Front wheel cylinder adjuster boot

[adavis]

I'm rebuilding the front wheel cylinders and everything is good except the rubber boots that fit on the adjuster pistons. The rebuild kits I got have the rubber cup and boot for the piston side, but didn't include the boot for the adjuster side. I've searched online and haven't had luck finding those boots.

Does anyone know where I can get 4 of them? My wheel cylinders are in great condition so I really don't need to buy new ones, so hopefully I can find those boots.

 

[adavis]

Here's the "boot" I'm referring to. This pic is off the fjpart.com website, but it is for a 1974-75 front wheel cylinder. Does anyone sell that boot for the 1973 separately, since I already have the rest of the kit? I'd even take 3 used boots if they were in good, usable condition.

 

[adavis]

I just happened to save the old boots off the rear wheel cylinders when I rebuilt them last fall. One of them was a little different style then the other 3 and it fits the front wheel cylinder very well. The other 3 fit the cylinder lip but are too large for the adjuster piston.

Does this mean I can use the adjuster boots off of the REAR cylinders for the fronts? Does anyone have REAR adjuster boots individually??

 

[MDH33]

I probably have some, let me look and I'll get back.

Edit: I found 3 but I think they are for the rears. Can you post a pic of the one good one you have for comparison?

 

[adavis]

@MDH33 yes....those look like 3 of the rears that I saved. (Nice backdrop for your pic....great color ) I'm not sure why one of my rear cylinders had an adjuster boot that fits the front, but here's what it looks like.

Here's something odd. I pulled my driver's side front drum and found 2 different style wheel cylinders. The front one looks like it CAN'T use an adjuster boot as there is not a groove in the cylinder casting for the lip on the boot to engage.

 

[MDH33]

Yeah, I think the original versions might not have had the boot on the front adjusters. I took 4 of those off my '69 but the replacement all had a slightly different shape and had the boot. Probably an update from Toyota at some point.

Here's what the new version I installed looks like:

 

[adavis]

You're correct @MDH33 The ones that take a boot on the adjuster must be replacements (made by Wnjdco??) and the cylinder that doesn't use a boot on the adjuster is a factory original Teq version.

 

[adavis]

UPDATE: I couldn't find the adjuster boot separately, so I rolled the dice and bought 74-75 kits from Sonny at FJParts.com. When they showed up the adjuster boot looked identical to the torn one I'd removed and if fit the wheel cylinder perfectly. You can cross the kit number on the listing pictured if you need to rebuild your front cylinders and it should work great as they are 1 1/4" cups. As you can see in the picture above....the ORIGINAL 1973 FJ40 Teq wheel cylinder didn't have a boot on the adjuster, so if you have all original wheel cylinders you'll just toss that boot when you rebuild. Hopefully this helps.

 

[adavis]

Now that I've got everything back together I have a question about adjusting/bleeding....

This ordeal started when I went to pull my FJ40 out of the shop and noticed the brake pedal went to the floor. A quick check found that problem.....brake fluid on the back of the passenger front tire and the front reservoir on the master cylinder completely empty. After figuring out the kits and getting everything back together I adjusted both brakes so they slightly drag when turned (man what a pain trying to do those front two cylinders with the tie-rods in the way). I had my daughter work the peddle and bled the entire system starting with the back passenger brake first.

My question is this.....the passenger front wheel locks up now before the driver's side. After I did several test stops, then re-checked the brake adjustment. Everything looks good, so what do I do now? 1 of the wheel cylinders on the driver's side wheel was original TEQ so I replaced it with a new style (boot on adjuster) wheel cylinder. The other 3 cylinders looked great after cleaned up and just a light hone.

To test, I first drove about 10 mph in the gravel and the front right tire locks up. The brake pedal feels good and the vehicle stops, but that front right tire locks up well before any of the others. Next, I tried it on pavement.....same result. If I do this without holding onto the steering wheel it will make a nice quick right turn.

So what is the suggestion? Do I need to bleed the LEFT front more? I put almost a full bottle of DOT3 through the brake system and feel like there were no bubbles when I finished. All the shoes and drums looked GREAT with no visible wear. Just wondering if anyone has any idea what would cause the difference in brake force.

For the record, I know people will likely say that I need to convert to discs and I understand that, but this FJ40 is bone stock original and honestly the brakes worked perfectly fine before I lost the one cylinder in on the right front. I rebuilt all the rear wheel cylinders last fall and had no problems since then. I realize discs would be nice and if I was building and FJ40 I'd go that route, but this one is staying stock so I need to get the drums working as designed.

 

[pb4ugo]

It's been a long time since I've adjusted 40 brakes. You don't adjust to drag. I think with the tire on, adjust so the tire doesn't spin then back 3 or 4 clicks i think. . Then adjust the other w/c the same.

 

[charliemeyer007]

I don't think they are suppose to drag at all when properly adjusted. Were your shoes saturated with brake juice? Squirting them off several times with brake cleaner might help. Clean both front drums and use a rotary wire brush in a drill to help with any glaze.

On my F150 I had a rubber hose that wasn't all that old go bad on the front passenger disk brake. Inside the lining can come loose and act like a check valve - the pedal pressure doesn't back all the way off so it like riding your brakes - PIA to figure out.

I plan to install all new rubber lines on my 72 - I think they are original, at least I never changed then since 82 when I got it.

 

[adavis]

@pb4ugo That makes sense. I have them set to just drag right now so I can back them off a little. But my question is.....if both front brakes are adjusted the same way (even if they are a little tight) why would the left brake engage so much harder?

 

[adavis]

@charliemeyer007 The inside of the passenger drum was pretty wet when I pulled it apart, but I did hose everything down with brakeKleen. I didn't do anything with the shoes except let them dry. Is it best to wire brush them? I would think if the shoes were wet with brake fluid or glazed it would cause that brake to not grab as much, but in this scenario the drum that was wet is grabbing much more.

I'm assuming my rubber lines are original as well. The brakes were working fine 3 weeks ago before the front passenger cylinder leaked out. Now they are back to working.....just one front drum much more than the other.

 

[pb4ugo]

You have 2 wheel cylders on each wheel with 4 pistons. The only way you can adjust them evenly is to max the adjuster out then back it off. It's one the most antiquated and weird braking systems I have ever seen. It appears you answered your own question, usually a grabbing brake is because the lining is contaminated. They can become grabby or possibly not grabby and ineffective. I've seen it go both ways. If they were saturated, cleaning them may not work. You can try sanding them down a little and see if that helps. You may need new shoes.

 

[charliemeyer007]

I don't think brake fluid evaporites very much, soak in more likely. You would think it would make that brake slip instead of lock up - maybe it softened the lining and made it more grabby.

Check your shoes for a bevel on all the edges of the lining, my new china shoes needed that besides thinning the fat ends to fit in the slots of the new front wheel cylinders. The slots aren't tapered front to back either. I tried to use the old ones but the screw length is like 1/2" longer so even screwed all the way down I couldn't get the drum on.

My front WC are single acting not like the rears that are double acting.

 

[adavis]

@pb4ugo That's a good point. Maybe it works just the opposite of what I thought.....with the brake fluid causing the pad to grip harder. I'll pull the drum off and check the shoes again. Maybe scuff them up with a wire wheel just for good measure. There's a lot of liner still on them so it would suck to have to throw them out.

You are absolutely right about antiquated and weird. What a royal pain in the butt to adjust them with the tie rods in the way on the front drums and the leaf springs in the way on the back drums. UGH.

@charliemeyer007 That's exactly how I was thinking about it too. I know what you mean about the "feet" of the shoes fitting into the slots on the wheel cylinders. When I went to put the shoes back on I couldn't get the shoe to fit into the slot on the wheel cylinder piston. I quickly realized that I had flipped the shoe around backwards. One "foot" of the show is narrow....the other is wide. The wide "foot" fits in the adjuster side of the wheel cylinder and the narrow side fits the piston side of the wheel cylinder. It's kinda cool cuz it means you can't get the shoe backwards when you assemble it.

 

[pb4ugo]

One of the w/c slots is tapered too. I'd use sandpaper, you're going to have to remove material in hopes of getting to clean lining and sanding it evenly. I'm trying to avoid a conversation involving the dreaded "disc"word.

 

[adavis]

After asking around and doing way too much Googling it looks like I'm stuck buying new shoes. I can't find any "trick" to fix brake shoes that have been contaminated by brake fluid. I should have them by end of week and we'll see how they stop. Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[charliemeyer007]

NAPA sent me new 4 china shoes in like 2 days for $50. That lining material was really hard on my hands. I drilled, countersunk and riveted them before I put them on. I have now twice had shoes become delaminated for no apparent reason. IMHO brake work is best done in pairs as in both fronts.

 

[adavis]

With my corporate account Oreilly's was able to get me a front axle set for $38. We'll see what they look like when they arrive tomorrow.

It's disappointing that I can use the shoes I've got because they still have so much life left, but stopping without the hard right turn is kinda important.