cb2big4u Posted November 2, 2012 Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 So I have been driving around for quite some time now and I constantly have to add brake fluid to the reservoir. I had about a pint a month so it is fairly slow but I think I need to solve this before it becomes a bigger issue. Like not having any brakes one day. I see a small drip on the power steering lines under the truck but I can't get up in there far enough to trace it any further. Anyone have any ideas on where this drip can be coming from that lands on the power steering lines right under the unit on the motor? Thanks! Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detjoe Posted November 3, 2012 Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 My lines gave out while driving and I was lucky to not hit anyone, I would try to figure it out. I bet its the Vaccume boost if its leaking but you dont see fluid. See if there is fluid in the booster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb2big4u Posted November 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 Ty. I will check that first thing this morning. Hopefully that would be it. I really want to just fix it. Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb2big4u Posted November 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 Checked it out thks morning. Does.t seem like its the booster. But there was still a drip coming off of my power steering pump. I'm stumped. I don't know where it can be coming from to be dripping on the power steering pump. I have degreased the motor twice trying to get away anything so maybe I could trace it down with no luck. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_aSSet Posted November 3, 2012 Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 Could be traveling down to the pump from somewhere follow the stream Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb2big4u Posted November 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 So I think I have two issues on hand. I'm getting oil on the bottom of the motor. I am pretty close to positive now that its not brake fluid. Degreased the bottom of the motor today. Am going to wait till tomorrow to see if I can figure out where if I do have an oil leak. No other fluid has seemed to go down except for brakes. What makes me think its oil is no brake lines run by the motor close enough to drip onto it. And....I still have the brake fluid going down every so often. Looking at my calipers I see that the boots that go around the piston are just all cracked to hell making it just look split. I wonder if that would allow the fluid to leak out. Also tried to trace this around and all the lines look great. Connections also. I thought this would be easy but I was wrong... Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman31 Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Just a stab in the dark here, it sounds like your engine oil cooler lines may be leaking, the crimp fittings on them are known to leak. Check the fittings to see if there are any drips of oil on them. My SSS is on her second set.... You need to go over the entire brake system in order to find that leak. It could be as simple as a cracked rubber brake hose, or something a bit more complicated like a rotted steel brake line, leaking wheel cylinder in the rear, or a leaky caliper. This isn't something to fool around with, you should do something about it soon before you are left with a complete brake system failure while you are driving..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb2big4u Posted November 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Thank you fireman. This is the kind of things I was looking to hear. I will check out the fittings to the oil cooler and see what's up. As far as the brakes, I'm almost tempted to just take it to someone because I can't seem to find what the problem is. I've tried to trace every line from cylinder to wheel with no luck. I have not opened my drums on the rear to see if it could be something in there. I don't even know if it could leak in the drum but that could be a reason I can't seem to find it. Work in progress... Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downeast Johnny Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 With drum brakes the wheel cylinder is in the drum and it is common for the wheel cylinder to develop minor leaks that may not show outside of the drum. You will have to remove a drum and maybe even remove the boots from the ends of the wheel cylinder in order to see the leaking fluid. Even then it may not look like more than just moist dust. As to your question about the cracked boots around the caliper pistons; No those boots do not seal in brake fluid. They are there to keep dirt out of the piston cylinder from the outside. Their torn up condition would indicate, to me, that your calipers are due for some love. If it was me, (and I couldn't find any other place where the fluid is coming from), I would consider taking the mounting nuts off the master cylinder and seeing if I could pull it away from the power booster enough to see if fluid is leaking out of the back of the master cylinder. (The brake lines attached to the master cyl. may be too stiff to allow this so be careful how much force you use.) Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb2big4u Posted November 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) Ty downeast. So I seafoamed the intake manifold today since reading about catch cans. Gonna buy one of those soon also. Figured I would peak back under the motor to see if anything was there. Low and behold the same drip. To me it looked like it was coming out of the bottom pulley (crank pulley?). And it has been spinning it around shooting it over to the power steering pump. Has anyone ever heard of oil leaking from that. I'm starting to get worried the more I look into it. Here's a vid of how it all looks. Mind you, I just degreassed bottom of motor a couple days ago and it was very pretty. http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid656.photobucket.com/albums/uu284/cb2big4u/VIDEO0009.mp4 http://s656.photobucket.com/albums/uu284/cb2big4u/?action=view¤t=VIDEO0009.mp4 Edited November 6, 2012 by TampaVmax (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdavid0412 Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 Typical signs of brake caliper/wheel cyl leaks are excessive oil on the inside of the rims, keep in mind the rear drums will soak up a little bit of fluid in the pads. If I were you to isolate the brake line leak is for you or someone to sit in the truck while running and hold a steady pressure on the brake pedal and see if the pedal slowly fades to the floor. That should be the easiest way to find the leak. I can't see any pictures from work so I cant help with the oil leak unless you describe it better. But for starters you always want to find the highest point on the engine where you see residual fresh oil. You also need to take into consideration, gravety and the wind blowing through your engine bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb2big4u Posted November 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2012 Ty guys. I will be checking the drums this tomorrow and I hope I can solve the problem. I've never done drum brakes before but it couldnt be to hard. As far as my oil leak. Has anyone ever heard of the front crank seal leaking? Is it a challenge to replace and what is needed? Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blown 346 Posted November 9, 2012 Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 Pretty common for the front seal to leak. its not really that hard to replace. You have to remove the water pump to get to the front cover and thats about it. Make sure to re RTV the tabs on the front cover, and buy a new Crank bolt as they are torque to yeild and are one time use only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb2big4u Posted November 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 You the man. Glad I could figure this out. Now to fix all this. Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb2big4u Posted November 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Just replaced the brake calipers, pads, and wheel cylinders. I tried to bleed the brakes and they bleed fine. They still feel a little squishy and I've tried bleeding them 4 times already. Also when I bleed the brakes with the truck running after multiple pumps I start to see a lot of smoke out of the exhaust. My thoughts are that the brake fluid is somehow getting sucked into the vacuum. Could this be causing my brakes to be squishy? Am I suppose to do it differently? If I get smoke out of the exhaust that means the fluid is leaking into the brake booster? Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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