Ok, so for as long as i've known, my fathers 71 fj40 has had brake problems that no one can remedy. all stock all drum. the problem is that when you first depress the pedal, the rears get enough pressure to brake, but the fronts leave alot to be desired, so you have to pump the brakes every time you want to slow. but then on the second pump, it gets very strong, the pedal stroke is about cut in half, and it like to grab. and then there's the fact that after you adjust it, its outta tune a few days later, so whats up? valve need to be replaced? thanks ahead, Matt:skull:

There is a reason for your Dad's brake problems, and here's why:
Toyota thought they were making a great improvment when going with the "dual wheel cylinder" per brake, but really what they designed was a problem!

What happens is that after you or a brake shop spends hours adjusting the 8 wheel cylinders to get them working good, the brakes do not self adjust, so after a couple thousand miles or less the shoes are too far away from the drums, which causes the double pump deal. Even with regular adjustments to the brakes, you still have other issues like the cylinders freezing up and such.

What to do? Install 4 wheel disc brakes.

Or front discs and later model rear drums (single cylinder)

Or front discs and bypass one wheel cylinder per rear wheel.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff, i'm already planning on doing the front discs on MY cruiser, my father can worry about his, not me! :p My brother will be happy to know WTF was going on, he's been trying to figure it out for a few years now since he has to adjust them:D Matt

Cruiser housing / D44 outers (disc) for the front
FJ60 single cylinder drums for the rear. :D