shadowbirdie

The inspection and repair fun continues, applies to my 91 4X4 P/U but could be a general newbie mechanical inquiry maybe a benefit to others as well as myself.

See picture, I should have taken before initial cleaning, but there it is..

Pulled the RR wheel and found a gooey mess inside, the LR just needs cleaning and new shoes.
I have the Haynes manual, I like it but it's based on a new vehicle tear down, mechanically quite thorough with the proper tools.

3 options, simplest first, everything sounds good, no obvious damage sounds.

1) I found the differential vent missing it's cap and potentially clogged causing an overpressure
pushing gear oil past the axle seal. Fix it, clean it up, new shoes, and call it good??

2) Brake cylinder boots appear dry and good, the goo is behind it on the backing plate and saturated shoes , hence the axle seal concern.

3) Pulling the axle shaft and replacing the seal, by far the most educational, but also the most messy work.

Again, just a hobby, not the daily driver...

If I just do simplest and call it good for a month or so, should I be wrong, can the new
shoes be thoroughly cleaned and reused while fixing the real seal problem?

Thanks
J

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

If the vent was indeed plugged you might get away just doing the Brakes and not the seal.

Gear oil and brake fluid smell very different quite easy to tell what is leaking.

It all comes down to if you have good luck my luck is very bad .

Maybe just clear the vent see if it fixes the problem then do the brakes.

I have cleaned some pretty bad ones over the years if the shoes were removed they were replaced with new.

That is just how I am.

shadowbirdie

The rear cylinder looked so good (and dry), turns out if you pull on the boot and fluid spooges out you have your answer..
Done at least half dozen sets of brakes, all toyota except a Taurus station wagon. Never seen such a mess, except the Taurus, but still no leaky cylinder.
I work on the principal that when the little noisemakers start screaming, they really telling ya "fix me now or it's going to get real expensive real fast".

Stole the differential vent from a trailer I have for sale put it in the truck, put the bad one in the trailer, doesn't really need it anymore anyway..

shadowbirdie

I'll file it for future reference. The assembly is completely torn down to just the nice clean backing plate, this morning we put in the new cylinder and put it back together with all clean dry reused parts (except all the replacement thingys)
The e-brake pivot arm out the back of the plate covered with the completely intact rubber boot was sprayed out, but didn't want to risk removing it for concern of it tearing

As I cleaned parts I found what looks like lithium grease (which was also cleaned off) adjuster mechanism etc.

Aside from the places previously lithium grease applied, any other places to carefully apply the grease on reassembly?
Examples being cable ends, pivot plate attached to the new shoe..

Added 3 pics, as an ex electronic tech I can be a bit anal.
I like pretty as well as properly repaired, waiting for the day to warm
up to painting temperature, after all this is Idaho

This is a poll, the Haynes manual doesn't specify, and Les Shwab, might want me to bring it in
Thx J

scope103

I actually like the Haynes manual, but I would never use it if I could get the real Factory Service Manual.

Which I can! AND, it's free!

The assembly section tells you where to put grease, and what kind.
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...tem/11-4wd.pdf

shadowbirdie

Before I bought the paper one, I looked for the CD on Ebay which is what I have for the 1st Gen xB Box DD, but no such luck. The Toyota manual was way, way too expensive
Thx

shadowbirdie

Worked out great in the end, decided to replace the other cylinder for GP (only $17), the cylinders (also made in China) is lighter weight physically than the one it replaced, hope it holds up, seemed soft and prone to stripping out, also discovered a hardware kit made in China, even if sold by NAPA is a real piece o crap, missing parts, wrong parts, but then again only $10.. Old axiom of capitalism..(you pay ˟˟˟˟, you get ˟˟˟˟). All in all if I was loaded, which I'm not, I'd have paid to have it done, then again buy a new one for $45K, not so much.
I have the comfort of knowing it was a high quality repair, higher than good enough to cover liability of a "professional" outlet, certainly cleaner and less expensive anyhow.
Looks pretty much the same inside, but throwing a proper paint job with high heat paint will make it easier to open up next time... Drop the back, time to raise the front and continue forward..