Sticking Brake, Heat, and Black Gunk/Grease in drum. Blown seal?

[OldManKamps]

Hey guys, so the other day, my left side drum was sticking hard and I popped off the drum with a tonne of effort and found all sorts of black gunk baked into the drum and on the shoes and whatnot. I assumed that since my brakes got so hot, my shoes were melting but doing a bit more research shows that it might be a failing seal. I don't have any oil on my tire.

Am I screwed? Do I need to replace my seal? What is the easiest way to diagnose for sure?

How long do I have before I have to replace it?

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[Buckaroo]

Hey guys, so the other day, my left side drum was sticking hard and I popped off the drum with a tonne of effort and found all sorts of black gunk baked into the drum and on the shoes and whatnot. I assumed that since my brakes got so hot, my shoes were melting but doing a bit more research shows that it might be a failing seal. I don't have any oil on my tire.

Am I screwed? Do I need to replace my seal? What is the easiest way to diagnose for sure?

How long do I have before I have to replace it?

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Brake shoes don't melt. Yes - it sounds like your rear axle seal has failed and gear oil has leaked onto the brakes. It leaves a greasy sludge on the drums and the shoes which may have baked on a bit. Things you need to do:

1. Check gear oil level in rear diff and add as needed (now). Low level can cause diff bearings to fail over time, particularly pinion bearing.
2. Check breather on top of diff to make sure it is clear.
3. Replace axle seals on both sides. You may also want to replace the axle bearings while you are in there but that is more complicated. If the axle bearings are bad, however, they can cause the new seals to leak again.
4. Clean drum and rear brake components using Brake Clean and replace brake shoes on both sides....once they are saturated with oil, there is no cleaning them.
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The diagnosis is a visual inspection (grease on the brake components). The brake performance is degraded which is never a good thing. Likely you still have most of your brake function but it is difficult to say how much - suggest you replace as soon as you can get to it.

Good Luck,

Buckaroo

 

[JayRolla]

Hey guys, so the other day, my left side drum was sticking hard and I popped off the drum with a tonne of effort and found all sorts of black gunk baked into the drum and on the shoes and whatnot. I assumed that since my brakes got so hot, my shoes were melting but doing a bit more research shows that it might be a failing seal. I don't have any oil on my tire.

Am I screwed? Do I need to replace my seal? What is the easiest way to diagnose for sure?

How long do I have before I have to replace it?

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...e-information-replacement-thread-3rd-gen.html

 

[catrains]

the lock up of the drum brakes when braking normally indicates gear oil on the shoes.

this is usually from not changing and checking the diff gear oil for condition and level. a low level will effect these bearings along with contaminated oil.

being this old it is possible since it is a small leak the breather is corroded and plugged. I would replace breather change the diff oil. clean up the drum/shoes using a solvent. remove shoes when you clean up the gear oil ..keep solvents from any rubber/seals.. see if its ok after you operate the vehicle. these breathers do go bad when old.

 

[JBurt]

Probably seals, but it couldalso be brake fluid. Look though the abs snake and check for gear oil.