Hopefully photos attached. I think the problem was the build up of rust on the caliper supports. I have chipped that off as best i could and things seem to fit a bit better now. But of all the ****ty jobs i have done, this has got to be one of the worst. Whoever came up with the idea of a clip that keeps the top of the brake hose secure to the body and for which you need to disconnect the brake hose in order to remove the clip in order to remove the hose and replace with a new one, needs shooting. Despite starting with a topped up master cylinder, i could not remove the clip before the entire contents of brake fluid ran out over me and pretty much everything else. Every step was a bitch. Now done, but i need to bleed the entire system, starting with the master cylinder and if the rear brake calipers are anything like the front, they will need replacing as well

 

Yes, rust interferes with things. Anywhere you find rust, remove it during disassembly, and re-assembly will be MUCH quicker & easier. Are you saying the pads are installed now? Did you apply brake grease between the pads & the clips?When you come up with a better design, build it & sell it. But 1) it's not attached to the body - it's attached to the frame; and 2) every brand, year, & model vehicle I've worked on (which is a LOT) is assembled essentially that way. Even the 2013 Land Rover Range Rover whose brake line I replaced last month.Then you're not doing the job right. You don't top-up a reservoir BEFORE opening the fluid system below it, unless there's a way to block off that line. There isn't on these trucks, so you should have emptied the reservoir first - it's easy using a common, inexpensive meat syringe; or a squeeze bulb with a fine tip.That's the most-difficult, -expensive, & -wasteful way to do it. It's much quicker & easier, and uses far less brake fluid, to simply: fill the reservoir, open ONE bleeder at a time & let the fluid run down & fill the (fully-extended) slave cylinder, close the bleeder, and then reverse-bleed the last of the air out by compressing the slave. Continue with all 4 wheels. I do it all the time, with near-100% success. Only some older GMs don't tolerate it because of their delicate 4WABS systems.Not likely, since there aren't any rear calipers.

Take a break (pun intended) and read ALL the relevant captions in this photo album (you can skip the 4WABS, hydroboost, & on-car lathe):

 

Thanks Steve. Appreciate you taking the time to post. I guess i found this frustrating i) because of the rust ii) because i just did the same job on a 2006 Toyota Highlander and the whole thing took about an hour. I didn't need to drain the master cylinder and brake hose was attached to the frame with clips like these (that also came with the new hoses for the truck). They enable you to loosen the flare nuts, then remove the clips, then replace hoses, then replace clips and then tighten flare nuts. Minimal brake fluid loss


Yes, i did grease between pads and clips, the photo was taken during a dry fit.

I will give the reverse bleed procedure you describe a go. Do i do this with the engine running?
Many thanks for your help

 

No. A more-detailed description of reverse-bleeding can be found in those captions.

 

Yes, saw those, thanks. However, i might have a bigger problem....see new thread 'Unable to remove drum from rear hubs'

 

First: does the drum turn? Even with the weight of the truck on the tire, and the engine/trans or gravity or another vehicle pulling it? If it rolls fairly easily, the drum isn't seized to the brakes, which is important. If it takes an engine to make it roll, that's a different problem.

So assuming the drum is NOT seized to the shoes: rap between the lugs in a star pattern with a small BP hammer. You should quickly see the drum face walk out slightly on the hub stickout, and a gap open around the lugs.

 

Thanks Steve. Will give it a go(tomorrow)

 

Ok, so drum turns indicating shoes are not jammed against the drum. Tried the hammer between the lugs, nothing shifted. Sprayed round the hub contact point with penetrating oil and will give it another bash tonight

 

Ok, repeated penetrating oil and hammer treatment over the last couple of days has loosened the drum and i have taken it off. Not a pretty sight underneath. I presume i pull everything out and replace it all. Is this practical for a semi-competent person?

 

Drums are rusty, but i think i can get that off. Is it usual to replace the drums as well at this point, or can i reuse the current ones? Have sourced the remaining parts on Rockauto (thanks Steve83's diagram) and am getting Motorcraft parts other than the cylinders which neither they, nor Amazon, have in stock. Can't find the pushrods. Looks like the shoe retainer is included in the drum brake hardware kit