No Brakes!!! Dangerous ride home.

[movietvet]

Was the park brake working?

 

[Erik the Awful]

Ya know, PM schedules eliminate alot of this nonsense, an oil change is not a 5,10 20, 150k, etc. service. Supposed to inspect this stuff at intervals. No gold stars next to his name for this.

There's plenty of stuff "you should do...". There might be a few people on this board who perform a full inspection on their vehicle every year, but I doubt it. We typically wait for symptoms. That's how 99.99% of motorists operate.

The only vehicle I do a thorough inspection on is the race car. We have checklists to run through before every race. We're trying to develop a good time change spreadsheet so we can replace at-risk parts before they break.

Maybe if I had a lift I'd do thorough inspections at every oil change, but I still probably wouldn't tear into the drums to inspect just because. When I did used car inspections at the dealership, I didn't disassemble stuff.

But, yeah, in a perfect world we would.

 

[Caman96]

I do at least a couple times a year during tire rotations. How hard is it to pull a drum off? I see plenty of nice trucks on this forum with owners who maintain them properly.

 

[DerekTheGreat]

I check fluids and underneath my cars at every oil change. I check the brakes, ball joints, axle seals and such every 10k. As for my K1500, I've got those "crappy" duo servo rear brakes. I can always tell when they need to be adjusted by pedal feel- too much travel means it's time to pop the drums off and adjust. Did that just the other day, amazed at how I got used to so much slop and extra pedal effort over the past 5k or so miles. EDIT: I'm looking for a 14 bolt SF axle to swap in, but I'm afraid that'll make me have to upgrade the front brakes to match. A 10 bolt from a Suburban or such might be a safer bet against rear lock-up.

 

[movietvet]

I would bet $ that the rear brakes did show signs of leakage, on the OP's truck, before this happened. He said he looked under and saw no leaks but I would bet there are stains at bottom of the backing plate from the brake fluid seepage. That is very common. I could be wrong but if you know what to look for, it is usually there.

 

[movietvet]

There's plenty of stuff "you should do...". There might be a few people on this board who perform a full inspection on their vehicle every year, but I doubt it. We typically wait for symptoms. That's how 99.99% of motorists operate.

The only vehicle I do a thorough inspection on is the race car. We have checklists to run through before every race. We're trying to develop a good time change spreadsheet so we can replace at-risk parts before they break.

Maybe if I had a lift I'd do thorough inspections at every oil change, but I still probably wouldn't tear into the drums to inspect just because. When I did used car inspections at the dealership, I didn't disassemble stuff.

But, yeah, in a perfect world we would.

When you say "We typically wait", that means you as well, correct. I completely disagree with your 99.99% assignment of who plans ahead. So many forums are full of people that learn not to wait for breakage. In my signature, it says "maintenance pays and breakdowns cost". I have seen a few race car drivers that wait for breakage, but most don't. Surely, the majority do wait for breakage because they have other more important things to them to spend money on. But, 99.99% is a bunch of an exaggeration. I learned over the years to pay attention to my vehicles and that came from my dad teaching me and years in shops and seeing when the owner did not pay attention. At 71, I would love a lift, but ramps and floor jack and mechanic's chair are my friends and in less than 1 hour I can get my rigs in the air and go from front to back and inspect, even at 71.

Gotta put the effort in. Just like the lazy college fees whiners that have a debt but want someone else to pay, like taxpayers. They want something for nothing. If you are gonna drive a vehicle, you OWE it to yourself to be proactive and safe on the roads around other people, besides just your family.

 

[DerekTheGreat]

I would bet $ that the rear brakes did show signs of leakage, on the OP's truck, before this happened. He said he looked under and saw no leaks but I would bet there are stains at bottom of the backing plate from the brake fluid seepage. That is very common. I could be wrong but if you know what to look for, it is usually there.

Yep. Last time I slid the drums off to adjust my brakes, I caught a leaky axle seal. Hadn't leaked enough to get the backing plate or shoes all grimy. But if all I looked at was the backing plate or drum, I'd have thought it was dry & ok.

 

[Scooterwrench]

Was the park brake working?

Good point! I keep a pair a small needle nosed vise grips behind the seat to hold the parking brake release handle up for just such occasions. Turns the parking brake into an emergency brake.

 

[Hipster]

There's plenty of stuff "you should do...". There might be a few people on this board who perform a full inspection on their vehicle every year, but I doubt it. We typically wait for symptoms. That's how 99.99% of motorists operate.

The only vehicle I do a thorough inspection on is the race car. We have checklists to run through before every race. We're trying to develop a good time change spreadsheet so we can replace at-risk parts before they break.

Maybe if I had a lift I'd do thorough inspections at every oil change, but I still probably wouldn't tear into the drums to inspect just because. When I did used car inspections at the dealership, I didn't disassemble stuff.

But, yeah, in a perfect world we would.

Holy F*k, inspections are part of PM procedures, no you don't inspect everything at every oil change but someone such as yourself that proclaims to have been a dealer service tech should know this unless you were no more than the "lube guy". This comment of yours is almost as bad as when you said dealer service tech's dismantle lower ends and send them out for machine work for rebuilds.

*edit* I will always error on the side of safety.. even more so when others do dumbshyt that puts others on the road at risk....every single time... 30 years in collision shops, I've seen the horrors that stupidity brings with it and don't really care if people get butthurt when I say it. In the end it's it protects people like you from others. people end up dead from this / Regurgitating dumbshyt and "quick fixes" because you heard it on you rubetube? Dealer trained or certified??

 

[Hipster]

Holy F*k, inspections are part of PM procedures, no you don't inspect everything at every oil change but someone such as yourself that proclaims to have been a dealer service tech should know this unless you were no more than the "lube guy". This comment of yours is almost as bad as when you said dealer service tech's dismantle lower ends and send them out for machine work for rebuilds.

*edit* I will always error on the side of safety.. even more so when others do dumbshyt that puts others on the road at risk....every single time... 30 years in collision shops, I've seen the horrors that stupidity brings with it and don't really care if people get butthurt when I say it. In the end it's it protects people like you from others. people end up dead from this / Regurgitating dumbshyt and "quick fixes" because you heard it on you rube? Dealer trained or certified??

maybe I'm looking a it wrong, but did this self proclaimed expert suggest people drive their shyt till it falls apart going down the highway before addressing or looking at it?