Brake reservoir leak

tidmarshsmiths5 · Mar 1, 2013

In my 1985 Bronco II brake fluid reservoir, the 1st reservoir (the smaller one) was completely empty today - it was full a month ago, but when my pedal was a little mushy, I knew that I was low.

I've not had any puddles under it - any idea what would have caused this?

I filled it, looking for leaks but have found none so far. Just odd...

adsm08 · Mar 1, 2013

Wheel cylinders.

The front reservior feeds the rear brakes, so pop the drums off and have a look.

tidmarshsmiths5 · Mar 2, 2013

Thanks! that's what I needed to know.

I'll pop them off after I finish putting the hitch on...I'll take a picture or 2.

So far, no leaks this AM - hauled a load of tree to the landfill - maybe 800lbs in the trailer.

Never leaked before I started hauling that tree I cut down to the landfill.

May be a good time to re-do the back brakes. Thanks for the info!

adsm08 · Mar 2, 2013

Yeah, if I am right you will need new brakes anyway. You can get the brake fluid out of the friction material by soaking them in denatured alcohol, but that dries them out really bad and they start cracking and coming apart soon after.

I did that once years ago when I was flat broke and the Ranger was my only vehicle. It got me through to the next safety inspection, but I got failed there for the disintegrating brake shoes.

Mark_88 · Mar 3, 2013

Hmmmm...is the dual reservoir a better setup than the single? I blew out the driver side rear cylinder and it ended up draining the whole reservoir...almost left me with no brakes.

Just wondering because if I need to change the master some day I might look into that setup as an alternative...

But I now carry a line plug (or two) for these types of emergencies...gets me home so I can work on things without having to tow the truck...

tidmarshsmiths5 · Mar 10, 2013

...I'm no engineer, but the 2 reservoir system is genius to me.

As far as leaks, looks like one night this week I'll start re-building the back brakes. It's the driver side wheel cylinder...leaky leaky...figure since I'll have it apart, I'll go ahead and replace the shoes, have the drums turned and clean it all up. As you can see...there isn't a lot of shoe left...as a matter of fact...if any in some parts...it's got 137k on it and they look to be original so after 28 years, who can complain!

It's a very slow leak and usually only after I've driven across the pasture or drove over 80 miles. Either way, it's a leak and I hate leaks.

The front ones were re-built when I bought it and they're in great shape.

Figure, I'll go get me a better jack (one that isn't so darn flimsy) and replace the shocks while there...I'll have the wheels off anyway. They look original as well - the guy that sold it to me said no way, but if I was a betting man I'd say "WAY".

Mark_88 · Mar 11, 2013

I just did my driver side wheel cylinder and thought I could do it without fully removing the shoes...got it in OK and back together...only to have my parking brake pull out...so I guess I'm going to have to pull it all apart...

A bit of advice though...check that the bleeder valve is free before installing the cylinder...after putting mine on I found the bleeder, though new looking, would not turn with the brake line wrench...kept sliding and figured it would eventually just strip the head on it...so it has to come off again either way...just something I didn't check before going ahead with the replacement...

tidmarshsmiths5 · Mar 17, 2013

Replaced the wheel cylinders, shoes, srings, etc. Everything back together, no parking brake. Odd, it should be harder as the shoes were new so I took it back apart. Everything looked fine (that Haynes manual is a joke). Drove it 55 miles not a problem; driving home and it went kapow...seems like the bottom spring that holds the adjuster came off and released the adjuster. Long story short, it looks like the spring I put in at the bottom I needed to twist it and put it so that it has better tension. Fixed all this and now the parking brake was back to working. Let's hope that I did it right this time.

adsm08 · Mar 17, 2013

I spent a year fighting with a similar issue to finally figure out I had the shoes on backwards.

The long thing one goes to the front and the thick short one goes to the rear. Having them installed backwards will cause the parking brake to not hold, the lower spring and adjuster to fall out, and then the brakes to not operate correctly.

tidmarshsmiths5 · Mar 18, 2013

adsm08 said:
I spent a year fighting with a similar issue to finally figure out I had the shoes on backwards.

The long thing one goes to the front and the thick short one goes to the rear. Having them installed backwards will cause the parking brake to not hold, the lower spring and adjuster to fall out, and then the brakes to not operate correctly.

This is how it looks on (new shoes)...I thought I matched it up the way I took them off...now I'll have to go check again.

Looking at the pic the left side of the pic if you're looking at it is the front of the vehicle.

here's another pic of when I had it all apart...

Pics from the manual:

tidmarshsmiths5 · Jun 11, 2013

Cable inside brake broke last night...the one that hooks to the top and then to the bottom around the guide...geeze lou-wheeze! :annoyed:

QUESTION:

I'm going to replace driver side rear brake cable, but while I have it off:

Is the shoe facing the front of the vehicle the short one?

OR

Is the shoe facing the front of the vehicle the long one?

Tedybear · Jun 12, 2013

The smaller shoe should go on the front. The larger shoe should go to the rear, but not because of why you might think!

When the brakes are applied the front shoe tries to jam itself into the brake drum. It is that front cohesive part that has the strongest braking force - pressing most-so upon the forward-facing shoe. However, even though the front shoe is where the majority of braking force is applied, it does not get the larger shoe!

As noted, in a braking mode, the majority of the force that the decelerating vehicle applies to the brake shoes is applied against the forward shoe by the forward-most area of the inner brake drum, this makes the forward shoe the stronger, braking-wise. To help even things out, the rear secondary shoe is designed to be larger, to more equally match the braking power of the smaller, but more powerful front primary shoe.

Ergo: The proper place for the larger shoe is to the rear.

I ran into this problem when I had "PoopBoys" do the rear brakes on one of the company vans I used to drive. At first the "Tech" tried to put the short shoes on the same side, and the long shoes on the other side. I told him that was incorrect and he got pissed. He then checked the side he didn't pull apart yet? And sure enough, the short shoe was on the front, and the long shoe on the back.

S-

tidmarshsmiths5 · Jun 13, 2013

Tedybear said:
I ran into this problem when I had "PoopBoys" do the rear brakes on one of the company vans I used to drive. At first the "Tech" tried to put the short shoes on the same side, and the long shoes on the other side. I told him that was incorrect and he got pissed. He then checked the side he didn't pull apart yet? And sure enough, the short shoe was on the front, and the long shoe on the back.

S-

Thank you! I stopped by and talked to a brake specialist today...I have them on correctly and your information is exactly correct. I took both sides off and showed him the pic of what I have and he said they looked good.

Now, if I can get that #@@#@#$ parking brake to work...2 things I know need some help...1)Cable is screwy...don't know how yet/why but it is screwy and not secured to side of chassis like I found a pic of on internet and 2)I'm not sure the adjustment is correct...the guy today told me that it looked loose and all I needed to do is tighten it, but I know something is either missing or amiss...I'll keep plugging away until I get the parking brake to hold the vehicle...

If not, I'm going to pay someone to fix it because it is driving me insane!

Mark_88 · Jun 13, 2013

When I was doing my brakes (about 2 years ago) I posted asking for someone to post a pic of the connection where the two parking brake cables connect to the single line running to the pedal...nobody actually replied to that...anyway...the problem could be the way that connection works.

Mine is now so rusty (gee, what a surprise) that I may have to actually change both parking brake cables to get it to work properly. I couldn't find an image on line that showed how this should be connected but my PB actually worked for a long time (perfectly, I might add)...

tidmarshsmiths5 · Jun 21, 2013

autozone repair guide...best diagrams thus far...looks like I'm missing a bracket or 2...

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/re...uide/PARKING-BRAKE/Cable/_/P-0900c15280078462

Brake reservoir leak

tidmarshsmiths5

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adsm08

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tidmarshsmiths5

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Mark_88

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tidmarshsmiths5

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tidmarshsmiths5

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