brakes are acting weird.

[MedicMoe]

The other night I was driving on the freeway, doing about 60, when it started to slow down a bit like the brakes were engaged just slightly. I came to my exit, and let off the throttle, and felt the truck slow down on it's own, (not coasting). I start to apply pressure to the brakes, and the pedal is real stiff, but the brakes do get engage more. As I come to a stop, I smell brake/clutch smell. As my light turns green, It feels like the brakes are still dragging. So I decide to go back home, get back on the freeway, it took a while to get up to speed (no turbo), and about half way home, i feel the brakes release, and have no more issues that night. Next day, I'm driving to feel the brakes, and everything is fine. Yesterday, I loaded a bunch or yard trash to take to the dump, Getting down there, no problem. I leave the dump, and about 3 miles later, the pedal becomes stiff, and the brakes feel like there are dragging again. I limp it home, but I come to a light, and stop, and apply the brakes, not it's real soft, and I take off, it's not dragging, but real soft, and I have to fully engage the pedal to stop. About 6 months ago I upgraded to a new master cylinder, and checked all of my fluids the night before. The master cylinder's front compartment was nearly empty. I checked the tire pressure, and looked at the passenger rear drum, it seemed to have some wetness to it, so I'm assuming my brake cylinder is shot there. couldn't really check in depth because i have the dually adapters on he rear. I am going to rebuild my brakes in the rear, anything else should I get?

Also, I checked it this morning, fluid levels are good, pedal is real soft, and the brake light on the dash is on.

truck: 1985 F250 with 7.3L NA extra cab, long bed and dually conversion

 

[franklin2]

Fix the obvious leak first. Do you use the e-brake? They are known to stick. The next time you feel it dragging, you need to stop at the next convenient spot and go around and feel each wheel. The hottest one will be the problem, and that will at least narrow it down some.

 

[MedicMoe]

I use the e-brake frequently, since it is a stick. It could use some adjusting as well. I am going to order all new parts and springs, shoes, cylinders, hoses from rock auto, real cheap prices there.

 

[fordf350man]

i would check front calipers and rear wheel cyliners to see if they are locking up, also check the fluid for any debri if you can, if brake fluid gets old it will get nasty stuff in there and it could be clogging up a line or hose, had this happen to myself and others i know, might want to do a flush on the brake fluid aswell