Particles in the brake fluid

[Schurkey]

By fragile do you mean rust easily?

No, I mean "Shattered gears, busted differential case, vehicle rear wheels lock-up solid so the vehicle skids to a stop and has to be flat-bedded to the shop."

My U bolts rusted away

Common as dirt. They all do that.

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along with my old rear end and it was seeping gear oil behind the U bolts. The old rear end was replaced with a used one by the dealership put in for me. It's going back soon bc gear oil is seeping behind the passenger side U bolts again so I'm assuming this axle body is FUBARed.

Yeah, I've seen axle tubes rusted where the U-bolts go around them. Some get pretty bad. Never seen one that rusted through so the gear lube leaked out, though. Woof. That's NOT good.

First Guess: the replacement axle came from a Tahoe or other SUV, and that's how you got the good 11.x rear drums.

 

[Boots97]

No, I mean "Shattered gears, busted differential case, vehicle rear wheels lock-up solid so the vehicle skids to a stop and has to be flat-bedded to the shop."

Never seen that before with me or any other GMT400 truck/suv that I've seen. THANK GOD that's never happened to me.

 

[Boots97]

Yeah, I've seen axle tubes rusted where the U-bolts go around them. Some get pretty bad. Never seen one that rusted through so the gear lube leaked out, though. Woof. That's NOT good.

First Guess: the replacement axle came from a Tahoe or other SUV, and that's how you got the good 11.x rear drums.

Thankfully, it's not dripping so at least the gear oil is holding. My shop has a 2 year warranty on their work and I had this replaced 10 months ago. Should get another rear end for free and hopefully I get another rear end with 11" drums.

 

[Schurkey]

Or transfer the backing plates and 11.x brakes to the new axle.

Better yet--grab a "light duty" K2500 axle with six lugs and the same gear ratio, then you get the wonderful 9.5" ring gear "14 bolt semi-float" differential instead of the weakass 8.5" 10-bolt diff, and you also get the 11.x brakes along with it.

 

[Boots97]

Or transfer the backing plates and 11.x brakes to the new axle.

Better yet--grab a "light duty" K2500 axle with six lugs and the same gear ratio, then you get the wonderful 9.5" ring gear "14 bolt semi-float" differential instead of the weakass 8.5" 10-bolt diff, and you also get the 11.x brakes along with it.

That'd be nice. Hopefully if this rear axle is covered by warranty, maybe I'll get lucky and land a 14 bolt axle. If I can get a Suburban/Tahoe Axle, the sky is the limit.

 

[Pinger]

I THINK (not sure) the 11" brakes were standard on Suburbans and (maybe) Tahoes.

Maybe, but my C2500 Suburban has 13'' drums (JD7).

 

[Schurkey]

Maybe, but my C2500 Suburban has 13'' drums (JD7).

You have 8-lug axle/rotors...right? I'm sure you've posted that info, but I don't remember for sure.

He'd be looking for the "light duty" 6-lug axle.

 

[Pinger]

You have 8-lug axle/rotors...right? I'm sure you've posted that info, but I don't remember for sure.

Correct - the 14 bolt axle with semi-floating shafts.

 

[boy&hisdogs]

@Caman96 @Alteca Here's the link to the thread I found a while back.

'96K1500 Front Brake Upgrade

Hello guys, is there a factory, bolt on, front brake upgrade available that will allow staying with 15" wheels? Maybe calipers/rotors from a newer year model or a 2500/3500 series? Looking to upgrade but don't want to have to buy new tires and wheels to do it. I've read a ton of posts on here...

www.gmt400.com

@boy&hisdogs and @1998_K1500_Sub did the NBS Master Cylinder, Stainless brake lines, 2500/3500 Wheel Cylinders and 2500/3500 Calipers. This is what I want to do sometime in the future. Right now I'll try the NBS MC and see how it goes. At best, it improves braking, and at worst, I just wasted a few hours messing with parts that weren't originally meant for this truck.

The NBS master didn't make much of a difference in stopping power, but it did make the pedal feel a little firmer. I wouldn't really say it's worth it unless you want to do it just because.

I also did a 14b semi floater in the rear and got the biggest available wheel cylinders. The bigger drums made a noticeable difference, I did the rear while I still had the stock 1500 calipers and it would lock up the rears hard and fast before the fronts. Once I went with the 2500/3500 calipers in the front it balanced out nicely.

Beware of bad brake lines. I had Procomp lines on there first and they burst during a panic stop causing me to lose all brakes and rear end someone on the highway. I got Skyjackers after and they have been great, and I tested the heck out of them.

 

[Boots97]

The NBS master didn't make much of a difference in stopping power, but it did make the pedal feel a little firmer. I wouldn't really say it's worth it unless you want to do it just because.

I also did a 14b semi floater in the rear and got the biggest available wheel cylinders. The bigger drums made a noticeable difference, I did the rear while I still had the stock 1500 calipers and it would lock up the rears hard and fast before the fronts. Once I went with the 2500/3500 calipers in the front it balanced out nicely.

Beware of bad brake lines. I had Procomp lines on there first and they burst during a panic stop causing me to lose all brakes and rear end someone on the highway. I got Skyjackers after and they have been great, and I tested the heck out of them.

Yeah everyone has more or less talked me out of replacing the MC.

My rear axle body is seeping gear oil behind the U bolts. I think the body is going bad and I'll need a new one. Thankfully, my shop did this same repair about 10 months ago so it should still be under warranty. I got lucky bc the used axle they put in likely came from a Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban bc it was a 10 bolt rear axle with 11" drums. From what I've been told, that is very uncommon on 1500 pickups but I believe was standard on SUVs. I plan on replacing the calipers and wheel cylinders in one go someday, but since they all work fine rn, I'm just going to keep it how it is.

I recently replaced all the hard lines in my truck with NiCopp. NiCopp is a Nickel-Copper mix (hence the name) and only oxidizes and turns green. It never rusts which is why it's very popular in the Midwest and Northeast due to road salt rusting away brake lines. I live in MN so bad brake lines are very common here. I also recently replaced the rear hose with an AC Delco one, but now plan on replacing the all the brake hoses with Classic Tube StopFlex hoses that are braided stainless steel. @df2x4 sent me a link which is on this thread to them and I can't wait to try them out!

BTW, I'm very glad that I replaced all my hard lines. One I replaced the center line that runs alongside the driver's side of the truck, I pulled out the old line and started folding it up so it would fit in my scrap metal box. I did one fold and this is what happened.

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