Help! Fluid leaking from passenger side rear brake drum.

[JGrefenstette]

I was checking my tire pressure today and noticed that the passenger side rear brake drum housing, was wet. i touched it and sure enough i got dirty oil on my finger. the inside of my wheel is lightly coated with it too, wich makes me think its either done this for a while or just started and its comming out fast.



questions:



Is this brake fluid or could it be from the axle/differential?



The brake fluid level in my resivoir was bout an inch from the top, is that normal? too high? too low?



what could have gone bad, or caused a leak like this?



since its in the rear and not in the front near rotors or pads that do most of my braking, how concerned should i be?

 

[KOG]

If it's thick, look for an axle seal. If it's thin, look for a wheel cylinder. In either case you're going to be pulling the drum.

 

[JGrefenstette]

where would i look to find the wheel cylinder?

i asume that has to do with the braking part of the drum?



i think the oil was more on the thin side, hard to tell for sure though.

 

[JGrefenstette]

if i have a back wheel cylinder how safe am i to keep driving it? if i have a bad axle seal, how safe and i to keep driving???

 

[rumblefish]

A wheel cylinder isn't too bad to chagne. The worst part is that you have to remove the drum. You will need a 2 9/16" rounded corner socket. Napa carries them, I might be able to get a part number off mine. The good news is that you do not need to tear apart the springs and levers and all that junk that they call drum brakes. I hate drum brakes with a passion, and I didn't think it was bad.



If it's a seal, you still need to remove the drum. Peel the old one out and drive the new one in. It can be a bit tricky to get it squared up though.



It is never safe to drive if you are leaking brake fluid. If the diff is leaking, keep a close eye on the oil level. I wouldn't drive it more than I had to, especially after having to find a replacement Dana 70 for my early 91. They are not cheap or easy to find. Either way, if you brake shoes are wet, then plan on doing rear brakes as well. Fluid on the shoes will make them grabby.

 

[bgilbert]

Fluid on the shoes will make them grabby.

Ain't that the truth. My 91 is leaking brake fluid, right rear, on the shoes. I've been driving it this way for about a month or so. Just here last night it's starting to get GRABBY.

 

[JGrefenstette]

well i checked the brake fluid resivoir and it was down about an inch or more, the service manual says it should be 1/4 inch. i am pretty sure its a seal in the wheel cylinder. since i cant wait till this saturday to do it myself im going to take it to a guy who works mainly on the dodge cummins. hes a good guy and nows his stuff. im getting two new wheel cylinders and axle seals tonight, and hopefully ill beable to grab some shoes after work tomaro. im droping the truck of wednesday night and he said hed have her done by thursday afternoon. he quoted me $260 labor for replacing the cylinders, shoes, and seals. compaired to the other quotes i got it seams like a good deal. one shop wanted $725 to do the same thing, except the would use their parts, but still, thats way more than i wanna give.



the guy im taking it to said that i might need my drums turned, and possible need new braked lines if they dont come off the cylinder.

hopefully all will go smoothly and she'll be back on the road by thursday.

 

[Bluebird]

Do you have the time to go over and watch while they do the work? When I first got my rig I had a leaking axle seal-smells just like gear oil, mmmm, tasty. I bought the parts and a club member, Dodge dealer mechanic did the work at his house so I could watch and learn. I did the other side myself later. Just my $. 02. You'll learn a lot around TDR but meeting members is priceless. Patrick.

 

[JGrefenstette]

i really wish i did. but the reason im not doing it myself, (along with the service manual), is because of my schedual. im dropping it off after work tomaro afternoon, then picking it up the next day on my way home. my shop hours at work are the same as the hours his garage it open. so im out of luck in that sense. i have a feeling with this truck, there will be plenty of other learning experiences, weather i plan on them or not. :-laf they tend to show up just when i dont want them too. that one saturday that you have nothing to do, your truck runs like a dream. then the next saturday when you have a wedding to go to and countless other chores, you truck decides to die on you. thats just the way it works.

 

[JGrefenstette]

got my truck back today. on the way home, i stoped at a light and a cloud of white smoke blew past the cab, and i started to smell some nasty burning, i think it was gear oil. i pulled over at the next turn off and the smoke was litterally pouring off my rear passenger brake drum. smelled terrible. i touched it burnt the mess out of my three fingers. i new there was a problem. i took it back, he checked the shoes and they wernt dragging to much he said. he thought the axle seal might have been leaking a little but wasnt sure, he pulled the drum off and checked every thing, said it all looked ok. he backed off the star wheel a good bit and put it back together. i drove it home and all was ok... when i parked i put the e-brake on and it did almost nothing, i think he loosened the shoes too much. i imagine that they where to tight in the begining and where causeing the drum to over heat.



im taking it back in monday and getting the mechanic who did it to look it over and re-adjust every thing.



when they got into the drum they called me and told me that i needed knew wheel bearings and that they had to make a new brake line for the rear passenger side wheel. they also told me that even though the sticker under my hood said 2 1/2 inch shoes, they measured em and they where 3 inch, so the 30 dollar shoes i provided for him wouldent work, so he put on his pair of 3 inchers at 80 bucks. my bill went from 260 to 535, and when it started smoked on the drive home i was a little unsettled.

 

[bgilbert]

Don't take this the wrong way, but it's tough to own an old beater truck (1st gen Dodge Cummins) and not do your own work. Unless your rich and can afford big repair bills.

 

[JGrefenstette]

oh i know. trust me. thats why ive done every thing myself up untill this point. and plan to continue doing it. i just didnt have the time for this one. since im going to diesel school i think ill get it in the shop there quite a bit.