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Looked over the M818. PMCS lacking in an unnamed unit in OH.

ida34

Well-known member
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Location
Dexter, MI
I reconnected the drive shafts yesterday and decided to drive around to my mother's house. She is two doors down the street. The brake pedal was real low and mushy. I noticed it when I moved the truck to hook up the tow bar. The brakes were an on or off affair going back and forth. The ground is wet and soft enough so no brakes are needed except on the road. I took my son by surprise last night and he almost went through the windshield when the brakes kicked in. Today I opened up the master cylinder. I did not see an evidence of leakage anywhere in for the truck. There was a little amount of bfs at the bottom. Not enough to fully cover the bottom. I reached in and felt muck at the bottom of the Master. I wiped it out with a rag. Today I disconnected the line from the master to the hydrovac unit. Fluid came out so it was not totally empty. I then flushed the cylinder and reconnected the line. I used my pressure bleeder and all but two of the bleeder screws were plugged. I cleaned them and figured any air would be gone after the fluid flowed for about a minute. I forgot to mention that I bled the master and hydrovac before bleeding at the wheels. I topped it off afterward and cleaned everything off. I will look for any leaks but I saw nothing. The master looked like it had not been touched in years. I wonder if the BFS was ever checked. The turn in paperwork and maint paperwork never mentioned anything about any brake problems and it was driven to DRMO. Who know? I will look closely for leaks but for now the pedal is great. I did not have time to test it moving. It was time for dinner. I will check it tomorrow. Sorry no pics. It did have a pretty good set of BII but a discharged fire extinguisher.
 

Recovry4x4

LLM/Member 785
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GA Mountains
RE: Looked over the M818. PMCS lacking in an unnamed unit in

Is it me or do some of these trucks have dissapearing BFS? I have that issue with the 108 and everything but the airpack was rebuilt ....by me. I just can't find where it goes.
 

rizzo

Active member
2,841
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Location
Port Huron, MI
Re: RE: Looked over the M818. PMCS lacking in an unnamed uni

Recovry4x4 said:
Is it me or do some of these trucks have dissapearing BFS? I have that issue with the 108 and everything but the airpack was rebuilt ....by me. I just can't find where it goes.
I have the same problem. I fill and bleed the system, and it works fine then a month later or so, no brakes. all the fluid is gone. I test it and look around, hold the brakes in. nothing no leaks. I replaced the airpak with another take off from a donor truck and same problem.
 

Rattlehead

Member
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Location
Michigan
RE: Re: RE: Looked over the M818. PMCS lacking in an unnamed

Are the wheel cylinders dry on these trucks with disappearing fluid?
 

ida34

Well-known member
4,119
32
48
Location
Dexter, MI
RE: Re: RE: Looked over the M818. PMCS lacking in an unnamed

I found no evidence of leaking from the outside but I am going to be looking close to see if I am losing it. I have a pressure bleeder and it is perfect for tracking this stuff down. Pump it up then listen and look for the leak. Right now I see no leaking at all. I tried the brakes today and they are really touchy. I may have to tear the brakes down to take a look. Before I do that I plan to check the inspection windows to see if the shoes are in good shape. My truck was driven in in November 2007 so it did not sit a long time. I think the fluid departed a little at a time and the master was not checked regularly. At any rate I have a few months to wait till I can legally drive it so I have plenty of time to take a look at it.
 

gimpyrobb

dumpsterlandingfromorbit!
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Cincy Ohio
RE: Re: RE: Looked over the M818. PMCS lacking in an unnamed

On my wrecker, the brakes work great, no leaks anywhere. While bleeding the otherday, I got a leak from the master. It only squirts out fluid when I let off the brake pedal. I would have never noticed if I hadn't been looking for it while in the drivers seat cycling the brakes. Leave the trap door open and look down.
 

derby

Member
818
7
18
Location
S.E. MI.
RE: Re: RE: Looked over the M818. PMCS lacking in an unnamed

I had a problem with my 812 kind of like Your's.I found the right rear wheel cylinder leaking and the axle seal.The brakes worked ok ,they were just grabby.The drum only showed slight dampness,but when I pulled the drum WHAT A MESS! It took more tome to clean everything than the repair.
 

ida34

Well-known member
4,119
32
48
Location
Dexter, MI
RE: Re: RE: Looked over the M818. PMCS lacking in an unnamed

It does feel like some shoes may be contaminated. We will see. I am still evaluating to see if I will part it out or fix it. No matter what it is on the back burner until the my cucv is finished.
 

ida34

Well-known member
4,119
32
48
Location
Dexter, MI
RE: Re: RE: Looked over the M818. PMCS lacking in an unnamed

I did pump the brakes while the hatch was open and no problems seen. I plan to park it on gravel and see if she shows any leaks.
 
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