FunRunner01

Has anyone ever had this....

I got in my truck and it all of a sudden is taking it farther for the brakes to bite (Pedal travel I mean). Also when I turn the car off the pedal does not get hard, but stays sort of spongy.

I did the brakes (rotors, pads) about a month ago and no problems since then.

Could my brake booster be going out? (I have an SR5 01 with 52k)

FunRunner01

Update: I have Brembo Rotors and performance friction brake pads, I took it to the dealer and say that they are the reason my brakes are not "biteing" early is that I have aftermarket pads and brakes. But everything else is fine and the truck stops fine. They recommend I go back to OEM rotors and pads... what do you all think? I think since the pedal does not get hard, if I pump with the truck off, it could be the master cylinder. What do you all think?


I DO remember then I did the brakes that one of my calipers (4WD) had a torn boot that covers the piston, could this cause air to get in and air in my system? Is it a big deal at all. The tear was about 1/2 long.

midiwall

Hey there;

(thanks for the PM, I'd missed this thread coming up)

Yeup, this sounds like what I had... and "had" is a good thing.

First off, the dealer is blowing smoke and simply wants to make a parts sale. There are PLENTY of people here that are running non-OEM rotors and pads and don't have issues. As of last weekend, I'm on that list as well.


When my pedal headed for the floor, everyone I talked to thought it was a master cylinder and it made sense to me. So, I ordered one up.

I continued to drive the truck while waiting to find time and location to change it out. One day, I pulled into work, got out of the truck and smelled something REALLY hot. I walked around the truck and as I passed the passenger side rear wheel, you could feel the heat coming off the wheel/drum.

I bought rear pads that night (from Shuck's, not OEM) and put them on the next day.

Folks reading over my shoulder may guess at what I found in that right brake drum, but I think I got something scarier than what they're thinking.

Somewhere along the line, the boot on one side of the booster cylinder had ripped. Each time that you pushed on the pedal, brake fluid would squirt out of the boot. That means that there was _no_ pressure behind the pistons, and thus the shoes weren't being pushed out against the drum.

THAT was what was making my pedal all mushy.

On top of this, I had no pads left on the shoes (the left side was fine though), it was metal-to-metal with the pads having distinegrated into 100 pieces and laying in the bottom of the drum. That's what was causing the heat.


What ticks me off about all this is the money I spent on the "power flush" from the service dude. After he did that, he also claimed to have done a 4 wheel brake check - I'm pretty sure that if he had pulled the drum, he would have noticed the brake fluid on the inside of it, not to mention the pads.

Maybe not... maybe the tear happened later, but...


Anyway... two points. 1) non-OEM pads and rotors are not the problem. I'm running non-OEM rotors, pads and shoes. 2) If you've still got a mushy pedal, then it could be a) air in the line; b) old fluid; c) leaky boosters in the rear; d) leak in the calipers up front.


Hope that helps a bit.

Mad Chemist

Mark, I'm surprised that you couldn't hear anything from the metal on metal contact. I definitely agree with you on point one. I'd contemplate switching over to disc brakes on the rear if I was serious about wheeling this rig in the future, but its pretty low on the priority list. The drum brakes seem to do okay. Sounds like you got everything figured out. By the way, do you still have that master cylinder? How much did you pay for it? I need one for the front disc swap on the LC, now that I finally got a line on a front mini truck axle for parts.

midiwall

Yeah... I'm surprised I didn't hear anything either... maybe I should turn the tunes down?

I do still have the MC. I'd offered it up to FunRunner01 first, but I haven't heard from him about it. Part #47201-3D380, it's yours for the $157 I paid for it. Lemme know!

shamrockmac5

Never hurts to look for leakage along the lines too. The line to hose connection points and so forth. If your fluid level is up to snuff though that is probably not the problem.

FunRunner01

I am good the power flush and adjustment has cure my problem. I guess I dodged the bullet.

Mad Chemist is welcome to the MC

midiwall

YAY!


Cool! Thanks sir!