1971 FJ40 Brakes

[1971 Cruiser Sam]

Hello. I am wondering about a couple of things. My Land cruiser is mostly original and i would like to keep it that way as much as possible. with that said my brake cylinders on the front were leaking bad and would drain the front master cylinder reservoir fast so i decided to swap out all 4. Now after plenty of bleeding (almost a whole bottle) im still not getting very much pressure at the peddle at all. now im thinking about 2 options. Should i swap the new brake cylinders that i put on the front to the rear and just convert the front to disc brakes? or is there something to bleeding the brakes on this thing that im not getting right. I have checked the lines for leaks and there is none. I will say there is a lot of ups and downs in the lines that could create air bubbles. and i have adjusted the brake shoes as close as i can to the drum. Need some help thanks!

 

[brian]

Shoes adjusted as close as you can or per the fsm?
They should be dragging the drum.
Iirc from the top of my head, you run them out till tight, them back off three or four clicks.

 

[1971 Cruiser Sam]

Shoes adjusted as close as you can or per the fsm?
They should be dragging the drum.
Iirc from the top of my head, you run them out till tight, them back off three or four clicks.

The shoes are as tight as I can get them. To the point were I have to pull hard with both hands to get the tires to move. With the vehicle on a lift. I saw on another forum about the 3 click back off from as tight as I could get them and I tried that and got even less pressure. The shoes are new as well so I figured I would just check to see how hot they were getting after driving the thing if the brakes get working.

 

[charliemeyer007]

Your front cylinders are single acting not like the double acting ones in the rear axle.
If you are bleeding with a mighty vac brake bleeder - then check the bleed nipple - I had to put aviation Permatex on the threads to keep air from sucking in threw the threads. 2 people bleeding should work normal. You should also set/bleed the rear brakes.

New shoes in old drums will require often adjustment as they wear quickly to fit the larger diameter - after they fit better, less adjustment will be necessary.

Pump up the brakes and then hold the pedal down - if it goes slowly down then the master cylinder is leaking internally - put in a kit

 

[Skreddy]

Did you bleed the master cylinder first (if it was run dry)?

I run all the shoes out until I can’t move the drum and then bleed, I back off to proper adjustment after it’s all bled.

Did you start with farthest away first and work closer? Is the master cylinder new? If so, did the booster pushrod get adjusted? How about the pedal rod to booster adjustment?

 

[timmyisinthewell]

The brake cylinders all ( front and back an side to side) have different p/n's as shown. Note, the number shown for each wheel cylinder is a partial number only, and were correct as of Jan '81.

 

[igotta40]

Hello. I am wondering about a couple of things. My Land cruiser is mostly original and i would like to keep it that way as much as possible. with that said my brake cylinders on the front were leaking bad and would drain the front master cylinder reservoir fast so i decided to swap out all 4. Now after plenty of bleeding (almost a whole bottle) im still not getting very much pressure at the peddle at all. now im thinking about 2 options. Should i swap the new brake cylinders that i put on the front to the rear and just convert the front to disc brakes? or is there something to bleeding the brakes on this thing that im not getting right. I have checked the lines for leaks and there is none. I will say there is a lot of ups and downs in the lines that could create air bubbles. and i have adjusted the brake shoes as close as i can to the drum. Need some help thanks!

You didn’t mention the rear brakes, or bench bleeding the master cylinder.

 

[1971 Cruiser Sam]

Thanks for all of your reply's I really appreciate it. at this point im going to replace the rear brake cylinders as well and bench bleed the master cylinder. then bleed again from the right order. ill also look into adjusting the booster pushrod and pedal rod to booster adjustment. the master cylinder is definitely not new. ill get some pictures and add them to the the thread. thanks for the help!

 

[peesalot]

Adjust shoes with wheels bolted on tight, it changes the drum. Clamp the soft lines dropping to axles with vise grips to prove MC is good, then release front, check pedal, adjust shoes until hopefully get some pedal, release rear and do same, I have found gravity bleeding works great, remember to refill MC periodically. I let them drip into water bottle with vacuum hoses off bleed screws. let it go like that for awhile, if all the tubes are under fuild you can pump MC to flush system, works well to purge air. I have had to vibrate the rears to get air thru crossover tube. FWIW to get my drums to work I had to set shoes TIGHT, run it around the block and they get hot, I back off 1 click and then do short runs around block until they seat and dont get hot. Its like a break in process and the shoes must be adjusted with wheels bolted on. Have you verified booster is working ?