brake help

[psbeaman]

1981 CJ-7 bought today and the brake pedal goes all the way to the floor before it works, and even then it is a little scary stopping. I know that the brake fluid resivioir is about 1/4 - 1/2 inch low and I need to top it off. I also notice that there was some oil on the brake drums and both rear brakes. Nothing on the front. I have attached a picture of the rear driver side brake, it is a little worse than the passenger side.


I am not the best car guy in the world, but I can do some things if I have good instructions. Any idea what is going on or what I should do??

 

[Saddle Tramp]

The brakes may only need to be adjusted or bleed but it looks for sure that the rear brakes are fouled and probably no good for stopping. Having just bought the jeep it would be good to inspect all of the brakes anyway. Hard to tell from the picture if its brake fluid or axel fluid. It could be the slave cylinders are bad or a hose connection is loose, but the axel seals may be leaking too allowing axel lub to seep out. Either way the shoes are going to be bad.

I would pull the drums off of the shoes in the back and the wheels off the front and have a look see as to what is happening. Break fluid is thinner than the axel lub but if it is brake fluid you should be able to see where is leaking from. It's may be time to flush and change the brake fluid anyway. The fronts should be disks so it is easy to inspect the pads and calipers.

 

[buckshot500]

X2, & once you get all the leaks squared away hose everything off with brake parts cleaner before re-assembly.

Drums, backing plates, springs & clips, everything!

 

[xt master]

Does that year jeep have power brakes?If it doesnt pumping the brakes is a normal thing.As far as the fluid in the back I agree with the other posts.

 

[Crazy4diesels]

Yes, looks like you might have blown the wheel cylinders (a very common thing for a vehicle that sits for a long time). If the Jeep has been out of service for a while you might consider changing the master cylinder too. Rust forms around the piston cups as the vehicle sits and then when you put it back on the road you get catastrophic leaks as the rubber cup slides over the rough rust. I've had this happen in as little as a winter.

Also, if you have manual brakes, you should be able to get a good hard pedal out of it when you're done. If there is no air in the system and you have the shoes adjusted correctly you'll get "rock brakes" (the pedal feels like you're stepping on a rock). Best of luck - John