So the brake light comes on when I press the brake pedal hard and I lifted the car up and I took the wheels off and I found this
Has anyone every see this ? It looks like the teeth are touching
I'm thinking the axle seal that prevents differential lube from leaking has failed which has contaminated the brake lining. This also washes the grease from the axle bearings so eventfully will lead to bearing failure. Why the brake light is coming on may not be related but probably indicates low pressure on one end of the system.
some insight https://forum.e-bodies.org/engine-transmission-and-rear-end/4/seo/22475/msg272470#msg272470
post about servicing bearings, lots of good info http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=35471.0
I'm with Wade... looks wet
Don't forget the foam seals when you are ordering the axle seals. And repack the bearings. Diff oil will have washed out grease.
Hopefully I'm going down the right path but I see multiple issues so I will try to separate them
1) Picture #1, the teeth look like they are touching each other. This is by design. This is the rear passenger side read end play adjustment hub. This takes out the side to side play in the rear end and the two things touching are to lock the adjustment
2) There is leaking, not sure if it is rear end outer seals or the wheel cyl has failed. Could be both. As others have speculated I would think at a minimum the end seals are leaking due to the wet pattern but not certain. The brake light implies there may be a fluid issue also causing me to wonder about the wheel cyl.
3) You should check the brake fluid levels. There is a sensor on the proportioning valve (in the engine bay) that senses an imbalance of pressure between the front wheels and the back. Your fluid levels / leaks may be the cause and the light the result.
For now I would absolutely not be driving the car until I knew about the fluid levels in the master cyl
Thank you for the input.
The brake fluid is fine on both pots of the master cylinder. I bled the front and back yesterday and the light is still coming on when I brake but only sometimes. Is there any way this could be the cause of the light coming on?
The car by the way brakes okay but when I took the wheels off this is what I found
Thanks again
I don't think the wetness is at all related to the brake light coming on. Have you made sure it's not the parking brake pedal turning the light on ? It's takes a significant lose of pressure in the brake system to activate that light unless the switch is faulty...
The brake adjuster in your picture is also installed wrong, looks like you might have the wrong cable on there :rubeyes:
Thanks anla, good points.
The light only comes on when I press the brakes. When I release it goes away but I checked all fluids and nothing is leaking or doesn't feel like it's loosing pressure.
Yeah I noticed the brake cable is too long.
Everything was fine until this, what else could I check on my braking system for the light to come on ?
Quote from: Purepony on February 11, 2022, 11:15:14 AM
Yeah I noticed the brake cable is too long.
Cable is probably right, but the bottom lever is in the wrong spot, it should be below the center of the adjusting star. With the lever up high, the cable has slack in it.
Thank you that picture helped a lot
Other then the obvious leaks , are the brakes adjusted properly? Looks like the adjuster is all the way in but you can't tell if that's correct just from a picture. Are the adjusters on the correct side ? if not they will un adjust the brakes.
Quote from: Rich G. on February 12, 2022, 04:24:09 AM
Other then the obvious leaks , are the brakes adjusted properly? Looks like the adjuster is all the way in but you can't tell if that's correct just from a picture. Are the adjusters on the correct side ? if not they will un adjust the brakes.
Yes, good point. I would guess that the shoes were not adjusted properly before the drums were put on after the last rebuild. This caused the adjusting arm to travel too far and get hung up above the adjusting star wheel. They could be so far away from the drum that they don't build any rear brake pressure when you apply the brakes, causing the light to come on.
To me, it looks like the oil/grease stains are caused by a bad axle seal. I would pull the axles and replace both inner and outer seals (and wheel bearings). Clean up the brakes with brake cleaner and reassemble it all. Adjust the brake shoes so there is just a little play between the pads and the drums when you slide the drums on.
I would replace the brake shoes. once they soak in oil it absorbs deep down. :alan2cents:
I was getting an intermittent brake light an thought it was a leak somewhere.
After thoroughly investigating and finding nothing, I decided it was the MS and once I replaced it the difference in pedal feel was enormous. After driving the car for years with a spongy pedal I was amazed it took me so long to do it and yes it cured the brake light issue
Thank you guys for the wise information
I'm sending the car out for the seal then they'll probably adjust the brakes there too hopefully that solves everything.
I've never worked on axles