my friend just left my house after visiting on her roadtrip and made it only about 20 miles away up the mountain (i live in arizona) she and her kid hitchhiked back and we are now going back out to try and figure out the problem

here's the info I have so far, will update:


1985 toyota 4runner

going down hill, extreme grinding sound

she would stop accelerating and then it would whine loudly

but when she came out of gear all the bad sounds would stop

but then she would lose power to Steering AND brakes

but like intermittently or like flickering in and out

but she was still able to downshift and did not stall

still running, still has electric, but couldn't keep driving without the brakes.




I'm confused because AFAIK the power and brakes should be completely independent systems although I did read that maybe the ABS uses power from the steering on some models?

all tips welcome hoping to avoid a long delay and mechanic visit.

Thanks!