im stuck 2 miles from home. Driver rear brake has seized? Brake pedal hard as a rock. Jacked up rear and pass side turns but not drivers side. E brake goes up and down normally.
Everything is loose back there. Wheel cylinder not leaking and movable. Pulled it anyway and has rust spots in it. Used 0000 steel wool to clean it up. Waiting for the Rib to bring some white grease and I'll put it back together and see after bleeding brakes.
After pulling that side and removing the wheel cylinder and cleaning the spots of rust in it and reinstalling and ensuring that the e-brake was functioning properly...
and pulling the other side to do the preventative maintenance on that wheel cylinder (and finding I had an axle seal blown so ordering and replacing that), and getting everything back together...
It hasn't frozen up. I still don't know what caused it, since it would hold on its own and release on its own (even after locking that driver's side wheel up). Maybe the wheel cylinders? No idea, but it seems fixed for now.
I know that's no help since I can't identify the cause, but this case is closed.
So I was thinking about this last night and wondering that since the two wheel cylinders had rust in them whether I should pull the MC and clean it, or simply order another one and replace it?
I guess since the brake fluid had been allowed to go so long without changing that rust appeared in two places, it's likely in three. Is there any real benefit to removing, cleaning, and replacing the brake MC or should I just order a new one?
I definitely need the reservoir cap though, mine just sits on there, it's held on by gravity. It doesn't grab the lip. A wee baby could knock it off.
So:
1: buy new MC and cap and switch out
2: remove, clean, replace existing MC and put on new cap?
3: Everything is working, so just get a new cap and stop overthinking it after you flush the entire system.
Case not closed. Same wheel locked up yesterday - not completely like before, but definite dragging. Only drive rarely, it had been sitting and was warm, was not wet. Could drive but was dragging, got it home, jacked it up and wouldn't move. Turned on engine, pumped brakes numerous times (as much as possible as the pedal was hard as a rock). eventually it broke free.
I'm guessing that the cylinder has to be bad on that wheel? I can't think of anything else that would cause it. The e-brake was loose and I could move the parking brake level in and out with ease.
I had driven it a few times since the last post in this thread with no problems.
Replace rear wheel cylinders and master. Don't forget to bench bleed the master. Also check that your rear shoes match up with the diameter of the drum perfectly. Do you have all the springs in the correct places and are they new or in good shape? Are the brake shoe sliding points lubricated with sil glide or other brake lube? Have you flushed your fluid with fresh? Since you likely have water in the system its going to start causing problems due to your loose cap.
Last week I bled all the brakes again, while tapping, to get all the air out. They worked fine. For a week.
Yesterday both front disks locked up on me. Had to put it in 4 low to get home (I was only three blocks from the house). They were smoking when I got it into the driveway. It wasn't a sudden lock up, but once again I could feel dragging and engine laboring and then a complete lock up. It would only move in 4 low forward.
I've decided I need to replace the master cylinder. That has to be the culprit. At times I was going all the way to the floor, most of the time the pedal feel is great. yesterday it was intermident. I had only driven about 3 miles to get my wife from work and then back home.
Unfortunately I didn't get home until after dark and now I'm stuck warming a seat. I need to order parts today so they get here by the weekend since I'm in Montana but I don't have the truck to look at so I'm wondering if I can get some help:
1: Master Cylinder
2: Master Cylinder cap
3: Rubber brake lines (I don't know how many I need here - anyone? I want to replace them all).
4: I keep seeing a reference to a brake proportioning valve or load balancing valve, but I've never been able to find one on my Cruiser.
5: Other parts necessary?
The rear drum brakes look fine, the wheel cylinders are not leaking, the front disks seem fine as well.
The master doesn't explain why you'd have only one rear brake lock up. There's only one brake line to the rear axle, which then has a T to go out to each wheel cylinder. Brake fluid is hygroscopic - it absorbs water. Over time this accumulates and the water enables corrosion inside the various brake components. A sticky brake cylinder can be the result. If it was me, I'd replace both rear cylinders. And, I'd carefully check how smooth the front calipers work. Pull them off, take out the pads, move the piston in/out. Replacing the MC is a lot of work, so make sure the rest of the system is up to speed as well. Re the rubber lines, there are only 4: one on each front brake, one from body to each axle. For the front, suggest you replace with the longer NAPA hose so you can bypass the dumb hardline. It'll make subsequent brake work alot easier.
I ran an entire bottle through the system when I bled them last weekend until it came out clear at all four corners...worked for a week.
The front disks had never frozen up before - it was always the one rear wheel - until yesterday when they clamped shut. They were smoking when I got home and then unfroze themselves. It's undriveable at this point. I have done no fiddling with the pedal for free play so that adjustment has stayed the same.
I ran an entire bottle through the system when I bled them last weekend until it came out clear at all four corners...worked for a week.
The front disks had never frozen up before - it was always the one rear wheel - until yesterday when they clamped shut. They were smoking when I got home and then unfroze themselves. It's undriveable at this point. I have done no fiddling with the pedal for free play so that adjustment has stayed the same.
Sometimes, bleeding is not the same as flushing. The right way to flush your system is to apply high pressure air. Collect the old fluid for visual inspection. What I would do to be on the safe side, flush including the wheel cylinders. Pistons might be the culprit.
So it appears the MC was the culprit. I have a new AISIN unit sitting on the bench from Land Cruiser Parts. They forgot to include the cap, which I need, so they put it in the mail.
I went ahead and removed my old MC. When I pushed the piston in sometimes it would return, sometimes it wouldn't. It just sits halfway there. Messing with the new one it pushes in and returns every time. I'm hoping that fixes the problem.
Couple other questions:
1: I read about the 4Runner caliper upgrade. I don't have the funds this month but I suspect my calipers need replacing. From what I can see with them on the truck they are pretty ate up - rusty, etc. I pulled one loose and the rubber around the cups is tore up - so a replacement will be necessary. I went to the local parts store to buy a micrometer to test my rotors (they are in spec at 20mm) but on a whim asked the guy if they had the 93 calipers for a 4 runner. They do. I looked at them and they come with some kind of weirdly shaped metal shim that looks like it sits between the calipers.
My LC definitely does not have this. If I go the 4runner route - do I install this part or not? What does it do?
2: Do I need to bench bleed the new MC? I have read that I do, and read that I don't (or that others haven't). Is there a solid consensus?
