Bullnosefan95 Posted June 18, 2021 Author Share Posted June 18, 2021 Sorry the rear brake lines where it meets the drums is covered in fluid. You said "brake lines", meaning two lines, which says both sides are leaking. That suggests two failures at one time. Is that true?Yes. Both lines are leaking fluid on both sides and it isn’t a squirting leak it is more of a slow leak because there is a little bit of fluid in the reservoir but not much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 Yes. Both lines are leaking fluid on both sides and it isn’t a squirting leak it is more of a slow leak because there is a little bit of fluid in the reservoir but not much That being the case I think you've had a slow leak that finally got so low that you sucked air into the system for the rear. In other words, I don't think you had a catastrophic failure, but a long slow failure that finally got so bad that you'll now have to fix it. To do that you need to figure out if the wet brake backing plates are due to leaks of the brake lines to the wheel cylinders or, more likely, the wheel cylinders themselves leaking. And then you'll have to fix that, refill the master, and bleed the brakes. So I'd clean off the brake backing plates, add some more fluid to the master, and pump the brakes. Then see if you can tell where the leak is coming from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gsmblue Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 That being the case I think you've had a slow leak that finally got so low that you sucked air into the system for the rear. In other words, I don't think you had a catastrophic failure, but a long slow failure that finally got so bad that you'll now have to fix it. To do that you need to figure out if the wet brake backing plates are due to leaks of the brake lines to the wheel cylinders or, more likely, the wheel cylinders themselves leaking. And then you'll have to fix that, refill the master, and bleed the brakes. So I'd clean off the brake backing plates, add some more fluid to the master, and pump the brakes. Then see if you can tell where the leak is coming from. Maybe time for a rear end brake rebuild? It is not difficult and not expensive to replace the hard lines, slaves, pads and springs. Worth checking the drums for wear too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullnosefan95 Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 Maybe time for a rear end brake rebuild? It is not difficult and not expensive to replace the hard lines, slaves, pads and springs. Worth checking the drums for wear too. My truck needs a lot of work but I agree, I am tempted to go the full mile and do everything from the brake booster to master cylinder to hard lines and brakes. I just got home from picking my sister in law up and went to my truck and noticed quite a bit of brake fluid under the passenger side rear drum so I believe I know where the issue is coming from. I have known that I needed to have the brakes done for a while but have been putting it off for a while due to the fact I live in an apartment complex and the only person who is able to help me is my dad but he lives 2 hours away and its hard finding time in my work schedule to go up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gsmblue Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 My truck needs a lot of work but I agree, I am tempted to go the full mile and do everything from the brake booster to master cylinder to hard lines and brakes. I just got home from picking my sister in law up and went to my truck and noticed quite a bit of brake fluid under the passenger side rear drum so I believe I know where the issue is coming from. I have known that I needed to have the brakes done for a while but have been putting it off for a while due to the fact I live in an apartment complex and the only person who is able to help me is my dad but he lives 2 hours away and its hard finding time in my work schedule to go up there. I understand that challenge. I do all the work on my trucks on my own. At least you know what needs to be done now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swampedout Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 My truck needs a lot of work but I agree, I am tempted to go the full mile and do everything from the brake booster to master cylinder to hard lines and brakes. I just got home from picking my sister in law up and went to my truck and noticed quite a bit of brake fluid under the passenger side rear drum so I believe I know where the issue is coming from. I have known that I needed to have the brakes done for a while but have been putting it off for a while due to the fact I live in an apartment complex and the only person who is able to help me is my dad but he lives 2 hours away and its hard finding time in my work schedule to go up there. I always advocate for doing the work yourself if you can, but if its a vehicle you use regularly and you have a shop you trust, its worth getting the brakes done just to get the truck back on the road. I hate paying people to do things I can do myself, but my vehicles take me to work everyday so its a worthwhile investment in the long run. Ive got a rear brake leak I havent addressed yet either, so let me know what you find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullnosefan95 Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 I always advocate for doing the work yourself if you can, but if its a vehicle you use regularly and you have a shop you trust, its worth getting the brakes done just to get the truck back on the road. I hate paying people to do things I can do myself, but my vehicles take me to work everyday so its a worthwhile investment in the long run. Ive got a rear brake leak I havent addressed yet either, so let me know what you find. Alright got some pictures of the rear drum brakes and found where the leak is coming from, like I said earlier, it's not a squirting problem every time I step on the brakes, but as you can see it is leaking quite a bit. Maybe I just need to bleed the brakes and put on new seals? I am not sure if brake lines have o-rings on the adapters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 Alright got some pictures of the rear drum brakes and found where the leak is coming from, like I said earlier, it's not a squirting problem every time I step on the brakes, but as you can see it is leaking quite a bit. Maybe I just need to bleed the brakes and put on new seals? I am not sure if brake lines have o-rings on the adapters? Where that is coming out is the emergency brake cable. So your wheel cylinder is bad and leaking. It will have to be replaced. And since your brake shoes are now soaked in fluid they need to be replaced. In short, you need at least to have the rear brakes rebuilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullnosefan95 Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 Where that is coming out is the emergency brake cable. So your wheel cylinder is bad and leaking. It will have to be replaced. And since your brake shoes are now soaked in fluid they need to be replaced. In short, you need at least to have the rear brakes rebuilt. My plan was to do the brakes soon anyway, I noticed when looking online that there is 2.5" and 3" brake shoes for my truck but since I have not done the brakes on my truck yet, how do I know what size to get because I don't want to order one size and it be the wrong one? After I replace them I will know what to get next time but since I haven't pulled the drums off yet I don't know the size. Since I live in an apartment I don't have a lot of the stuff I used to take tires off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 My plan was to do the brakes soon anyway, I noticed when looking online that there is 2.5" and 3" brake shoes for my truck but since I have not done the brakes on my truck yet, how do I know what size to get because I don't want to order one size and it be the wrong one? After I replace them I will know what to get next time but since I haven't pulled the drums off yet I don't know the size. Since I live in an apartment I don't have a lot of the stuff I used to take tires off. You don't have a signature telling us what your truck is so I can't look it up in the documentation. But you can: Documentation/Driveline/Brakes. Then go to the Rear Brakes tab and then the Rear Brakes Parts List tab. Find your truck in the first table, get the parts list #, and then go to that Parts List. It'll tell you what brakes you have. However, the brake drums usually have the size stamped on them. You'll have to pull a wheel to find it if you want to check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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