fj62 Rear Wheel Cylinder (1 Viewer)

[RojoFJ62]

I just finished replacing drums, shoes, and wheel cylinders on both sides of my FJ62. Everything was great and I thought I was done, until I had my wife step on the brake pedal while the drum was off so I could make sure everything was working. I saw brake fluid leak out of the brand new wheel cylinder that I bought from Napa yesterday. I pulled back the dust grommet and dried up the fluid, it doesn't seem to be a constant leak. However, is it likely a brand new wheel cylinder would be faulty? I just don't want this whole brake job to go to waste and have brake fluid all over my new gear.

Thoughts? Should I just go on with it and check it out in a few days? Or should I bite the bullet and have Napa exchange for another wheel cylinder?

Such a bummer. Was excited to be done with this.

 

[alaska120]

Well...you may have pushed the cylinder past the seal. They will pop out of the housing if pressurized without the drum on. You can try to put it back in or replace the unit.

 

[Output Shaft]

That's exactly what happened. The piston is only supposed to move a tiny distance before the shoe hits the drum. The piston likely got over extended.

 

[RojoFJ62]

Thanks. Guess I will take it apart and try to fix it. So when I bleed that brake line after it is reinstalled, I need to have the drum on?

 

[Output Shaft]

Yes

 

[RojoFJ62]

Okay. So the inside of the wheel cylindar is very basic. Just one spring and two cylinder plugs on each end. When I took it off, one side popped out. Then I put it back in and the other side popped out. Do I need to seal the brake line hole so that there is a vacuum created? I don't think I need to replace the unit...as there doesn't seem to be anything that can really be broken. Should I just put it back together, bleed the brakes and should be off to the races?

 

[RojoFJ62]

Okay...put everything back together. Bled the brakes and went for a drive. Pulled the ebrake about 100 times to get it to adjust (I read that somewhere else on mud), now when ebrake is pulled all the way the car still rolls slightly and the brake pedal feels a little mushy? Did I not bleed the brakes enough? Brake fluid was flowing out and I saw air bubbles come out but the fluid wasn't "shooting" out, it was just kind of slowly pouring out. I refilled the brake fluid. Is there something else I need to do to adjust the rear shoes? I don't want to adjust the star in the back through the brake plate too much and not be able to back it down.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Output Shaft]

A properly working parking brake will adjust properly functioning rears as you crank up & down on the handle.

Brand new drums & shoes can take a while to seat in (break in) before the brake grips well. Give it some time. When bleeding, it's recommended to bleed the passenger's side (shortest run) first, then the driver's side... to help ensure all the bubbles get out.

 

[Godwin]

You need to rotate the adjusting star but do it in increments with the rear tire lifted so that you can rotate it between adjustments to ensure that you've not over tightened the drums.

 

[RojoFJ62]

Thanks guys. I was going to try to adjust when tire was off the ground but because car was in park it would not spin and I did not want to put in Neutral while on the jack.

I'll give it some time, and maybe bleed again. Also, maybe try lubing up the bell cranks...I didn't do that because they were working fine prior to brake job.

 

[RojoFJ62]

Also, do I need to adjust the brake pedal at all? so it doesn't travel so far down before working?

 

[Output Shaft]

Long pedal travel is either air in the system or a faulty MC. If the pedal developed long travel after changing the brakes.... it's air.

 

[franklin40]

check your bell cranks on the drums for your ebrake if it's not holding. they may be frozen and will stop the ebrake from working right

 

[RojoFJ62]

Bled the passenger side first again and then driver side. There was air still in there. Now the brakes are working great. Problem solved! Thanks.

 

[ybggziggy]

Bled the passenger side first again and then driver side. There was air still in there. Now the brakes are working great. Problem solved! Thanks.

What happened to the original poster happened to me, down to my wife helping by pressing on the brake . The top piece of the cylinder was almost completely out on mine and ended up leaving a decent puddle. Once no more fluid came out I pushed it back in place and assembled the shoes. I haven’t bled the lines and tested it yet, but did anything else need to be done except put it back in place? Can the cylinder be damaged just by the piston pushing the top off because idiots like me didn’t have the shoes connected? Thanks!!