Hey guys, so my brake pads and rotors seem like they've been going for a little while now, when I would come to a stop the truck would shake and wouldnt brake very smoothly. Then this weekend I had about 2000lbs of salt bags and some other stuff in the bed and the brakes went out completely. I can still stop the truck but only after holding the brake pedal to the ground for about a 1/4 mile. When you push on the brake pedal, it's completely soft and does nothing. So I checked the brake fluid and it was almost completely gone, so I poured another bottle in. Then pumped the brake pedal and it would get firmer, but only for a few seconds and i still didnt have any braking power. A buddy and I were looking at it and we were thinking it could be either a leaking brake line or the master cylinder. I don't think its the pads and rotors because I'd imagine I could still stop it somewhat. Any ideas? Any quick fixes or patches just to limp it home? It's parked in a parking lot right now and I would like to avoid having it towed.

 

It could be the master cylinder, but i would be more inclined to look again for leaks. Sometimes they can be tricky to see but it has to be going somewhere. It sounds to me like it would be a line sense you had a lot of weight in it but you have to find the leak first.

 

my favorite leak to Never find is when the seals leak internally inside the brake master cyl and leak into the brake booster..
Can you get a new master in where it's parked?

Did you try bleeding the lines at the master?

Chances are the air is right up near the top if it's not sucking air at one of the wheels.

The parental paranoia in me says it's cheaper and safer to have it towed than fix truck or unfixable personal body parts.

Your car insurance MAY have towing coverage.

Mine does and I didn't even know I had it.

They add it on to make more $$ and hope you never use it, so they often keep it a secret.

That kind of weight in the bed is nothing to fool with.

Since you're in a salted road area, a leak could be anywhere along the lines, top o' the frame rails etc etc.

 

I think these guys have it nailed. Sounds like you have either a leaking master cyl or a hard line has let go or a rear brake wheel cyl is leaking and you only have one brake circuit.
Look at the brake backplates on both rear brakes for wetness, check also the hard lines that run across the rear axle, the line that runs along the drivers side frame rail and the hard lines to the front brakes. Any leak should not be hard to see. To check the master cyl you will have to unbolt it from the booster, pull it forward and look for fluid.

 

if it were me, i would take the front tires off and inspect the front brakes.
i got money that says the worn out front pads took out the rotors, and the pistons came out of the calipers.

and for the question if i think you can limp it home,

absolutely not.
i would not move it at all until it has working brakes.

 

First, have it towed unless you want to kill someone. Your truck should be able to stop in under 1/4 mile. I can't imagine that any quick fixes are going to give you good brakes.

Then simply examine every single component of your brake system. Brakes are not complicated.

I doubt you have a broken line or you wouldn't be able to stop at all. Most likely you have a combination of worn pads, shoes, rotors and drums, and probably leaking cylinders and/or calipers. The shoes or pads might even have worn so much that one or more of the pistons have just started to pop right out of their bores.

If you do try to drive it home please tell us where and when so we can stay off the roads.

 

Future thought - look under the truck at the insides of the tires for star shape leak patterns that look like wet drips across the tire, from the bead to the tread. This may tell you if it a specific caliper thats leaking. Look on the ground for puddles of fluid anywhere under the truck, then look up to see where it is coming from. You shouldn't be driving it at all, if the brakes are faulty. Now when they're working just right, drive it hard!

 

Great guys, thank you, that's all great information, I will look into it tomorrow. And dont worry, I won't try to drive it home.

 

Good luck with the brakes, and I just wanted to say that I'm feeling a little sorry that I came down so hard on you about driving it back home. I'll be the first to man up and admit that I've driven a vehicle with absolutely no brakes for a short distance on public roads - although never with an automatic.

Also, nice looking truck you've got there, with a great engine. And with only 118K on it - if you think it runs nice now, just wait until it gets broken in.

Let us know if you need any help with the brakes. I just did the rears on a '93 F350, and they were very easy to work on. Check the ebrake cables; it's very likely they're frozen up and need replacing. That can be a real pain because of the self-adjusting e-brake pedal mechanism. To get the cables all hooked back up I ended up adding an old-school adjustment mechanism where the two rear cables join the single one.

Here, a picture is worth a thousand words:




I just duplicated the stamped steel bracket in a heavier version. 1.25" angle iron, 3/16" thick, 3.75" long. Drilled the side holes, cut the slots with a die grinder, and made a little countersunk spot for the rear cable lugs to sit down into. Works great, and was the only damn way I could figure out how to get all the cables reconnected. There are two cable clamps, but one's just out of view. 5/16" x 4" eye bolt seemed just right.

Here's a picture of the rear brakes that you'll probably be getting into:



I went with two new rear cylinders since all the coaxing in the world couldn't keep one of the bleeders from snapping off. You might want to start soaking every fitting you can think of with PB Blaster, or Aerokroil if you can find it. Wheel lug nuts too. New hardware kits are highly recommended. Only about $11 a side. (I cheapo'd out and then wished I hadn't. The old stuff was OK, but there's nothing like all new, especially if you're keeping the truck for quite a while). Of course, take the star wheel adjusters apart, clean the threads really well, and put anti-seize on them.

Lastly, here's a pic of my truck that I just had to sell. '93 F350 XL 4x4 with the Int'l IDI 7.3 turbo. Only 95,000 miles on it (30,000 on the engine; PO managed to destroy it by somehow hydro-locking it). No rust, very straight, real sweet truck. Sold it for $5,900, so that helps ease the pain. Needed the $$$, but I'll get another one. 2003 7.3 is what I want.




Again, good luck, and don't hesitate to ask for help.

 

same here. i drove my 88 135 miles with a blown rear brake line to get home at 2 am.
but it was down an interstate highway, with no one else on the road, and i had a 5 speed trans and working parking brake. i am also a professional driver with over 2 million miles of driving experience.

but if it was 2 pm with traffic, i would have called for a tow truck.

 

John, thank you so much for all of the information and pictures, that's really helpful. Everyone on this forum is so helpful, thanks so much!