Rear Brake Cylinders

I was told that both rear brake cylinders on my 2000 Venture are leaking. I only have 65,000 miles on it. Seems a little soon to me. Don't cylinders last longer than this? And both at the same time, sounds like a defect? Anyone else with this problem???

Its a common problem, it causes a "clunk" noise to be heard from the rear, and makes brakes really touchy. if you EVER find yourself adding brake fluid more than once a year, replace the wheel cylinders.

I'm assuming when you say "common problem" you mean common with Ventures? I notice no difference with my brakes. Not touchy or squishy. But I did take It to a Dealer for an oil change and their the ones who said I needed new cylinders. Must be common because they seemed to know what to look for and when.

65,000 miles is not an unreasonable amount of time for brake cylinders, which are more or less the same subcontractor-built cylinders used in every car built in North America. If you can do the work yourself, you'll save a bundle of money. These are big moneymakers for brake shops with obscene mark-ups and labor charges for what is a very cheap part that is easy to install -- particularly when you are replacing the rear brake shoes anyway. Replacing the rear cylinders adds about 15 minutes total to a rear brake job, and the cylinders cost around $17 each at a discount auto parts store.

Stealerships can tell you alot of things- pull the rear wheels and drums to see if the cylinders are wet. I don't assume anything when it comes to brakes, and I have no faith in what any stealership has to say. If they are wet around the caps- you gotta have them replaced.

I agree with Ironic, and I like that term, "stealerships" (may I use that, or is it copyrighted?) Never take a shop's word for anything, unless you are unable to do the work yourself. If the cylinders are leaking, you will have moisture around the ends of them and on the shoes, and normally leaky cylinders will make the brakes grabby.

Thanks for all the info everyone. When the dealer had the drums off they showed me that the cylinders were wet on top not on the ends and the shoes looked fine. Yeah, I like the term "stealerships" also, Good one.

Wet anywhere is a sign of trouble. There are only three places a wheel cylinder can leak -- (1) either end of the boots, or (2) on the backplate where it is connected to your brake lines. If you see fluid on top of the cylinder then it must be leaking from either end of the boot, and it must be replaced (or rebuilt for you penny-pinching old-timers). If the leakage was not enough to soak the brake pads, you can safely change the wheel cylinders without replacing the brake shoes.

Wheel cylinders are sometimes odd things. I work in the parts dept. of a Ford dealership in the Buffalo area. Sometimes, I sell wheel cylinders to cars with 60k, some (like my x's) go up to 130k. My 1991 Century is at 176k on the original wheel cylinders, but that is an extreme rarity. I'd try checking out our web site: www.genuineoem.com Our auto group has a lot of dealerships and run the site to offer discounted OEM parts to anyone in the world.