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Poor Braking Mystery

tballer4596

NAXJA Forum User
Location
NY
Hey all,

This issue has been plaguing my jeep. Every time I hit the trail go through a few puddles, my brakes are GONE. And I mean really bad.

Now I know what you are thinking, they get wet, mud, whatever, and the brakes cant stop as easily. I agree.

However, the issue persists for days after and the brakes usually do not fully return to normal. Meaning, every time I hit the trail, my brakes get significantly worse.

Heres the current situation:

I have brand new brake lines front and back, new calipers, new drums, shoes, pads, everything.

I got stuck in a bad mud hole a few weeks ago and afterward the brakes were pretty much gone, when before I got stuck they were perfect.

I decided that the master cylinder must be bad so I replaced it, replaced the rear shoes which were about 6 months old, re-bled all the lines, and after that it stopped great. I had zero complaints. My pedal was high and hard, and I could easily lock up the tires with enough force.

The other day, I hit a few muddy puddles with a friend, immediately felt the wet brakes which barely stopped, but I figured they would dry up and it would go away.

Nope. After several days, my pedal was lower than before and stopping was worse than it had been before the puddles. This week, after a 25 minute ride through a trail with maybe 10 6" puddles, the brakes are even worse yet. I can stomp as hard as I want but the tires wont lock whatsoever and my braking distance is concerning long, even after a day of normal driving. Im fed up! The only thing I can think of is the front brake pads which I got from advance auto, I got the most expensive ones they had. Could they be this crappy?

Any help would be appreciated.
 
Advance auto brake pads — yes they can be that crappy — I have never had any luck with pads from advance auto

All makers have their low end stuff but generally the mid to higher end raybestos stuff works well for the type of driving I do — I’ll almost always buy brakes from rock auto

Are your rear drums adjusted properly?
 
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Mud and brakes don't get along well, it gets into the caliper slides and jams them.
Same goes for the rear shoes, the grease, where the shoes slide, attracts crud.
If you drive in such conditions regularly, frequent maintenance is necessary for the best performance.
Mud is evil.
 
When you have the "wet brakes" feeling, how is the pedal? Is it still hard, but just no breaking? Is it soft...like it goes to the floor? Does pumping the brake pedal help?
 
Sounds like your slide bolts on the calipers are getting water and grime stuck in them. Are the rubber slide bolt covers still on? If not, that's your problem. Also, be sure they are fastened properly and that the slide bolts are lubed with brake caliper grease.

Check for contamination of the brake fluid and that it is of manufacturer specs. I had a guy use transmission fluid as brake fluid once. Had to replace everything rubber in his brake system. All the hoses, master cylinder, etc... his car wouldn't stop very well to say the least.

Be sure the wheel cylinders are in good order and the rear brakes haven't came apart.
 
Hi all, I did not intend to abandon this thread, my apologies. Much has changed since this post so it's hard to say. I dont think I ever figured out that specific issue, but enough things have been replaced for diffferent reasons that it hasnt happen since and it braked nicely. Now that Ive moved to 33s though braking has left much to be desired, but its not fading away anymore with mud.
 
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