easy-3vze

Hi everyone. I have a 1995 4runner 3.0 with ABS. I went on my usual errand run yesterday. After finishing my errands i started home. This is about a half hour drive and just before i got home i noticed my break pedal going to the floor. If i pump them one time then they go back to working. When i got out of my truck i smelled burned brakes. I went to my rear passenger wheel and it was smoking pretty good. Before this, they worked great in my opinion (except for having to pull the heck out of the e-brake to keep truck from rolling on hills). Any help is appreciated. I really don't know where to start. Thanks.

Irish Death

Almost sounds like you could be leaking some fluid into the brake drum (right drums on the back of 2nd gen?) And the heat from the the drum could be boiling the fluid causing the smoke.

blue_CA_yota

are you leaking any fluid? Brake fluid in the drums would cause some smoke, and would explain why you gotta pump to the floor..

Thats where I would start, look for leaks

Check the fluid level in the master cylinder..

Junkers88

I was thinking that your wheel cylinder has started leaking. That would cause the pedal to drop and cause the drum to smoke.

easy-3vze

brake fluid level seems ok. I just went out and turn on the car and drove it around real fast. after sitting over night the pressure has returned to the brake pedal. Could that be just because it is cold? I haven't taken the wheel off yet, but in comparison to the other rear wheel there is a lot of black gunk on the back side. The other wheel has some dust, but thats it. Seems possible there could be a leak in there. I am going to pop the wheel off and have a better look. It did smell more like fluid than actual brake pad burning. thanks for the feedback.

blue_CA_yota

that black gunk is most likely a mixture of brake fluid and brake dust.
your wheel cylinder is most likely leaking, however it's a pretty simple fix, only a few bolts.. just remember to bleed the lines after.

easy-3vze

thanks for all the help. i am going to start there.

I am going to search for a thread about bleeding brakes properly, but if anyone knows one off the top of their head i'd appreciate it if you could post it here.

Hadmatt54

I've never had a brake booster go on a Toyota, but over the years I've had to replace a couple on Fords. When the bellows goes in the booster the pedal will go to the floor, if you give it a quick sharp hit with your foot it will usually come back up to the proper position. Also if this is happening you should a hissing sound (like an air leak). The fact that one rear brake seems to be sticking may be because it is adjusted tighter than the other and the pedal going to the floor is enough to lock it on.
Do any of these symptoms fit what you are experiencing? If so, then you have probably got a failed brake booster.

easy-3vze

Yesterday i had the time to take care of this issue.

went to the dealer and they wanted 78.00 for the cylinder. yikes!
went to Kragen, they had it for 15.00 but out of stock. went to napa they had it in stock for 18.00 and price matched it to kragen. good deal imo.
i am no mechanic so i was not familiar with working the adjuster from behind the wheel well so i had to use a mallet to get it off.
what a mess it was in there, it must have been leaking for some time. i replaced the cylinder, loosened the bleeder valve on it and gave the brake a pump until i saw fluid come out then tightened it up. is this sufficient since i do not believe to have air in the system?

one question however. in order to get the drum back on i had to change the adjuster. like a lot. it was almost all the way out when i took it out and i had to have it almost all the way in before i could get the drum back on. the brakes appear to be working fine and the e-brake works much better now.

my advice to any first timer working on brakes. don't be a retard like me and get the spring removal tool. a pair of needle noses makes it 100 times harder. especially to get back on. that was the hardest part of the whole job for me.

thanks for all the much appreciated advice.

total costs - 15 + tax
total time - little over an hour with my stubborn drum not wanting to come off and mainly screwing around with the spring.