FJ60 Brakes Question

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Nigel

Nigel

Joined
Mar 25, 2007
Threads
8
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Location
San Anselmo, CA
Hi All,

I bought a 1987 FJ60 a couple of weeks ago. It has 130K miles and seems to be in reasonably good shape. There are several small problems that I need to take care of, but I think one of the first might have to be the brakes.

When I hit the brakes, with the LC in gear, it lurches instead of stopping smoothly. This is noticeable when I brake going down the road, but was especially noticeable braking while coming down a big hill this morning. The whole LC was juddering. Felt like the engine was going to fall out.

I'm not much of a mechanic, so it's tough for me to diagnose just what's going on. I feel confident enough to work on the truck, if pointed in the right direction, but I just want to make sure I know what the problem is.

Anybody have any ideas?
 
Warped rotors/drums cause what you are describing. If you do a brake job have them turned and put on good quality (OEM) pads and shoes.
 
Not sure what you're describing.... By "juddering" do you mean shaking? Was the steering wheel pulsing or shaking?

You might want to start with checking for warped rotors, but that's just a guess trying to decipher what you're describing... You have to take the wheels off and measure run-out.
 
Sounds like your rotors are warped. But this does not happen when the clutch is depressed?

You feel it in the steering wheel right?
 
Sorry if I'm not describing this very well. If you imagine a normal braking action, where you have a smooth reduction in speed as your press the brake pedal. This feels like the smooth braking action starts and then stops and then starts again, causing the truck to lurch/judder/shake/pulsate. I didn't feel the lurching in the steering wheel, but it was very noticeable in the brake peddle coming down the hill this morning. It is less noticeable when the clutch is depressed.

Everything on the truck appears to be stock. There was a vacuum leak caused by missing bolts on the intake manifold. But I had that fixed when a mechanic did a tune up just after I bought the LC. How would I tell if I have a bad booster?
 
I still think, from your description, that it is engine or drivetrain related. Warped rotors are common, but that is felt in the steering wheel. What you're desrcibing sounds almost like driveline bind or a lean surge.
 
So, I got a quote of $1000 from my local brake shop to do the brakes all the way around and replace the rotors ($600 - $800 if rotors are turned). Seems like a lot of loot for something I might be able to do myself.

Like I said originally, I'm not much of a mechanic - I remember assisting a friend doing the brakes on his Mini about 30 years ago, but the last time I got stuck in with a wrench I was replacing a head gasket on my Moto Guzzi, and that was some time in the '90s. I'm waiting for my official Toyota repair manual to arrive before trying anything remotely hazardous. But are brakes something I should be able to tackle on my own? Are there any gotchas I should be aware of?

Thanks
 
It's really not very hard to replace the rotor, and do a knuckle rebuild, if you need it... There are lots of good write-ups on the process. FSM will provide great step-by-step instructions. You should also buy a Gregory's Manual, as a second source -- It sometimes helps.

Gotchas ? Sometimes things are difficult to remove, due to rust, corrosion, etc... Buy a can of aerokroil and spray everything down a couple of times a day for a few days before the job -- will make disassembly much easier.

If there's no grease leaking around the knuckle, then you can get away with just the brakes... I think 1000 bux it way too frickin' much. You'll be able to do it, and if you get stuck, just post here and people will help....

And if you don't have one, get a digi camera for pix. You'll get much better answers if people can see what you're talking about.

Good luck

Nor Cal Boys -- Chime in where he can take the truck for service!!
 
jack the front end up. You shoudl be able to turn the wheel freely. If they do not turn freely all the way around, you have a problem.

Are the front axle knuckles (that part that lets the axles steer) weeping grease/oil? You would see it on the inside of the front tires if they are..
 
Post up to find other (udder?) Mudders in your area. This is a great site for how-tos but nothing beats people with experience you could show the truck to.
 
"This feels like the smooth braking action starts and then stops and then starts again, causing the truck to lurch/judder/shake/pulsate..."

Then he says...
"It is less noticeable when the clutch is depressed."

I'm an automatic guy buy have had my share of manuals. Could his clutch be giving him this problem? I agree that a warped rotor or bad drum could do this but I thought his clutch comment was interesting.
 
Check your wheel bearings too they can cause a pulsation in the brake pedal as well.


Dynosoar
 
Nigel said:
So, I got a quote of $1000 from my local brake shop to do the brakes all the way around and replace the rotors ($600 - $800 if rotors are turned). Seems like a lot of loot for something I might be able to do myself.

Like I said originally, I'm not much of a mechanic - I remember assisting a friend doing the brakes on his Mini about 30 years ago, but the last time I got stuck in with a wrench I was replacing a head gasket on my Moto Guzzi, and that was some time in the '90s. I'm waiting for my official Toyota repair manual to arrive before trying anything remotely hazardous. But are brakes something I should be able to tackle on my own? Are there any gotchas I should be aware of?

Thanks
Click to expand...

If your only getting a pulsation through the pedal and not the steering wheel ,I might be inclined to do the rear brakes only . Of course I would do the front as well if they need it.


Brakes are not too difficult with a manual and an understanding of what you are doing.
The 84-90 body chassis manual can be downloaded free on the 70 forum
It would probably be about half the price of you quote to do them yourself
 
So I decided to get a local mechanic to check the condition of the rotors on the front and he says they're warped, thin, and need replacing. The pads look OK, so they aren't necessarily part of the problem but I'll replace those also. The back shoes have about 50% wear, so they can be left for a while.

Here's the big question. According to the mechanic, putting new rotors on still requires machining the rotor and hub to make sure they're true. He spoke to someone who recommended doing this, but I don't see any reference to this procedure in the manual. Is it really necessary to machine a brand new rotor to make certain it is true when attached to the hub?
 
I think he's talking about turning the new rotor when attached to the hub to make sure there's no run-out, but they can just check the run-out (degree of warp) to see if it needs it. If it's a good quality rotor, I'd say no.

Ask the mechanic -- Don't let him use CHINESE ROTORS!
 
Well he's going to put Bembro rotors on tomorrow (made in Europe I believe) and I asked him not to turn them. We'll see if it makes a difference.

I chickened out of doing the brake work myself. Seemed a bit too significant for a first project. But I've ordered some replacement shocks from Cruiser Dan, so I'll get to put those on (along with a bunch of sundry tune up paraphernalia and a new choke cable that should arrive tomorrow).

I'll post when I've had a chance to drive down a few steep hills to make sure this was all caused by the rotors.
 
Brembo is da good stuff !!
 
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