About 2 months ago, I had some brake work done on my rear breaks. Since then, when I am coming to a stop from a slow speed (like pulling into a parking place) the breaks will lock up and I will slide just a little. I really have to baby it to keep this from happening.

I assumed that something was adjusted tighter than it should or something, but I have not worried too much about it.

I took the truck in for some other work today, though, so I had them take a look at it (same shop that did the brakes). The tried adjusting some stuff, but finally one of the guys noticed that it looks like something is leaking at the left rear wheel. They are telling me that the cylinder is leaking. They say that the deal is that because of the leak, no pressure can build up at the left brake, so all of the pressure goes to the right brake.

This seems weird to me. No question in my mind that the brake work and this issue coincide directly, so I am definitely going to push them to make good on the issue. My question is - have any of you heard of something like this? Could what I described result from routine brake work?

I want to have a little info before I call the shop tomorrow to discuss the path forward.

Thanks.

 

Welll if you have a leaky wheel cylinder you will certainly have issues,
1. the brake shoes will be getting soaked, not a good thing and can cause the brakes to grab.

2. the brake pressure between the two will be uneven, and one whell will brake more then the other, with the weak one having less presure.

My advice is to replace both wheel cylinders at the same time , reason being both will be fresh and have equal pressure.
also replace the shoes if they have uneven wear or have been soaked.

Hope this helps.

 

BTW I forgot to add , the pads /shoes will tend to swell if they get soaked from brake fuild.which is why they should be replaced.

 

Thanks, F2504X4.

BTW, what kind of price tag should I look at to replace both cylinders. Is that a big deal thing or is it pretty straightforward?

Also, can you think of anything that could have happened when they were doing the break work (new pads) on the rear breaks that could have caused a cylinder issue. I am almost positive there was no sign of fluid in that area in the past.

Thanks,
Chris

 

if you purchased to shoes and wheel cylinders a good parts house Napa ect..etc,,some where around $75 to 125.

on doing it yourself its pretty easy if you got the tools and been around turning wrenchs for awhile....but since your going to a shop, it would be best ask if they will cut you some slack on the labor, and maybe let you watch them do it.

as to the seals on the wheel cylinder going south, well no straight answer on that, things go wrong and can get overlooked, hopefully the shop will be willing to cut you a deal...

 

Heres some info in the tech section on brakes that will be helpful to read.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/idx/13/0/

 

There was probably nothing done wrong during the installation. It was just time for that cylinder to go.

 

Thanks to both of you. I will report back when I get things resolved.

 

I have a ? F2504x4. I was reading one of the brake pad replaceament articles in the link you provided and it said to put some silicone grease on the back of the new pad. Why is this?

 

Squeaking. Pads will move a bit when in use. Metal on metal can make ugly noises.

 

Yeah my cousin bought an older ford escort that had that squeek at the pass. rear brakes. Told him to take em off and put a little lube on the contact surfaces. This usually happens when the little rubber plug is lost from the back plate and water and moisture get into brakes and cause rust.

 

Well, good news. My shop put 'er up on the rack and dug into the problem a little bit. They found that the shoes were faulty & swapped them out for free. Not sure what the problem was with them, but everything is working fine now and it didn't cost me anything.

I know we all want to do as much of our own work at possible, but it is comforting to know that I have a shop that I can trust to stand behind their work. They could have easily taken me for a ride on this one.

Thanks everyone again for the advice.