Brakes "S Cam's "

It seems high unless you're having shoes done as well, it shouldn't take more than 3 hours on the outside to get it done. Check into trailer repair shops they do this work all the time and are usually cheaper rate wise.

 

I would think that's too high. The s cams shouldn't cost more than $100 a piece and the wheel seal will have to be replaced on each side after removing the hubs to get the s cams out plus whatever they charge for labor.

Why do you think the s cams are bad? It would seem more likely to me your automatic slack adjustors aren't maintaining proper adjustment.

 

Release the brakes on the tractor, crawl under it, grab the slack adjusters, and try to move them up, down, back and forth. Very slight movement is OK, lots of movement means bushings or cams need replacing.

If this is OK, and the brakes are way out of adjustment, then replace the adjusters. Worn adjusters will back out of adjustment.

 

Like Stranger said, could be just the bushings, once the bushings are off you can look at the S cam bar and see if it's worn. If you have automatic slack adjuster you can check by backing off the slack adjuster. If they back off easily instead of a hard ratchet feel to them then it could be slack adjusters. Slack adjusters are easy to replace just be sure to use the template to align the holes and follow the instructions to a "T"

 

Just went thru this with my trailer. The warning sign on s-cam wear is the shoes starting to stick out of the drums on the inside and wearing unevenly (more wear on the bottom than the top shoe). The worn parts put more pressure on the inside (axle side, not wheel side) surfaces, wearing the drum into a bell shape. That is what pushes the shoes inward. $800/axle was for everything: new s-cams, inner/outer bushings, shoes, drums, hub seals, and labor.

When they get bad enough the pins separating the shoes will fall out, taking the tension off the springs and making the brakes not function at all. Unless you get up under there with a flashlight and even poke around with a screwdriver, it won't be obvious with just a quick glance around.

On mine it was a literal treasure hunt that led me to a 2-axle brake overhaul. Just looking behind the wheels things looked ok. Shoes were thick, truck was stopping ok, nothing real obvious. My son came in and mentioned one of the airbags looked wrong. I got up under it the next day to try scraping off some rust to get part numbers and maybe swap it myself. While I was under there, I noticed a clip hanging off the right rear s-cam. Hmm... that shouldn't be that way, so I looked things over a little closer. I followed that s-cam to the drum and it didn't look right. Monkey method confirmed that the outer bushing was gone. When I got in close with the flashlight, I could see the inside of the drum was oily. Crap. Needs a seal. Then something else just didn't look right. Can't say what made me do it, but I grabbed a screwdriver and poked at the brake springs. And discovered they were just hanging in there.

At that point it was more than I was equipped to do on the spot so I called out road service. He didn't have everything to fix it up right and educated me on the other signs, which of course the other wheels were all showing. He replaced the shoes and hardware, along with the hub seal, and advised I take it straight to the shop for the rest of the repairs.

The funny part was that the airbag that got me under there in the first place was just a different, but compatible one. Nothing was wrong with it LOL.

 

Have you measured the travel in the adjusters?