CJ7 brakes

T_rav

New member
Hey guys I'm running an 86 cj7 with the factory braking system. My problem is when on steep hills my brakes won't hold me on the hill. It's not for lack of trying. The fronts seem to lock up and I go skittering down the hill until the bottom. As you can imagine it can be quite terrifying. Is there anyone that's had this problem? Any easy fixes? I was thinking maybe an adjustable porportioning valve to get more braking power to the rear. I feel like there has to be a better option. Any thoughts?
Thanks
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Climbing a hill, your rear brakes will be doing a lot more work. When was the last time you've checked the shoes? Any chance they are contaminated with oil from an axle seal leak or something like that?
 

T_rav

New member
That's why I was thinking the proportioning valve to get more braking power on the rear. Unfortunately the shoes look great and there's no seal leaks so the obvious is out.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah, being that you say you don't have one already, a proportioning valve should help.

Back to the obvious and just to make sure, your shoes are adjusted correctly and thinks like your e-brakes work well, right?
 

JeepFan

Hooked
Definitely verify what Eddie mentioned.

You said the rear shoes look great. Thats a red flag to me. One thing i used to see a lot on the old CJ7s is moisture would get into the brake fluid and cause rust to form inside the rear wheel cylinders and cause the pistons to stick. The tell tale was rear shoes looking like new after several thousand miles.

Sounds like you need to go through the entire brake system.
 

RockyJk

Active Member
Another way to check the wheel cylinders is to peel back the seal and if there is any fluid coming out of it they are bad
 

WJCO

Meme King
Jack up the vehicle. Have a Friend use the brakes or wedge a bar between the pedal and seat. See if your wheels still turn or not.
 

T_rav

New member
Thanks for the tips guys. I definitely haven't thought of a seized wheel cylinder yet. Hopefully this weekend I can get in there and check it out again. I wrench on motorcycles all week so a change of pace is always nice and challenging.
 

T_rav

New member
So I finally got into the brakes again. After jacking it up the rear brakes work extremely well forward but if I spin the tire backwards I can do it one handed while someone is standing on the pedal. Ripped things apart and am seeing more wear on one shoe then the other so I'm suspecting one side of the shell cylinder is stuck. They're only 10 dollars a side so I'm replacing them and throwing in new shoes just for shits and giggles. I'll let y'all know what happens when it's back together. Had to drive to three different parts houses to get everything so I ran out of time tonight.
 
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