I have a torn boot on the pass front inner, and i've noticed that my brake on that corner has been locking up randomly while braking. Is this something to do with the axle going to 'sleep with the fishes' or do I have some problem with the brakes themselves?

 

TIA

 

-mike

if it is the axle, the locking up will be accompanied by a very disturbing noise.......

sounds like the brakes are taking a turn for the worst Mike. is this your '75 wagon by chance? If it is, I believe newer style EA81 vented rotors and calipers should bolt right on if I'm not mistaken. If they do, you've just done a brake upgrade on your wagon:D I did it on my '79 wagon but I also custom made the control arms so I got the EA81 balljoints and knuckles as well:)

i have everything i need to do the conversion, so i can be done with front drums, just waiting on my rotors to get back from the machine shop;)

do you think it would help if i took the axle out and turned it into a stub? that would fix the noises and vibration issues, but i'm not sure if it would help the brake.

 

-mike

i've put 50,000 miles on front axles with broken boot(s) multiple times without any problems. and i've never had brake problems. i'm at 205,000 miles on the original calipers and i removed the original rotors at 200,000 because new ones were cheaper than having them turned. i have a broken boot now that's been like that for awhile and i have no immediate plans to replace it eventhough i have a new axle in the shed. not a big deal.

 

if you're installing calipers you may consider rebuilding them first.

caliper rebuild kit are about 10 dollars from thepartsbin.com or rockauto.com. the kit will contain parts to rebuild both calipers so you'll have rebuilt calipers for 10 dollars. it's not that bad to do and can be done without any special tools. i've described how to do it before...is the process in the "write up" section maybe?

 

remove brake pads and caliper from rotor (leave brake line attached). place bucket under caliper to catch fluid and wrap towel around piston and caliper to keep it from falling out. top off brake fluid as it will run low as you continue to pump the brakes. now keep pressing the brake pedal until the piston pops out. now you're ready to clean it up, install the new seals and put it back together. quite simple actually. threading the piston back in place is time consuming because it takes forever and some energy to thread them back in place, but just keep turning and they'll eventually get there. take a good look at the seals and boot to see how they are placed before you take it all apart so you know how to reinstall the new ones. there is just one inner seal and the rubber boot, that's all there is to it. quite simple actually. clean everything up really good, install and bleed the crap out of it. i did it this summer for the first time for Kevin (myphalyx) without any problems.

 

you can also blow the piston out with compressed air, but i've never done that. your calipers might be alot cheaper than those for the XT6 so maybe you'd rather just buy them as needed.