Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Noticed some fluid running down the back of the rear hubs on my newly aquired 1985 LBW 1.3lt Sierra.
Assumed it was the rear wheel cylinders leaking but was wrong.
Pulled the wheels off today and found the brakes full of diff oil.
I thought that growling from the rear end was normal for a LWB Suki - hey it's my first Zook!

Had the bearings pressed off and new bearing fitted, seals installed and a diff full of oil, all ok - the problem is the brakes.
You have to remove the lines to get the axels out and then bleed the brakes to get pedal back when re fitting it all.
I've bleed them like a vampire on a mission and they still pump up and feel spungy.
What am I doing wrong?
The driver's side doesn't have a bleeder - it is done from the passenger's side - is there a sequence to follow to get full and not spungy pedal back?

Thanks for you help.

Dave ><>

make sure your shoes are adjusted up properly.

Did you pump the pedal all the way to the floor when bleeding them?

sometimes the rear shoes can be just half worn, and that is enough for them not to work. What condition are the auto adjusters in?

The rear shoes are 80% worn - that must be it then.
I assumed the would adjust up and bleed ok even with little pad left.

Everything inside the drum is in pristine condition - been swimming in diff oil for quite some time I'd say.

Thanks for your help.

Can anyone recommend a brand of brake shoe - I've brought some cheap ones before that wore very quickly.

Dave ><>

I would have said to buy the cheapest, as they only wear out.
rear brakes only control 30% of the braking anyway.

Don,t know how you are bleeding them but when you do it agian get a length of fexi clear plastic tube that can be squeezed over the bleed NIPPLE ,(mmm) get a coke bottle and put the other end in the coke bottle. Then bleed a whole bottle of fluid though them ,in the normal way
with the tube in the coke bottle it won,t suck any air back accidentaly.
Larry.


Just as a matter of interest for anybody we got hold of one of those brake testers and tested my zook with 35s on it and it didn,t pass was using the hard bendix pads, Was a bit better with standard bendix ,
But passed no probs with the cheapest set i could find !

Yeah mine on standard brakes and 35's was

Pull the rear wheel cylinders out, put a G-Clamp on em and clamp them closed them try bleeding the brakes, apparently a small air bubble can get into the wheel cylinders that is almost impossible to bleed out .. (due to the angle that the cylinder is mounted or something .. )