Does Tundra breaks have the same problem as Ford?

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When Ford loses break fluid for one wheel, all four wheels lose break. That has happened more than once on my 97 F-150. Another man said the same on his newer Ford.
I did not have that problem on the one 1980's-ish GM I had. I was told the GM master cylinders keep rear and front separate, so that you have at least TWO breaks working....Unlike Ford. Ford's design could have killed me once.
How does Toyota Tundra's breaks compare?
Thank you.
 
Originally Posted By: CaptainFreon
When Ford loses break fluid for one wheel, all four wheels lose break. That has happened more than once on my 97 F-150. Another man said the same on his newer Ford.
I did not have that problem on the one 1980's-ish GM I had. I was told the GM master cylinders keep rear and front separate, so that you have at least TWO breaks working....Unlike Ford. Ford's design could have killed me once.
How does Toyota Tundra's breaks compare?
Thank you.


In the industry, this is referred to as "Breaks Broke"
 
The only fuel I want to throw on this genuine dumpster fire of a thread is the following historical note.
When hydraulic brakes were developed in the late 1930s, Henry Ford stubbornly refused to incorporate them into the Ford lineup. They even marketed their prehistoric mechanical braking system as "The Safety of Steel from Pedal to Wheel"

Oh, and the Tundra has a dual circuit brake system.
ps, dual circuit brakes have been Federally mandated for fifty years.
 
Isn't the F150 dual circuit?
Probably you lost the front circuit and the rear brakes, on any truck, can't do too much when bed is empty (proportioning valve is basically closed, so no braking on rear).
 
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Pretty much all modern vehicles, including your 97 Ford, have dual circuit brakes. The problem is it's not a very effective system. If you bust a brake line, you're basically going to have no stopping power, even if you have dual circuit brakes.
 
Dual braking systems have only been mandatory since the government mandates their use in 1967 - 50 years ago.

If your 97 F150 was like mine, it had drum rear brakes, which when out of adjustment and combined with the abs brakes could feel like no brakes..
 
All the fluid squirts out of a rotted break line. master cylinder empties, and peddle is dead at floor. Perhaps there is something else wrong ?
 
Originally Posted By: CaptainFreon
All the fluid squirts out of a rotted break line. master cylinder empties, and peddle is dead at floor. Perhaps there is something else wrong ?
Vehicles have BRAKES. Dual circuit master cylinders have a divided master cylinder reservoir, one circuit can empty and fluid will remain in the other part of the reservoir. As others have mentioned, if the front brakes develop a leak the rears will still work, but rear drums don't work that well on a pickup with no load because of a valve which is supposed to compensate for the lack of traction and reduce lockup. Regards to Mr. Dunning and Mr. Kruger.
 
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Why would the master cylinder empty, losing all breaks with a bad leaking rear wheel break line?
bad master cylinder?
 
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Originally Posted By: CaptainFreon
All the fluid squirts out of a rotted break line. master cylinder empties, and peddle is dead at floor. Perhaps there is something else wrong ?


It's always possible the rear brake cylinders are frozen. The Ford system on the late 90's trucks were absolutely dual systems. However, the loss of the front does not mean the other works normally. It does not. The pedal will go to the floor and the truck will not have any significant braking power even with the rear system 100% intact. They are drum brakes, and there is little pressure actuating them, as the pedal will move to the floor. The dual master cylinder has no way to maintain a firm pedal with the loss of one system.

Modern vehicles with anti lock brakes have their own set of more complicated problems. Especially as they age.
 
Originally Posted By: CaptainFreon
Why would the master cylinder empty, losing all breaks with a bad leaking rear wheel break line?
bad master cylinder?


You don't lose all brakes, but if you're in a situation with a rusty line, the rust will pop at higher-than-normal PSI which is when you're already doing a nearly emergency stop. Losing a line and having the pedal drop near the floor has the psychological effect of making you want to pump, but you're just pumping fluid out the bad side. The workable pedal will be within an inch of the floor.

All cars are like this and have been for 40 years.

master-brake3.jpg
from

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/brakes/brake-types/master-brake1.htm


You need to take ownership of your braking system, inspect it once in a while. After a decent downhill run feel all your wheels and see if they're warm but not scorching hot. Bang your drums off and see that they're still shiny inside. Lube up the adjusters.
 
Originally Posted By: Starman2112
Gimme a brake...


You might have to peddle it...
 
are they split front to rear now? My tundra looks like a f/r split but years ago I recall them being split diagonally, pretty much until ABS became a thing. Is that the standard now?

-m
 
My 90's Ford is a split master cylinder, but the reservoir has baffles, but not truly separate reservoirs for each system.
 
When I had a brake pad fall off a few years ago, it sure felt like no brakes. Took several pumps of the pedal to get braking back--luckily, it was just the pad material that fell off. But as I was going downhill and the pedal just kept going to the floor, it was... unnerving. It's now rare for me to let more than a year pass before checking several year old pads for issues. Plus I find in my climate the sliding surfaces need lubing anyhow.

So I'm not particularly enamored with dual circuit brakes. IMO they don't do their job. And it was an '04 VW with four disc brakes that I lost a pad on.

Couple years ago my Tundra decided to seize a caliper. Didn't lose brakes, if anything it was the opposite problem. Speaking of, on mine I found that the two pins that go through the caliper and hold the front pads in place were very chewed up. I bought some spares for the next time I lube up the brakes, or replace them, as I suspect those pins will be too rusty to reuse. I cleaned up the ones I had but it took several minutes with a file to knock down all the rust.
 
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