Well, when it rains it pours.
Wheel cylinder: I noticed a leak from the right rear tire this morning: Uh Oh, clear liquid, no smell = brake fluid. I pulled off the tire to find a leaky wheel cylinder. Apparently it had been slowly leaking for some weeks, I did notice a slightly spongier brake pedal. The brake fluid is all over the inside, causing the painted finish on the backing plate and some metal flanges to come off. So I need to replace the wheel cylinder and bleed the entire system. The left rear wheel shows no weeping and the inside of the wheel well is dry.
The last time I had the left rear wheel cylinder fixed was about 25K miles ago, but I am not sure about the right one. I thought both were done at the same time.
Brake shoes: Wear on all brake shoes down to about 3 mm, so time for a change any way. The brake shoes is probably not original factory stuff.
Shock absorber: I had intended on replacing the rear shocks because they kept failing the bounce test, bouncing 2.5 times when I pushed down on the rear of the car. Also the rubber grommets are cracked. They are the original shocks, KYB, stamped with the Toyota part #.
So, I plan to replace at least one rear wheel cylinder, all four brake shoes, and both rear shocks. Question: if I want to do it myself, should I buy aftermarket or go get genuine
Toyota stuff or a mixture of these? Are genuine Toyota stuff that much better; the price differential is very high. But I am not sure about the quality. Is it really, you get what you pay for?