1971 FJ40 Brakes (17 Viewers)

[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.