Jacking and Braking ?s

[jgilbs]

Ok, so ive got a few questions:

First off, is it safe to place a jack under the pumpkin(s) [differentials] because there really is no way to securly seat jackstands otherwise. but i have heard it is bad to place stress on the pumpkin because it might warp the metal and cause it to leak. how does everyone else jack their trucks up?

So i did my brakes last month. After finishing the job and lubing the caliper slides, my front brakes STILL squeak!What is causing this?

When I removed my rotor to be remachined(due to pulsating brake pedal/pull to the left when hard braking), I took off the brake pads and they are not smooth like they have been on any other vehicle I have worked on. The surface of the pad is very rough. Is this caused by a warped rotor? And would this have anything to do with the squealing brakes?


I just redid my rear brakes(drum) My ebrake pedal has NO travel. It is like it is glued in the OFF position. I cant budge it with all my weight on it. is there an adjuster or anything that needs to be corrected after the rear drums are redone?

My rear drums have some scores in them. Should I have them machined as well as the fronts? The fronts arent bad at all and in fact look new. Could the REAR drums be causing the pulsating pedal?

Thanks for reading and sorry for my disjointed format.

 

[jimbo74]

the pumpkin is fine... most trucks jacking from the pumkin is fine... toyota actually lists the pumpkin as where to jack it for my pickup

crappy pads can cuase squeaking as can warped rotors.... also higher quality pads using semimetallic material can also lead to squeaking... did you put shims on hte new pads? if not.. this could aslo contribute...

as for the rears... you can adjsut the ebrake... check out autozone's website, they ahve a detailed procedure for it or refer to a haynes/chiltons manual

i doubt the rear drums are causing the pulsating pedal.... thats most likely due to warped front rotors

 

[jgilbs]

so should I even bother having the drums machined? If it doesnt matter, why spend the money, right?

EDIT - no, I didnt add a shim on the disc brakes. The brakes I bought came with a sort of shim on the back on them. Is this what youre referring to? Or something in addtion to this?

 

[general x]

i remember a story someone told me once about a shim they left out of their disk brake rebuild. They said "I gave it some gas because i figured the brakes were just sticking, I got down the driveway and their was this horrible screetch and when i checked the rotor their was a perfect gash all the way around the rotor"

Dunno if its the same deal with you and that may not have been exactly what they said but it was the same deallyo

 

[EBInterceptor]

For the rear, I put the jack on the frame in front of where it arches over the wheels so I have enough room to put a stand. So it's, arch-stand-jack....then jack up the other side the same way. I've gotten away with jacking it up on the pumpkin, but there it's not worth it if you just happen to screw something up one day. Better safe than sorry. You're still better off if you jack it up on the axle, and not the pumpkin. Again, why risk it?

 

[jgilbs]

i remember a story someone told me once about a shim they left out of their disk brake rebuild. ...

What does a shim look like? Is it just a slim piece of metal between the back(non-consumable) side of the pad and the caliper piston? If so - then the pads came with shims pre-installed.

But I don't have the metal "shoes" that fit on either side of the pad. they weren't on the caliper when I removed it. Does this piece even matter? (dont even know if 1st gens are supposed to have them - but my moms 99 did)

 

[jgilbs]

For the rear, I put the jack on the frame in front of where it arches over the wheels so I have enough room to put a stand. So it's, arch-stand-jack....then jack up the other side the same way. I've gotten away with jacking it up on the pumpkin, but there it's not worth it if you just happen to screw something up one day. Better safe than sorry. You're still better off if you jack it up on the axle, and not the pumpkin. Again, why risk it?

yea, but there is NO possible way to properly secure the drivers side with a jackstand without jacking on the pumpkin. like ill put my jack as close to the pumpkin as possible, and when its in the air, there isnt room for the base of the stand -the jack is blocking it.

 

[EBInterceptor]

Why not jack it up on the frame and put the stand on the frame as well?

 

[jgilbs]

my truck has running boards(with I HATE BTW - but they have been on for so long, the paint underneath doesnt match the body - not to mention the holes in the body and missing original trim) which prevent me from being able to fit under the truck while it is on the ground. and i dont want to slide a jack under there and have to get under the truck with just my rickety jack supporting the entire vehicle. plus, while working on the wheel area, i like to have support directly on the piece i am working on. also, theres a great deal of weight in front of the axle(engine) so I would be afraid of it not being stable if i jacked it too far back. its just way eaiser to jack on the axle.

EDIT - just realized what u mean - ill try it next time I jack up the car.