Stuck on trailer, brakes seized. (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Dec 6, 2013
Threads
2
Messages
8
A few months ago, I (with help) pushed my FJ60 (not running) onto a trailer for my families' second move of the year. Yesterday, we tried getting it off the trailer and discovered the brakes are evidently now locked up. We tried giving it a tug with an UTV and it wants to drag the trailer around. The brake peddle is about a half inch short of being totally solid. Parking brake appears to be functioning, at least the wires at the back end are moving on both sides. Gave them both a WD-40 bath and the drum a few wacks with a hammer - no change. This being a 16' covered trailer, I have little to no room to work on the vehicle as is. I have not yet tried to jack it up to confirm all four wheels are locked.

What are my options for getting this off the trailer? Thanks in advance.
 
You can try to back off the rear drum adjusters.

Also what is the environment that the cruiser has been stored in?
 
Hook the trailer to a tow rig, drive trailer to where you want to unload the 60, hook up truck or tractor to 60 and winch or drag it off the trailer. Have the transmission in neutral and parking brake off. This might free up the brakes so be ready for that possibility.
 
You can try to back off the rear drum adjusters.

Also what is the environment that the cruiser has been stored in?

Thank you for the suggestion, I will look into that.

It had been stored inside for a few years prior to the move, but spent last winter outside.
 
Thank you for the suggestion, I will look into that.

It had been stored inside for a few years prior to the move, but spent last winter outside.
If it’s the brakes that are locked up it’s most likely to be rears. But…it’s possible the fronts have stuck too.

Either way I would make sure you connect the trailer to a tow vehicle before you try to pull the truck off again.
 
Hook the trailer to a tow rig, drive trailer to where you want to unload the 60, hook up truck or tractor to 60 and winch or drag it off the trailer. Have the transmission in neutral and parking brake off. This might free up the brakes so be ready for that possibility.

Tried that with the UTV, which I thought gave it a tug good enough to free them up. I did not like the trailer getting squirrelly on me, even with the wheels chocked. I suppose I should attach the trailer to a vehicle and try again.
 
No.
I assume the parking brake was set while it sat for years, and the bellcrank mechanism inside the drums has rusted up so stuff won’t release by spring pressure anymore.

You’re going to have to manually back off the star wheel adjusters like Seth said to try yo release the tension, then get two long 12mm bolts and screw them in the threaded “push” holes in the drums to try to push the drum off the brakes shoes.
 
Would disconnecting a line from the master cylinder possibly free them up?
worth a try. Sometimes the plunger in the master cylinder doesn't retract passed the relief port and pressure gets locked in the system.
Same thing happens when you don't set the distance correctly between the pedal and a master when doing a master cylinder swap. This
is why the rod between the pedal and master is adjustable. You can probable bleed pressure by just cracking the line at the drum or front caliper,
whichever is more accessible
 
The brakes shouldn't have rusted in just a few months. You say the pedal feels "solid" with only a half inch of travel?
worth a try. Sometimes the plunger in the master cylinder doesn't retract passed the relief port and pressure gets locked in the system.
Same thing happens when you don't set the distance correctly between the pedal and a master when doing a master cylinder swap. This
is why the rod between the pedal and master is adjustable. You can probable bleed pressure by just cracking the line at the drum or front caliper,
whichever is more accessible
The fact that the pedal is "solid" with only 1/2 an inch of travel leads me in this direction as well.
 
For reference my 84 sat in my garage all winter out of the elements and with the parking brake on. When i backed it out earlier this year the rear brakes were sticking considerably. Not quite enough to lock the wheels but enough to require a bit of gas to turn them...and I had the drums off to clean and lube everthing in there prior. So sitting on a trailer in the elements for 3 to 6 months or longer could be enough to bind up the rears.

If the master itself is locked up it seems more likely that someone pushed the pedal and the calipers/cylinders didnt retract.
 
Tie a snatch strap to the bumper and the other end to a tree and use the tow vehicle to pull the trailer out from under the 60. Basically slide it off with the wheels locked. You can figure out the brakes later and work on getting the wheels off easier w/out it being on a trailer.
 
You can pour a bunch of liquid soap (think dollar store) on the trailer or ramp surface to ease sliding the rubber tires off the trailer. A trick used by repo-men.
 
Tie a snatch strap to the bumper and the other end to a tree and use the tow vehicle to pull the trailer out from under the 60. Basically slide it off with the wheels locked. You can figure out the brakes later and work on getting the wheels off easier w/out it being on a trailer.
Don't use the actual bumper as you will likely destroy the bumper. You want to connect to the frame directly or to the tow hook on the frame.
 
You can pour a bunch of liquid soap (think dollar store) on the trailer or ramp surface to ease sliding the rubber tires off the trailer. A trick used by repo-men.
Considering that a rear brake rebuild is likely in your future anyways....and along this same idea, you could try flooding the innards of the brake drums with some penetrating oil through the adjuster bolt hole on top of the drum. Its going to make mess but if it sits in there for couple days it might free things up.


*****> And have you verified that the parking brake actuators are actually backing off? Basically drop the lever in the cab and then look at the wheels to see if the actuator cables have slackened and the little levers sticking out of the drums are free.
 
It looks like the actuators are moving to me - could you confirm?

I cant see them in the video...but I can at least hear your lever moving. It looks like the truck is in an enclosed trailer....that's a good thing....I was picturing it on a standard open trailer (And I reread your original post and see you mentioned it was in an enclosed trailer:facepalm:) . If the E brake actuators are moving then you can put a hand on them and see if you can move them back further to the relaxed side. If you can do this you might be able to free things up. Also shine a light on the front rotors and see if they look smooth or if they are all crusty

It looks like you could put a 2x6 under the truck and use it as a jacking platform to take the weight off of one rear wheel at a time and see if you can get them to spin at all. It would be a good way to determine if you have one stuck wheel or two.

Here is a video on servicing the drums...it might give you some insight into understanding what sticks.

 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom