Brake lockup?

[ontherxs]

So the weirdest thing just happened to me in the parking lot of Whole Foods. I was going to pull out of a spot which I was facing forward and the truck felt like it was hooked to something heavy or there was a chock under one of the wheels. Put it in first gear and it wouldn't budge. Checked the transfer case by putting it in neutral then back in 2L. The front passenger side dipped a little when power was applied making me think maybe that break was stuck. Tried to go again in second gear an stalled it. Made sure the the e-brake was off, pumped the brakes a few times and then it would roll. When I got back to the office I applied the e-brake, pulling up as hard as I could and tried pulling away. The e-brake was on but no match for the engine and I could pull away albeit, slowly. This lockup at the WF was different she wouldn't budge.

What else could it be? And more importantly anyone have an experience like this.

I also saw Mrs @GarnerFJ40 , which was nice.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

It could definitely be the rear wheel cylinders starting to stick/wear out. Are there any visible leaks, or is your brake fluid level low?

 

[ontherxs]

Fluid level is good. I'll check on leaks but what was weird was the nose being pulled down a bit like the front was locked. If the back was locked it seems like the rear would dip when you tried to go forward.

 

[elkaholic]

How old are the flex lines? Have you flushed the brake system lately? Debris could get in the proportioning valve and cause the brakes to not release .... Odd, but I have seen it happen.

 

[ontherxs]

I wonder if that little nick in the back from when we were cutting off the springs is letting a little air in? The other day when I was driving I did loose vacuum pressure but only for a moment.

 

[mtweller]

I assume no signs of leaks? If not, I doubt air is getting in. Brake fluid under pressure will get out before air will get in I would have to think.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I wonder if that little nick in the back from when we were cutting off the springs is letting a little air in? The other day when I was driving I did loose vacuum pressure but only for a moment.

No. If fluid isn't leaking out, there is no air getting in. Brakes are a pressurized system. Even if it were leaking, it would cause a lack of pressure, not the brakes to lock up.

 

[Rice]

The most common issue for locked brakes is a stuck caliper, however, it also can be the master cylinder. If the metering valve or the return spring in the master goes bad then it can keep pressure on the system.

 

[ontherxs]

The culprit is the back passenger side. Obvious brake smell and to hot to touch. Parked and went in to Lowes and could not reverse when I came out. Flexed the e-brake a bit and it let go enough to drive home. As I'm pulling into the drive the brake pedal drops all pressure then two pumps and it's back.

It's like all the systems in this truck had a council meeting to destroy me. "Alright boys get in line and we're going to break one at a time to drain this new wallet dry. Not so fast birfields, hop in there too. We know your toast, but wait till brakes gets his test drive then you can explode."

I'm tiring of this.

 

[Rice]

Is the rear driver side at all hot?

IF it is ONLY hot on one side there is a pretty sure bet problem is the slave cylinder. If the master cylinder were going bad it would be keeping equal pressure on both passenger and driver side.

The other possible is a collapsing soft line going to that wheel.

My guess is your pedal went to the floor because you got things hot enough to boil the fluid. Classic race car pedal fade.

 

[ontherxs]

Only the one side was hot. I could touch the other.

 

[Rice]

Ahh ... I just re-read the earlier posts. If your fluid level is staying up that tends to lead away from a faulty slave cylinder and more towards the collapsed soft line. i.e. what's happening is the line collapses on the inside and begins to act like a check valve. If the wheel cylinder were going bad you should see leaking on the inside wall of the tire.

 

[ontherxs]

I'll update you all when I return from some biz travel. Thanks for the advice and apologies for my spelling.

 

[joyRidaz]

I think you've ruled out the e-brake, so this might not be relevant. But just in case:

When I first got my sixty, the drivers side rear drum was seized due to the e brake bell housing getting seized up from corrosion etc. I presume that takes yrs of sitting to take effect though...

 

[Rice]

Update?

 

[ontherxs]

Been out of town. Home Sunday then back out Monday morning. It is probably going to be first weekend in April till I have the time. Sux

 

[ontherxs]

So a little update. This weekend I took the time to powerwash the thick dried mud from a trip I took to a buddies farm. I needed to clean everything to look at the condition of the lines. I did notice a bunch a debris in the spring returns for the ebrake on both the PS side (where I think the issue is) and the DS. I cleaned both up with some blaster and made sure the arms moved. I also inspected all the lines for leaks and at least on the rear no leaks. Also, the boots that cover the ebrake actuator arms are not dry rotted. I thought maybe the caked on mud was the issue. It wasn't or at least it was only part of the issue. I didn't inspect the lines on the front because at this point I am still thinking the rear is the issue. Fluid level in the reservoir is unchanged

I drove around for about 4 miles and stopped and the temperature (just by feel) were the same on both sides in the rear. Last time the PS rear was extremely hot. Drive another few miles and as I am pulling in (to the DMV of all places to get the truck inspected to change the title to diesel) the pedal falls the floor and no brakes. @Rice - i've probably unknowingly boiled the fluid again. Frustrated, I go in an wait my turn for the inspection. I noticed that at the same time I lost pedal pressure i could apply the ebrake really far back. This is probably because the hot fluid and no back pressure? Anyway when I came out to drive home, I had pedal pressure, the ebrake let go and when I pulled it up again it would go nearly as high and felt tight. So I go to pull out and I'm stuck. Loud noise like I rolled into something (I didn't) so I pump the brakes a few time, slowly reverse, and then I am able to move forward. Again the noise and the stuck wheel seems to be the front PS. So now I am thinking the front calliper is seizing up.. I don't know how to diagnose it other than taking it off the wheel and looking around.

I'll do that this weekend (prob sunday) and get some pictures. I seem to remember @DeeRex has a seized piston in one of his callipers recently.

 

[dbenke]

If a front caliper is locking up, it will start to pull to that side until you hit the brakes, then usually pull to the other side.
It wouldn't hurt to pull off all 4 tires and drums and inspect everything. it may become apparent what the problem is.

 

[Roxx]

I dont know if this help. But back in the days i had your same truck and the rear outter bearing axles would create a groove on the axles making the brake to over ajust you can check that and see if that is your issue. I hope not but it happened to me a couple of times

 

[Rice]

It would be really nice if you could reproduce your locked up scenario while at home so you could jack it up and confirm front or rear. I was thinking from your comments about all the heat you found on a rear wheel we had the location nailed. If you find the issue is front then stuck caliper is number one suspect. If issue is rear I'm still thinking blocked line.

In one of your early posts you asked Johnny about a nicked line. Clearly the line you're talking about is not leaking but did it get hit in such a way it may have kinked?

Once you get this ironed out a complete fluid replacement can help prevent future pedal fade. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and once it ages the amount of water it absorbs lowers the boiling point.