Hey guys, long time looker w/ only a few posts, and I can't seem to get the brakes right on my 96 Ltd. 4x4...

This will be the third time in about 30k miles that i'll have to have new shoes on the rear and new pads up front...

I'm on my second set of rotors and they'll need to be turned and this is the first set of new drums but they don't seem to be stopping at all...

The last time I had to change everything was because the rear bearing/seal failure gummed up the rears really bad and pretty much ruined the springs/pins... Then I rode around stopping on just the fronts, which led to them wearing out prematurely... Now I've got another seal leaking on one side of the rear... the fronts are squealing again and I'm broke!!

What set-ups are ya'll running? OEM? Aftermarket? Pads, rotors, shoes, drums, give me some advice...

So guys help me out, what am I missing, where am I going wrong?

Please help me put a stop to this brake issue... (no pun intended)

 

Do you do a lot of stop and go driving?

Rob

 

OEM

5 star dealer installed and serviced. not one problem. works great

new rotors, calipers, pads...new drums, drum guts, brake pivots, pads
(all new 'cuz I mud a lot and don't wash afterward, so stuff gets jammed up
or corroded)

 

Occasionally, I drive around 80 miles roundtrip to work on Fridays, (my day to drive) and the rest of the week it's small stop and go trips to wally world or the GF's place, so not really a lot of stop and go...

I guess that's why it confuses me so much...

 

I've heard that Brembo rotors and Hawk Pads are a very good combo.

 

Yeah I bet, but Brembo and Hawk really aren't in the budget...

Shoot even the cheap stuff should last longer than this right?

 

Do you have ABS? If you're having issues with too much front and not enough back break, the ABS models had those Load-Sensing proportioning valves. That maybe something to check?

 

Yes it has ABS, and I'll look into it... There has to be someone out there that can give me some reason that this keeps happening...

I'm planning on doing the Diff Breather mod this weekend to keep the breather cleaner to reduce the chances of blowing another seal and ruining the rears again...

So is that what's causing it? If I blow a wheel seal and the drums get covered with gear oil, is that enough to screw them up and is it enough to call for new shoes/drums? Then if the rears aren't working the fronts wear out earlier and I'm left with a rolling Runner right?

 

are your rear adjusted properly? are your calipers free and not sticking.

I've gotten way more milage out of my brakes on my 2000. something can't be working properly.. all bled properly?

 

Kregg,

What's your budget like?
I priced out the Brembo blanks and Hawk pads and it was less that $200. I wonder how much the OEM seup would cost?

 

It was the non-ABS models that had the rear load proportioning valve (LSVP) the ABS trucks don't have them. I'm not really sure why you brakes are acting up. I had issues with mine where they warped 3 times within a year, year and a half. I got tired of it and just ended up doing the Tundra brake Upgrade. No more warping, and IMO better braking power. This isn't really an option for you due to budget issues. I'd just get some cheap NAPA pads and rotors. If the rear seal is leaking again then that would explain the crappy rear brakes.

 

I could manage that if it were just the fronts... But i'll at least need new shoes and a new rear seal...

I'd really like to go at this on my own this time, never done brakes but I'm really eager to learn... The shop I took it to is very... "closed door" I guess you could say, but my dad knows the guy and they go way back so that's who I "have" to take my truck to... Well he ain't gettin something right...

What about the wheel cylinder? Never heard of that one before, my younger brother is in Auto-Tech at school and he said that mine was not working properly either...

I think brakes are the only thing I haven't tinkered with on my truck...