You are probably going to have to take it to a shop to have the ABS codes read. Being as how you have 4wal, there is a LOT more to go wrong there, and just throwing parts at it will get expensive in a hurry. Need to know what is annoying the system to turn on the lite, to actually be able to fix it.

Running seafoam thru the brake booster line will do nothing for the rest of your vacuum lines. Does clean the carbon buildup out of the cylinders though, never a bad thing.

Need to see if you are getting vacuum to your front axle. It's a simple test, and will at least give you an idea of where to look next. Does your cruise control work?

 

Yes. my cruise control works. I had taken the truck in to have them fix something and the guy working on it had broke the cruise control (knocked some little clip off or something), but they fixed it for me and got it working again. This is why I'm leery of mechanics.

Yesterday after church service I got in the truck to leave and the break pedal went all the way to the floor and the brake light came on. Thankfully a guy stopped to see if I needed anything and he got me some break fluid, so I was able to take the back roads home. I climbed underneath and checked around and found the break line to the rear passenger tire had rusted through and was leaking.

I spent almost the entire day working on that. I had to take the whole line off from the back of the drum to the little junction block on top of the rear axle. Had to heat up the connectors to get them off, then bought a new line and put that on. It works, but now there's air in the line and I'm going to have to bleed the back breaks to get it out.

Only problem is the bleeder screws are as rusted as the other ones so I'm going to have to heat those up, wrench them off (carefully) and replace them with new ones. As for getting vacuum to the front axle I'm still trying to figure out how to do that myself. I have read the other posts here, but this is my first truck so a lot of what's been said is like Greek to me.

I don't have the money to take it into a shop so I'm trying to do as much as I can by myself. However, you're probably right about the ABS; I will need a mechanic to help me diagnose that.

 

Well, I just learned that I should not heat up the bleeder screws, which means I'm going to need to replace that whole section back there that has them. Does anyone here know of a step-by-step or video maybe of how to take replace the wheel cylinders? He said I could get these for like ten bucks apiece. Are these really hard to replace? I'm just wondering what all is involved in replacing them.

Nevermind: I found one in this forum.

Unfortunately, with no jack and no place to put the rear end up I'm not sure when I'll be able to fix this. I can still drive if I'm careful and pump the brakes before stopping.

 

Wheel cylinders aren't too bad...... and generally, if the bleeders are frozen, you might just as well replace them anyway..... (they almost always break.)

What year is your truck? If you are 99 or older, 'upgrading' to GM 1-ton wheel cylinders doesn't cost much more, and makes your rear brakes more effective. (gotta replace both sides... which is probably going to need to happen anyway.....)

Wouldn't surprise me in the least if you didn't end up having to replace the line on the other side as well....

Take a good hard look at the main line running to the rear. That is usually the one that blows.

 

Yep, my thoughts exactly—I might as well replace the break line on the other side while I'm doing this. At least it's shorter and I won't have to be a contortionist to bend it around everything like I had to with the other one. I'm going to have to WD-40 those bolts holding the wheel cylinders in place and use a wire brush to get the majority of the rust off them, too.

I'm hoping those bolts will be easier to get off. It's a 1997 and there's a lot of rust down there. I wasn't aware of how much until I spent some time under there the other day looking at everything. I can tell my rear shocks are going to need replacing soon also. Aiye...

Now to locate a jack and figure out where to do this. Right now it's sitting in my yard (we don't have a cement driveway). I do have some pieces of plywood I could sit under the jack. Not sure if that would work or not, but it's my only option at the moment. I'm dreading looking inside the drums. Hopefully they're not too bad.

 

Don't bother with WD-40, get something that actually works, PB Blaster, Kroil, Freeze Off, etc. Or, make your own.... acetone, and ATF. 50/50 mix. Works good.

Your jack will punch thru plywood.... need something a bit more substantial than that...

 

Got the wheel cylinders, another new brake line (for the other side) and some PB-Blaster. I got one side jacked up and the wheel off, but that drum is like welded on there or something. I've sprayed it with Blaster and been hammering at it, but it won't budge.

Any suggestions?

Update: I've been at it for almost two hours and those things just aren't budging. I'm going to have to take it to the shop for this as well, because I can't get those drums off. Sigh...oh well, at least I already bought the parts.

 

i saw ur pics and it looks like your just got alot of rust on there man. the drums take a good whack to get them to break loose. u need like a 5lb. sledge to give it a good hit. should break right loose after 3 hits or so but in ur case it might take a little extra. once u get them off you will be able to see the wheel cylinder back there. then its just R & R from there and bleed them... dont give up man, just spray it down, big hammer, and if it dont break free, let it sit over night with the pb blaster on there u will get it trust me. also try hittin it real good all the way around, not just in one spot.

 

You have the pictures showing the vac connections on the axle and the tcase. These are the places to test if vac is occurring at them. Cruise check is good and tells you vac is good up top. There is a check valve b/t the intake manifold and down to the axle and tcase. I think you should still test the axle and tcase just so you know if the lines still have integrity or not.


Your first picture here shows the black and red lines going into a rubber tee/grommet. That is what I referred to previously. You can remove that and feel for what side is pulling vac...or not.

The 2nd picture is the connection at the tcase.




Your drums are probably so worn that the pads are pushed into them. This makes them not clear the backing plate. Does it sort of jiggle at least? Did you run the adjuster all the way down?

On the inboard side, same as getting to the bleeder, look at the 6 oclock position to find a horizontal slot. Sometimes there is a rubber grommet there to keep crap out. Pull that out with a screw driver. You then use the screw driver to insert and find the star wheel inside. It's a major PITA and best to have the entire wheel off and have a flashlight. You have to turn that wheel adjuster so much to pull the pads back for clearance. The drum is just hitting them.

I'm suggesting this b/c you already said you've way-layed on it pretty good, which typically will break loose the crud in combination with PB or similar.

 

Hey Whit, thanks for pointing those out in my pictures. I knew I took those things for a reason, lol. I took the parts back to store. I figured why have them if I can't use them. I did find that adjuster slot on the back of the wheel drum and I turned it quite a few times, but the drums still wouldn't budge. I've been sick as a dog these last few days and working on that truck felt like wading through painful sludge. I figure I'll leave it for some mechanic to take care of.

When I got everything put back together and pulled out of the driveway to go back to the parts store I could hear that rear drum brake make a big screeching/clunking sound. That was the only time it did that. I'm pretty sure it's going to cost me a few bucks to have all four brakes taken care of. After spending all this time face to face with my rusty undercarriage I think this is the last time I'm going to put any money into the old boy. It pains me to say it, but I think after I get the breaks fixed I'll just put him up for sale and try to find another truck that isn't as worn out.