaced the entire front end brake parts ( I posted the story).
I really doubt there was a problem with the power brake/steering system/

My guess - replace rotors/calipers/ rubber hoses/ disk pads...

Will say my brake pedal does return slow, but no pumping or loss of solid pedal. I can stomp on the pedal and active the ABS.

the cost - I have about $250 invested and about 14 hrs of labor due to a the rusted bolts.. and rusted brake lines fittings. My next job is to replace all the steel lines.

I would be really pissed with that price and a 'lousy not fixed the problem' job

Hope they make it right.. lawyer-up

 

Rear brakes are indeed "self-adjusting", after a fashion, but, the adjusters don't always work as advertised, plus, when installing new shoes, part of the process is to adjust the rears..... Rear brake adjustment controls pedal height. (the point where stepping on the pedal actually starts to have an effect) if they are out of adjustment, you get long pedal travel before anything starts to happen.... (which can be exciting.....)

 

Ok, so I took the truck back Monday AM and just picked it up today (wensday) pm. They re-replaced the power steering pump, master cylinder, and power booster! The replaced power booster immediately failed (pedal went down but would not return). I think they got frustrated and ordered an OE power booster. Bled system; problem solved. Of course it is hard to say exactly what solved the problem because they re replaced three parts. I personally believe, the original problem, was a combination of the power steering pump and the power booster. But as I said, I am not a mechanic. Over all I believe BrakeMax did what was needed with the exception of maybe the steering gearbox? They paid for a rental for five days, and even went so far as to put an OE booster in. Yep, it was expensive, but I wonder how expensive it would have been had I attempted to repair it, along with my frustration ( I don't think I would have replaced the power booster three times!). Anyhow, thanks for all of your advice, I went back empowered?

 

Did they charge you anything for round two?

At least its fixed.

 

good for you.. appears this company does stand by their work.
Its fixed and hopefully at no additional expense to you.
I would not have guessed it was the power booster.

 

No more damage to my bank account, as a matter of fact, they gave me a three year warranty parts & labor on the job. Thanks again guys.

 

Awesome.

 

Good! I live in the Tucson area too and I've never had problems with Brake Max. Always go with either a AAA card or AARP card in had. Good for a 10% discount, I think.

Probably will have them flush my brakes on my '98.


RE: Drum brakes and self adjusters--the do work well, but the shoes need to contact the drums in order for the adjusters to do their jobs. So after a brake job, you adjust the shoe contact to where it just locks the drum to hand turning and then back off the contact so that the drum just turns easily. I learned this fairly recently (within the past 10 years) on an old Ford chassis'd motorhome, after I'd replaced a leaky wheel cylinder and the shoes.