Lost brakes while driving!

[Alaskan Itasca]

Ah no problem its all relevent when related to motor home madness.

My patest issue is my brakes decide to almost not work monday coming baci from Seward after a long weekend.  Sometouristsnwere liningboth sides of the highway looking wt some Dhall sheep hanging out near the road, which caused other tourists to then park in the highway and stare. I round the bend at 55 and am greeted by brake lights. I stomp onnthe brakes stuff is sliding forward and the pedal goes to the floor. I use all my might and stand on tye pedal and manage to stop with 10 feet to spare. I get home about 20 mins later and the back right brake is smoking and filling up the rv with smoke as well.

Thanks to the brake thread I figured out where the brake fluid goes and check it (i was able to fill it from the dog house opening with my cool flexible funnel with an on/off valve so I could control the fill. ) anyway the front chamber was nearly empty and it looked like mud. I got an appontmrnt at a shop to have them checked out and replaced, and whatever lewks they find fixed. I have another trip planned saturday and have friends arriving from Arizona to go fishing later today. They say it can fixed by Friday, maybe. The pedel came back to normal after a mile of driving on jy way to the shop....I hope this isn't as expensive as the last problem.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

You should have rear disk brakes on that rig, so don't let them charge you too much!  The calipers are easy to replace (you probably have a stuck piston which you can free up with a big C clamp...it can happen when you let the brake pads get too thin and you stomp on the pedal, especially when the calipers are old.  There might be a little bit of corrosion that causes a ring that can bind the piston.  Best option is to replace the caliper, but it can be put back into service with a C clamp...you'll just have to remember to replace the brake pads at about 1/2 their thickness from then on.  From the smoking you were getting, that is what it sounds like to me.)

Also, the rotors on the P30 chassis are nearly indestructible, so don't let them con you into replacing those too, unless they are way out of spec, and then demand proof that they are out of spec!  And finally, no, you do NOT have to replace both rear calipers if only one bound up!  You only have to replace the one that got stuck...although you should replace the pads on both sides while you are at it...and if the ones in front are getting thin, replace those as well. 

Then bleed the system. 

Kev

[Mytdawg]

Something else to be aware of...  It's been explained to me that the flexible lines that lead to the calipers from the brake lines are actually 2 lines, an inner and outer.  When the flex line starts to go bad sometimes the fluid will not return from the calipers as fast as it should which has a tendency to lock the caliper or make it drag.  So sometimes what appears to be a bad caliper is actually a bad flex line.  A good mechanic has a way of determining which it is.  I can't remember what mine did after he explained it but it was a flex line.

This was on a car, not a motorhome.  I would imagine it uses the same concept.

[Mytdawg]

Oops, computer hit the wrong button...   W%

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

It's been explained to me that the flexible lines that lead to the calipers from the brake lines are actually 2 lines, an inner and outer.

Inner section breaks loose and acts like a one way flapper valve.  When you let off the brake pedal the flapper prevents the fluid from returning to the MC.

  There are 3 possible brake configurations and I read threads about all 3 possibilities
JB7 - Vacuum booster with Front Disk/Rear Drum
JB8 - Hydroboost Booster with Front Disk/Rear Drum
JF9 - Hydroboost Booster with 4 Wheel Disk

NAPA carries most all parts for this so you should not have a parts problem.

Dave

[Alaskan Itasca]

Well there were lots of problems. The master is leaking, the front calipers are siezed up, the rears were shot as well the seals on the caliper were bad. There is a leak on the right axle seal, and the shop in Tok forgot to put the heat shield back on the right side exhaust and 4 of my new plug wires are melted....the rotors are fine they are turning them. They will flush the system, replace the master, all 4 calipers and fix the bad seal. My wife is now mad at me because the money pit is draining the bank account. Had I not had just picked up my out of state friends from the airport who are coming here to go fishing on a trip a year in planning  I would have taken my time and fixed this myself  for 1/2 as much. My wife is at the point where she is done with spending money on the rig. I may have to sleep in it for a while ill be gone a week....I still need a spare tire. Im afraid to ask right now....

[lngfish]

When it rain it pours I guess. Well atleast you will be safer now. Make sure they put never seize on the calipers where they float. They free float and U need never seize on the parts that float or they may bind again.

[Mytdawg]

My sympathies guy.  As someone that's had a lot of mechanical breakdowns and even more marital breakdowns, I feel for you.  I got so used to the couch that I still sleep there.  And she left in 2008...   

[Alaskan Itasca]

Well it's fixed and it stops great now. The fronts were basically not working before. They gave me a $250.00 cash discount so my wife is less upset with the cost.  My friends from Arizona are here the rv is now loaded. The chest freezer is on the back the dipnet is on the roof. The poles are loaded and we are ready to go kill a few salmon next week. It was even 75 degrees today, good weather for fishing.

I thnk he melted wires were the reason for no power, so now my go and jy stop is fixed Im ready t hit the road.

[lngfish]

Looks beautiful there. I like the $250 cash discount deal! Have fun !!

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sounds like those mechanics did good by you.  Glad they didn't try to hit you up for new rotors!  They aren't super expensive, but it all adds up! 

Kev

[Alaskan Itasca]

I did end up with 4 new calipers. The rear ones ended up being shot once they dug into it. Im sitting on a pullout near the funny river overlooking the Kenai river waiting for fish to arrive. The brakes worked well. The insulator socks on the plug wires not so much. I melted off another set of plug wires. So fortunately my friends were in the car so we ran 50 miles fo seward to get more wires. I asked the counter guy if there were any junk yards open on saturday and he rattled off a few and a guy at the next registered piped up and said that's me ahat yoh need? So I say heat shields for a 454. He says I have two rvs with 454s...so we go out and he has the shields. I'm sfanding in a ruined pace arrow marveling at a wrecked rv and look up and see the pull down bed frame. I got my shields and a pull down bed frame for $50.00. I found the only rv in a junk yard in Alaska I think.... I'll need to rebuild the wood part of the pull down.

Anyway plugs now don't melt, the rv stops, and I finally found a pull down bed. Now I need a few dozen salmon and the week can end good.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Oops!  My bad.  I meant rotors!

Kev

[Froggy1936]

Well a happy ending to an episode of Ill Never Get it all Done club At least the two major repairs are ones that you may never have to do again . (at least not in the next 100K mi,s) They are not everyday occurances . Keep the oil changed and the fluids full and clean and you should be only having to deal with roof leaks and wireing failures  Good Luck Fishing Frank

[Alaskan Itasca]

Well I got 32 red salmon in two days. Nnow the I have no propane. I got a leak in a line with a fitting I can't buy here...it seems to never end. Now I get to drive it all h9me tomorrow and hope it holds together.

[4winds]

Well I got 32 red salmon in two days. Nnow the I have no propane. I got a leak in a line with a fitting I can't buy here...it seems to never end. Now I get to drive it all h9me tomorrow and hope it holds together.

Envy doesn't begin to describe the feelings of someone getting to fish for salmon.

[tiinytina]

Just reading post.. yea had brakes go to floor in traffic one afternoon... pumped the pedal like crazy and finally stopped about 2" from the tractor trailer in front of me.. inched off road.. no leaks.. the Hydroboost had boiled the fluid... which then lead to a total brake job.  Not fun but well worth it.

Tina

[serenitygirl64]

When it comes  to the brake system on any vehicle it is so much cheaper for you to do the repairs yourself. Providing you do know what you are doing.   I drove out to Texas only to have my master cylinder go out.   Thank god for a working emergency brake.  A collapsing brake line does happen but rare, usually it is other causes.  I seen the your MC was leaking.  Your muddy look in the MC was due to break down of seals inside and contaminates in the brake system.  Your brakes are fixed and far easier for you to maintain and up keep.  Happy Trails and Safe braking.

[Alaskan Itasca]

I normally would tackle the job myself but I had 4 days between the sister in law trip and my fishing trip. So I opted to let a shop handle it in a day.

[Oz]

Boy, I know what you mean.  Sometimes, it's just a matter of time constraint and honestly, sometimes it seems worth it to pay the piper rather than go through the effort and (at times) frustration... as long as they get it right the first time.

[serenitygirl64]

Correct Mark... Brakes are one of the most important systems on any vehicle.... It does not matter if everything else is good running order, you don't want to move without the ability to stop!!!!!  Brakes are often looked over and given a pad slap without looking at the condition of the pads to tell you whether you have other problems occurring.  A well maintained Brake system is important and should be done by someone who DOES KNOW the brake system very well or quailified mechanic that you can trust.

[treeman]

my 89 winne front brake froze up, it was the flex line. 

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

 There are 3 possible brake configurations and I read threads about all 3 possibilities
JB7 - Vacuum booster with Front Disk/Rear Drum
JB8 - Hydroboost Booster with Front Disk/Rear Drum
JF9 - Hydroboost Booster with 4 Wheel Disk

NAPA carries most all parts