RAWL Actuator Mystery

[SwiftRunner]

After a day out on the reservation and rough riding, I left the 4runner in the garage. A couple of days later I noticed a developing puddle on the floor and strange leak from the front passenger side of my '94. I took the new battery out after inspecting it. No leaks there. Then I took a good gander at my RAWL Actuator. At first I thought the leak was brake fluid, then I wondered if it were PS fluid, but both reservoirs were full. Now I wonder if one may have been over filled. Whatever, the actuator was covered with this rather ugly, alien, light grey crud. Moist and spongy I wondered if it were alive. This didn't seem to have anything to do with the leaking fluid which did a great job of cleaning the rust off of the iron parts it touched but showed no reaction to the blob. Once I killed it and everything was wiped clean, I have not seen any leaking, but I still have to put the battery back into the SUV and run it. In plain English, what do I have?

 

[Bad_Vision]

the old dodge term of the RAWL does not really apply for this unit.
its actually call the load sensing proportioning and bypass valve.
as for your creature from the black lagoon thing i have a theory
a small pin hole leak + boiling or really hot brake fluid + air = foam
when brake fluid is boiled it brakes down to the basics its polyethylene glycol will re mane when the other chemicals burn off.
polyethylene glycol is as we all know the same as carobo wax. so you have a small pinhole and when your brakes get warm they spray out this nice turtle wax the fact that its a small hole is what turns it into foam.

this segment of useless facts bad vision knows because he spends all day in front of a 4runner and a computer was brought to you buy elmers glue nothing sticks those nasal cavities better!!!

 

[SwiftRunner]

Bad Vision, you are wrong. However, to finish this off, I found a leak in the Battery. It was dripping on the ACTUATOR. Going off road, the new battery which wasn't properly secured and hasn't been for years (previous owners lost the stock bolt) was thrown into the pulley wheel of the PS pump. Being a plastic housing it wore down. Auto Zone gave me a new battery replacement which I am going to bolt down.

 

[Bad_Vision]

rwal was a dodge brake controller in the rear of 1 ton trucks.
my mistake thought we were talking back of the truck when i read RAWL

 

[SwiftRunner]

No problem. As I titled the thread, this hydraulic system has been a foreign mystery to me, too. Does anyone know how the PS fluid regulates the brake fluid pressure. What kind of PS fluid do you fellas use? Will a generic do? Finally, the standard Auto Zone size battery just doesn't fit right so I have had to work hard to make sure it's securely fixed.

 

[Bad_Vision]

Umm the only system that i know of that uses the PS fluid for brakes is diesel.