today while driving my brake peadal went to the floor (still does ) the brakes will stop you but not well enough. the right rear wheel is soaked on the axle side with what i assume is brake fluid since the resevoir is also low, is this indicative of a blown wheel cylinder ? if so how expensive and how tuff to replace? thank you

 

Yep sounds like it and it's not tough at all..when you get the cylinders and that is a 's' there(replace both,murphys law) they will ask if for ABS or nonABS...make sure you know which...make sure you take the brake line off with a 'flair wrench'..if you try with a regular wrench you will round off the edges..you will also need the drum(s) vate cleaned (hot degreaser imersed) then turned also new linings as well as replacing the springs in the brake assembly..get a book it will help..good luck

 

Is the wheel itself soaked; or, is the axle housing also wet? If just the wheel, TexFord is correct - you've got a blown WC. If the axle housing is also wet - check to make sure you don't have a blown brake line instead.

Depending on how comfortable you are taking apart drum brakes, this could get 'interesting' for you. If you have any doubts about your abilities, at least find someone who's qualified to help you. Besides, you'll need them to help bleed the brakes when you're done!

 

check your axle seal too when you take the drum off ive seen the shoes get soaked to the point the dont work at all and if they are soaked you have to replace the shoes nothing will get the gear lube out of them.

check your brakeline if its dry and all the fluid you see is from the underside where the axle meets the backing plate it is most likely an axle seal.

 

I have a few friends that have tried different rotors and pads. 2 of them have crossdrilled and 3 of them have slotted. The friends with crossdrilled rotors have changed to slotted due to warpage, not sure if its due to cheap metal or what (I think due to holes in the metal making it easier to warp, but who knows). The other 3 with slotted rotors said they work fine, but didn't give me the brand. Most rotors seem to be made of steel, and rust on them is inevitable. I don't believe rust is really a factor in performance unless its on the part of the rotor where the pads are. I have seen some rotors with a gold zinc coating, they look like they will resist rust, although my friends don't have the coated rotors, so I can't really say. I'm not a rotor specialist, but I believe metalurgy is a factor in longevity. I have never seen a lifetime warranty on rotors, I thought that they are wearable type parts such as tires, brake pads, wipers, etc. and didn't have lifetime warranties. I hear good things about the EBC GreenPads, they have little dust and do a killer job, but wear out fairly quickly. I haven't heard how good ceramic pads are, I might try them next time around. I also hear good things about Kevlar and carbon fiber pads.

I have always bled my brakes by the plastic bottle method mentioned before, and never had problems, even on the newer models. Trick is not to let air into the lines. I noticed that when your reservoir is low on brake fluid, your pads are wearing thin, because its taking more fluid to push the piston since the pads are worn, that's a good sign to change your pads instead of waiting on the little tang to hit the rotor, or visual inspection would be good too.

I'm by no means a professional, I consider myself a expert shadetree mechanic, working on cars and motorcycles since I was 14, and have experienced many things along the way, I've had everything from Muscle cars to Rice rockets, and I am not biased towards any brand (every brand has a fault somewhere). This is my 2nd truck, my 1st being (gulp, I hate to post this here....67 GMC back when I was 17) and now I just bought this Ford 150, which I LOVE. I look forward to reading other's posts to see what is good and what is not, info exchange sure does help.