trevorthetrekker

Well a few days ago I was going down a hill in the middle of nowhere, when suddenly my brake pedal dropped to the floor. Luckily my e-brake was functioning so I was able to stop before going over a cliff.

Upon inspection, the top of the cap of the master cylinder reservoir was covered in fluid, but below it, everything was dry (WTF?!).

Then I inspected all of the lines and fittings that were visible, and everything was dry.

Back in the truck, I realized that the pedal actually drops 90% of the way to the floor, and only in the last 10% do I get any braking. I can just barely lock up the wheels on gravel or dirt. It's not super mushy, so I'm not going to immediately assume it's air in the lines.

So, back home I did some research on here and everything was pointing to the rear drums being out of adjustment. I adjusted the right shoes no problem. Go to adjust the left, the shoes pushed out fine, but now I can't get the adjuster to turn back the other way. (Yes, I know to move the lever out of the way)

SO, time to take off the drums. I figured I'd start with the right side since I can actually get the shoes to move in so I can get the drum off. Plus I've never done Toy drum brakes, so I wanted to see what's going on in there. Shoes are still beefy with a good 1/4"+ of asbestos.

First thing I noticed, everything is completely rusty and somewhat scary looking. I'm sure this is normal for an '82 that sat for 5+ years, so I'm not too worried about it.

Second thing I noticed, brake fluid coming out of the wheel cylinder boot.

To the parts store for two new wheel cylinders.

Upon removal of the old cylinder, I find that the line fitting is completely seized to the line. Tried PB, WD, heat, and finally just ended up twisting the line until it broke.

SO:

What is the cheapest way to replace these, buying line and renting a flaring tool? I would definitely consider spending a bit more to get pre-formed lines made by someone that makes them every day. Note that these are the HARD lines going from the T on the axle out to the wheel cylinders. NOT the flexible one going down from the frame to the T, which is the only line I can find anything about on the internet apparently. I tried looking for flexible lines to replace these, but I need male to male, and everything online seems to be female-female or female-male.

Are the internals of our drum brakes usually pretty rusty, and is it safe?

Was the leak in the wheel cylinder actually letting air in? And could that have possibly caused a huge air bubble which came out at the MC reservoir, causing the fluid ON TOP of it? That hurts my brain the most.

Or was it just a leaky wheel cylinder, and it's actually my master cylinder or diaphragm which have taken a dump?

I am so confused.

I have checked the brake pedal adjustment which has not moved. The previous owner said he has had issues with the LSPV, so that could be part of it, but I highly doubt it.

The brakes were totally fine before this, I could lock up the wheels (31" BFG AT's) on dry pavement in the first 50% of pedal travel.

I'm on a very tight budget here and I need to get her going before school starts on September 24th. You would think in Portland, with all of the public transit, there would be a route to get me over the 1000 ft. hill to school, a 20 minute drive, but the only route is a 3 hour bus / train ride with 5 transfers which completely bypasses the hill. So yeah, I need to get this going and solid enough to not give out while crossing the big hill.

Please help my brain stop hurting.

Thanks dudes!

83Toyota88

iTrader: (1)

I know you can still order the brake lines that stem off the tee to the wheels from the dealer pre-bent/flared with fittings. Most people buy those since they have a lot of bends in them. I think both sides of the tee will cost around $200 from what other people have said.

trevorthetrekker

Wow. There has to be a cheaper option.

83Toyota88

iTrader: (1)

I bought a double flaring tool for $20 and watched an instructional youtube video and some line/fittings when I removed my lspv. I already had the tube bender. Using the flare tool is very simple. Im thinking of redoing my lines this fall on the rear axle.

trevorthetrekker

I have been considering doing the same and removing the LSVP, but it's a Trekker so the rear end is all fiberglass and weighs about 10 pounds, so I'm afraid the rears will lock up constantly. Plus, they never locked up before so I'd rather just replace what I need for now.

Eventually when I have a billion dollars I'd like to do rear discs, driveshaft e-brake, complete SS line replacement, and manual prop valve in the cab.

trevorthetrekker

Well I just found some hard lines at Autozone, rangin from $4 to $6, so I'm going to head there to see if any of them are metric. Then I'll just bend them myself.

Hopefully.

83Toyota88

iTrader: (1)

Thats where i got mine. i took a piece in to match the outer diameter.

trevorthetrekker

Oooooook, well yesterday was a long day with the Trekker and have a gnarly sunburn to prove it. When will the world stop catching on fire?

I finally got the wheel cylinders replaced, and the one brake line I broke as well. The other ones came loose no problem, so I left them in their place for now. They will be replaced in a few months when I do the disc swap anyway.

Bled the brakes, and now they are definitely better, and I can actually lock them up now, however the pedal still travels to the floor and the rears are barely getting any pressure.

So this morning I just eliminated the LSPV.







Now just waiting for a buddy to come over to bleed the brakes and see if that was the culprit. If not, it can only be the booster or MC.





...Right?