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No Breaks!! almost died

M

mrbill

1/2 ton status
Joined
Jul 1, 2003
Posts
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Location
Sugar City, Idaho
Was in So. Utah last week and drove down the Burr Trail out of Bolder Ut. to Lake Powell. Went down "Water pocket fold", a 1000 ft. drop in less than a mile. Switch backs like Lombard street on steroids. Got the bottom and started across the desert and NO BREAKS. Half mile earlier and I'd be dead.
So..... It's a stock 84' K5 10 bolt front and back. Everything was so hot it boiled water for a half an hour. Things worked fine after it cooled down but I don't want this to happen again. What sould I do?
 
...don't know about your brakes, but you could always put in a 4spd and downshift if there are problems... /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
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...don't know about your brakes, but you could always put in a 4spd and downshift if there are problems... /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

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You ever tried to get a rig that's going 30 mph into granny low?

/forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif
 
1) Downshifting is your friend
2) Brake fluid is hydroscopic (it absorbes water). The more moisture it absorbes the lower the boiling point gets.
3) At the very least buy some DOT 4 brake fluid and bleed your brakes till the fresh stuff comes out. I use a turkey baster to remove all the old stuff from the master cylinder, pour in the new stuff, and bleed away.
 
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You ever tried to get a rig that's going 30 mph into granny low?

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The point is on a hill that steep and twisty, never let get to 30! Stuff it into Granny (if you got it /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif) and let it crawl down.
 
I want to do that trail. I love the Capitol Reef area. Put your automatic tranny in 2nd or first gear and let the engine walk you down the hill.
 
I'd say that fluid is probably toast...from my experience once brake fluid boils once...the boiling point goes down dramatically....rent a power bleeder or borrow one and do it that way /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
i bet what happened was just from overheating. same thing happened to me when i was stuck in traffic coming down from the local mountain. after two hours of creeping downhill one carlength at a time i had no brakes at all. almost hit the car infront of me....going 1mph!
some things you can do is: replace pads with premium ones. stock style pads are crap when theyre hot. i like ceramic. bleeding the brakes and using dot 4 is not a good idea. you have to have a system that requires dot4 to use it. i forget why, but theres something different w/ it. i think its corrosive to parts.

when i did a disk brake swap on an old pickup the instructions said specifically why. anyhow, not a good idea.

you could bleed the system and put in fresh dot3. but the main problem is riding the brakes. much better to use lowrange and 1st or 2nd gear and just using the brakes sporadically when u have to. that and put the good pads and thats the best you can do.
 
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You ever tried to get a rig that's going 30 mph into granny low?

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The point is on a hill that steep and twisty, never let get to 30! Stuff it into Granny (if you got it /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif) and let it crawl down.

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I know, I was just asking. I have had to stuff it in granny going about 10 mph before. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

There's nothing different or special about DOT 4. DOT 5 is silicone based and very expensive--you don't want that. DOT 4 can go in a DOT 3 system without problems and the boiling point is slightly higher.

DO NOT use DOT 5 unless your vehicle calls for it.
 
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1) Downshifting is your friend
2) Brake fluid is hydroscopic (it absorbes water). The more moisture it absorbes the lower the boiling point gets.
3) At the very least buy some DOT 4 brake fluid and bleed your brakes till the fresh stuff comes out. I use a turkey baster to remove all the old stuff from the master cylinder, pour in the new stuff, and bleed away.

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sears has a nifty tool for that... bleeds brakes and is only 1 person.. has a hose, canister and a trigger.. you open the bleeder and just use the trigger until new fluid comes out.... dont forget to topp off as you do this or you will get air in there!!! only $25... /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
 
I went down in 1st and 2nd gear and still had to ride the breaks.... It's a slow crawl and a beautiful view (if you have breaks) see pic below.

I'm surprised no one suggested steal break lines? Wouldn't this help if things got to hot? I'll defiantly change my fluid, it could be 20yrs old.
You can’t help heating up the breaks but I just don’t want complete failure when the do get HOT.

14719discesa_verso_notom_road-med.jpg

I highly recommend the area for some great tails and rugged backcountry. It's not Moab obstacles but you won't find more desolate country!
 
Did you have your blazer in 4 lo? With an auto you aren't gonna get anything in 4 hi and low gear. BUt even in 4 lo there isn't much compression if you are going real slow.
 
just dug up those old instuctions i was referring to. i was wrong, dot 4 is ok, its dot 5 you dont want to use.tim was right, its the silicone in it. the company i bought the kit from wouldnt honor any warranty work if the was any presense of silicone in the system.
 
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I'm surprised no one suggested steal break lines? Wouldn't this help if things got to hot?

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i dont think steal brake lines would make a diffence. problem w/ rubber lines is they expand, usually when that happens the truck will pull to one side. steal lines prevent that, but doesnt keep your brakes from overheating.
 
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I'll defiantly change my fluid, it could be 20yrs old.

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Brake fluid should be changed every 1 to 2 years max. It changes color as it abosrbes moisture. I bet your fluid was black and not clear /forums/images/graemlins/shame.gif

Look on the back of the can for the "dry" and "wet" boiling temps. There is a HUGE difference between them!
 
I just swapped the rear to disc on my 72. The fluid was black as tar. I did a gravity bleed on all four brakes with dot 4.

Gravity bleed is when you take the top of the master and open the bleed screw. fluid will drain out the valve (with a hose running to a jar). Keep the master topped off, and keep it going until it runs clear fluid. tap on the cylinder to get all air out.
 
Hey you guys are great. Thanks for all the suggestions. Putting in Dot4 as we speak /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif!
The rubber lines getting hot and expanding seems to me as a possable problem too. Hey anything to justify cool(no pun) junk to put on my rig. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
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