1978 FJ40 Brakes to floor question (search high and low for other posts)

[Pin_Head]

IStill the thing that is bugging me is I still have to pump the brakes. Any thoughts?

I have done about a thousand brake jobs in my life and many were with drum brakes. My experience is that when you have to double pump to get a solid pedal on drum brakes, they are adjusted too loose. Did you adjust them like I said? Did you tighten them all until you could not turn the wheel and then back off 3 clicks? If not and you have to double pump it, they are still not adjusted properly. Air is easy to get rid of and it doesn't act like this.

 

[waiting for time]

Try adjusting them to tight blead and try the pedal before giving them the 3 clicks back. That way you can rule out wrong adjustment.

 

[michaelharrisco]

Ended up having them check out at a local garage and they determined the MC was bad. CCOT is sending me a new one.

 

[corglass]

quick question folks, is it possible to successfully bleed a new brake system if you 'forgot' to bleed the Master Cylinder during installation?

I'm halfway through bleeding my system...thanks

 

[Wombat74FJ]

Great thread thanks. I had the problem I read the thread and tightened brakes accordingly. One of the breaks that I thought I cad “done okay” took 60 clicks to get tight. Backed off 3. Feels guuud

 

[SC Forester]

I’m having the same problem. We’ve gotten them where they won’t budge, bled them, and then they loosen back up. There’s no air. I have a 1973 FJ40 with a dual reservoir MC. Took the residual valve out of the front. Still having to double/triple pump to get the rear brakes to grab.

 

[dtm]

I had a similar issue that was resolved by adjusting the rear brakes per pinhead's instructions.

I was experiencing an issue with the pedal occasionally / intermittently (maybe once per short drive) going almost to the floor with reduced braking ability. When this happened, the brake sensor light would come on and a single pump of the brake would resolve the issue. I had been driving the truck for several months with no issues, this started immediately after flushing and bleeding the brakes - this was done because the car had been sitting a few years before I owned it and the fluid was looking pretty yellow.

I did four clicks instead of the recommended three, because that is where the wheels started moving freely with some noise. Not only is the issue resolved but it gave me a "oh, THAT is how the brakes are supposed to feel" moment..

Here is a list of other things I tried that did not resolve the issue before adjusting the rear brakes, because I just couldn't get myself to believe that the out of adjustment pads would cause an intermittent issue:

1. Checked for fluid leaks: none
2. Checked for bad bearings throwing the front brake adjustment off: both bearings are fine
3. Checked for air in brake line: re-bled. Thought I saw some bubbles in rear passenger wheel but didn't make a difference.
4. Pulled out the brake booster check valve and tested it: working. Did the start.stop the car and hold the pedal booster testing too. Worked fine.

Next step would have been to replace the master cylinder, followed by the booster. Glad I read through some old threads first.

 

[Mudsmuggler]

I have just spent a month of Sundays on this exact issue; this is how I finally fixed it.

You need a 1 pint ball jar with two holes through the lid into which go 1/4 inch clear flex
lines about 18 inches each run to the bottom of the jar

Starting rear driver brake single bleeder, connect 1/4 inch tube and crack bleeder and
start engine. Then sieze that pedal with both hands and drive it to the floor and then quickly pull
it towards you as fast and hard as you can repeatedly watching as the res quickly empties
fill res asnd repeat until the pint jar is full. Repeat for rear passenger. For the fronts starting
with passenger connect both hoses and crack both bleeders then really get all your frustration
out on that pedal, all the pain and frustration these dam brakes have given you. When the jar
is full close the bleeders and move on to the drivers front and repeat.

This is will work, takes 15 minutes costs a couple bucks

Good luck all