I need some assistance here. I have an 02 FX4 5-speed.

All last week, my E-brake light was on so I thought it was just a bad switch. I did some reading and it turns out it could mean low brake fluid.

So yeah the brake fluid was low and of course the brake pedal went all the way to the floor on my way home from work today.

I get home and put some brake fluid in, pump the pedal.... nothing. The brake fluid level doesn't move and the brake pedal still goes to the floor.

Well them my brother helps me bleed the front brakes. I didn't bleed them for very long but the fluid level at least went down as I cracked the bleeders on either side. So I filled it back up again and well there's SOME pedal but still almost none.

For now, it's enough to stop the truck.

There's no fluid leaking ANYWHERE that I can see.

The front pads are near brand new.

The Ebrake does need to be adjusted.

So I'm guessing I have drums in the rear. Do I bleed those too or am I screwed?

Thanks.

 

mm i had this happen once when my wheel cyr blew on the rear might wanna check the rear brakes for leaks

 

If you ran out of brake fluid then you need to bleed the whole system. You're supposed to start at the wheel farthest away from the master cylinder then work closer to the master cylinder.

 

Alright I'll try that. As usual, I have almost NO time to do the repair so I'll have to try again this weekend.

 

I'd get her fixed quick as I'd hate to see another wrecked twin stick truck. Wait....the problem is in your rear end you better swap me my rear end for your Level II rear end. :)

 

Cripes....

I'd say it's definitely the wheel cylinder....





I went ahead and bought two of them. Now I just need time to install them.

 

wow! thats the worst ive seen yet.. better drain out that hydraulic fluid from the lines and replace with all new fluid, i bet the fluid may be pretty contaminated. id like to see a picture once the drum is off.

 

Oh yes, believe me, I'm going to be replacing both wheel cylinders and the brake shoes on both sides. Then, I'm going to adjust the ebrake once and for all. It slips HORRIBLY when the truck is on even a slight incline. All new fluid, too.

I was scared that the wheel cylinders were going to be expensive but they were only $15 each.

The problem is, I won't have ANY time to do the work until at least Friday morning.

 

ya they are cheapo to replace. i finally just did my complete rear brakes. i had no horror stories, thank god haha. but it defeniately took me a good portion of the afternoon to get it done.

get the hardware kit for sure! some of the hardware used to assemble the brakes wont be any good to use again

good luck on the fix!

 

Yep!

Well, the drivers side was easy as pie to replace. All that brake fluid made it easy to tear everything apart. The passenger side, however, was a small horror story.

Both the fuel line and the bleeder valve ended up being rounded off. So I had to replace the brake line from the wheel cylinder to the axle (not terribly hard, but a setback nevertheless).

Then I finally got everything back together and bled the brakes and yanked the Ebrake. ROCK SOLID!!

Then I went for a test drive. Now I have full pedal again and no brake light!

All in all, I've ended up replacing both wheel cylinders, rear brake shoes, all the hardware, the axle to wheel cylinder brake line on the passenger side, and now I have clean, fresh, clear brake fluid running through the whole brake system!

Next, it's time to replace the window that I busted out two weeks ago (soon as I find a part....)

 

aha well thats good news! if i were closer, i have a window for you sitting right next to me lol almost new too from my 08 im trying to sell off, its a solid window but a guy might be part swapping me for a nice split window over the weekend. id rather have the spare split then a solid anyday lol this guy from here wants the solid for his lowrider project.

 

yep i knew it was that wheel cylinder... the salt that use in the winter plays a role in em not lasting a long time i was changing mine every year due to em not wanting to work right are would start leaking.. now ive got mustang rear disk brakes and shoudent have that prob any more.. glade ya got it fixed dude