Leaking fluid from brake pedal (1 Viewer)

[Go big blue]

I have what appears to be brake fluid leaking from the base of the brake pedal onto my floor mat. Is this an easy fix? Brakes are working fine and there is still plenty of fluid in the reservoir.

 

[Go big blue]

Based on your frame number (FJ60-127540), you would need parts listed as "from 04/1985"...But the VIN you posted isn't correct as it only has 16, not 17 digits. If the last six digits isn't really "127540" then we should check again.

VIN starts with JT3FJ. My bad. In any event it started smoking from the engine bay today (don’t think it was the motor itself) and I had it towed to my mechanic. I know for sure it’s leaking PS fluid and brake fluid and I could hear them sizzling. Hoping the smoke was from burning fluids. It was a fairly small amount of smoke. I’ve never worked on cars although I’m determined to start with this truck once the mechanic works out the issues he warrantied related to installing a rebuilt F2 and installs the PS parts I committed to him on.

 

[2mbb]

it's always an adventure. could be smoke or steam (ie. coolant leak). let us know what the verdict is. Good luck!

 

[Go big blue]

VIN starts with JT3FJ. My bad. In any event it started smoking from the engine bay today (don’t think it was the motor itself) and I had it towed to my mechanic. I know for sure it’s leaking PS fluid and brake fluid and I could hear them sizzling. Hoping the smoke was from burning fluids. It was a fairly small amount of smoke. I’ve never worked on cars although I’m determined to start with this truck once the mechanic works out the issues he warrantied related to installing a rebuilt F2 and installs the PS parts I committed to him on.

* Rebuilt 2F

 

[Go big blue]

@2mbb a coolant leak was definitely part of the problem. Here is what the mechanic found so far. Does this go to the rear heater?

 

[cps432]

@2mbb a coolant leak was definitely part of the problem. Here is what the mechanic found so far. Does this go to the rear heater?View attachment 2806603

I’m having trouble determining where in the engine bay that is. Is that the back of the engine towards the firewall?

 

[cps432]

Ah, I see it now. It’s hard to tell if it’s coming from the heater lines or not. It might be. Does the bottom of that heater hose look wet? If so that’s an easy fix.

Is there any more liquid sprayed around the drivers side of the engine bay?

 

[Go big blue]

I’m having trouble determining where in the engine bay that is. Is that the back of the engine towards the firewall?

yep.

 

[Go big blue]

Ah, I see it now. It’s hard to tell if it’s coming from the heater lines or not. It might be. Does the bottom of that heater hose look wet? If so that’s an easy fix.

Is there any more liquid sprayed around the drivers side of the engine bay?

I haven't been able to get over to the mechanic to look myself. I will go over tomorrow and take a look.

 

[cps432]

I haven't been able to get over to the mechanic to look myself. I will go over tomorrow and take a look.

If it’s just a coolant leak there it isn’t really that big a deal. Change the hose and replace the worm clamps. The smoking is just the coolant burning off of the manifold. A few years ago I pulled my manifold off to replace the gaskets and cleaned all the rust. I coated it in motor oil to keep the rust off of it for a few weeks while I waited for parts in the mail. I startled myself when I fired that thing up and after 5 minutes it was smoking like garbage fire. Then I remembered it was just the oil coating! coolant has a very distinct smell when it’s burning. PS fluid has a distinct smell as well. If you’re not very familiar with it you could get them confused. The power steering leak could be burning off on the front of the manifold and the coolant on the back giving you an even stranger smell.

 

[Go big blue]

If it’s just a coolant leak there it isn’t really that big a deal. Change the hose and replace the worm clamps. The smoking is just the coolant burning off of the manifold. A few years ago I pulled my manifold off to replace the gaskets and cleaned all the rust. I coated it in motor oil to keep the rust off of it for a few weeks while I waited for parts in the mail. I startled myself when I fired that thing up and after 5 minutes it was smoking like garbage fire. Then I remembered it was just the oil coating! coolant has a very distinct smell when it’s burning. PS fluid has a distinct smell as well. If you’re not very familiar with it you could get them confused. The power steering leak could be burning off on the front of the manifold and the coolant on the back giving you an even stranger smell.

I am hoping that is the issue. There was definitely a distinct smell from the smoke, which I am now assuming was burning coolant.

 

[Go big blue]

I probably should have mentioned that I had a bad first experience with a smoking engine Engine overheated and went up in smoke - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/engine-overheated-and-went-up-in-smoke.1044064/ and also that I don’t currently have a functioning temp gauge. I’m super paranoid.

 

[2mbb]

Yes that is the supply line for the rear heater. The unconnected end you are looking at is circled in red in the schematic below. There should be a branch off the coolant hose connected to the head nearby. If you look at the schematic, the the "joint no. 1" is a tee and it has an elbow connected to it (Joint No. 2) which connects to that pipe. I think your joint no. 1 is in the forefront of your picture and it seems to the one one shown for "w/o rear heater". Maybe someone did a rear heater delete.

Follow the other end of the pipe around to the passenger side of the engine bay. It should be connected to the pipes that run under the truck to the rear heater (I think it is the hose circled in blue. Are those hoses still connected?

Now back to the first schematic, there is the return from the rear heater that connects to a funny shaped pipe with a T fitting on it--circled in purple. Make sure this is not there (replaced with a hose as in the w/o rear heater option, or it is plugged.

Long story short...if that open pipe in your picture is not connected to anything on the other end, then it shouldn't be leaking. If the rear heater has been disabled/removed, then that pipe shouldn't be connected to anything...

 

[Seth S]

That pipe in the photo looks plugged with gunk....and yes it would go to the heater core if it were connected.

 

[cps432]

I see more clearly what’s going on in that picture. Did your mechanic remove that hose? If so, I imagine the hard line got blocked up with crud and caused too much pressure in the soft hose causing it to blow out. If that is the case you’ll need to have the whole coolant system flushed out really well and tested otherwise you’ll start running into overheating problems.

I just skimmed through your overheating thread from 2018. After that fiasco and seeing that hard line blocked up I think you need to get that whole system flushed. Replace all the soft lines, water pump, thermostat... install a digital water temp gauge at that time. Corrosion in the system like that happens from maintenance neglect, running regular tap water with minerals in it, and or running two incompatible coolant types.

 

[Go big blue]

Thank you all for the help. This is excellent information. Yes, my mechanic pulled that hose because it seemed to be the source of the leak. We plan to bypass the rear heater and I will take the advice to flush the whole system and replace the water pump, etc. The PO definitely didn’t take care of the cooling system. There was/is rust all throughout the system. The 2018 fiasco led to sourcing a rebuilt 2F and replacing a lot of other stuff. Once I get the current issues handled at least temporarily, I plan to find someone who works on these regularly to look it over and give me an opinion on everything I should do short term, medium term and long term to keep it running well. I’d like to learn to do a lot of the work myself. Thank you all again.