HIGH WATER THEN AXLE LOCK UP....HELP

09 Taco base 3" ProComp spacers 4cyl 2wd 5lug auto 130k;;;; So I passed thru a road that had water an inch or so above curb height yesterday no issues drove it a few times in the pass thru shallow water with out problem. Fast forward this morning I tried reversing out of my driveway and the the truck was STUCK as in I could feel the truck torque up but it felt like I had blocks on the rear wheels. Lifted all four tires ,all but my rear passenger spun freely. Also the rear driver spun like it should in gear . Weird indeed the rear passenger tire felt completly mecanicaly locked. With the rear lifted foot on brake I cycled the traction control button few times. And voila back to normal drove it round the neighborhood no more issue for now. Questions; what the hell happened I suspect water related gremlins but man that wheel was locked good not the engine power nor truck weight wood spin it. Has this or anything similar happened to any forum members ?

 

water and crap gettin in through the differential breather?

 

2wd base models have a diff breather ? Granted Ive only been down there 2 or 3 times Ive never seen one.

 

Sounds like your parking brake is seized on that side. You didn't mention it, but did you set the brake when you parked? This is a common problem.

 

not sure, I've got a prerunner with open diff and its got one..figured if I have one a locking diff would definitely have one. could be wrong though

 

Yes they would. Right on top. Doesn't sound like water in your diff to me though. Sounds like a brake issue as suggested above. Weird that cycling the trac button fixed the problem.

 

OP wouldn't have a locker.

 

I use the parking brake everynite. I have no locker. I plan on checking / replacing the diff fluid as a precaution plus its due.

 

Yeah more likely brakes. Drums can get stuck

 

Another vote for brakes...

 

just re-read the op, definitely don't know where I got that notion from. guess that's what i get for checking tw as im heading out the door to work. disregard my rashness.

but as far as I know he should still have a breather, although it sounds like that's not the issue based on the responses. it was the first thing that came to my head just cuz im planning on doing the breather mod this weekend and have been thinking about it all week!

 

Agreed with the other 2 that said locked up emergency brake. Happens to me if I wash the truck and don't drive it and forgot to release it. It's nothing serious. If it happens again, best way I've found to get it unstuck is to mash on the brakes a few times and it breaks free. It kind of rusts in place.

 

Water got inside the brake drum and caused the brake shoes/mechanism to seize up against the drum overnight since you had the parking brake set. I've had it happen a few times over the years with different vehicles. In my case it's usually because water got in the brake drum and the temperature was below freezing overnight so the brakes froze up.

Nothing to really worry about if you got it unstuck and it seems to be driving/braking fine.

 

Guarantee its the drum. I had that happen to me several times. twice I had to tow it to shop to have them unstuck it. The second time, they opened it up and it was all gunked up and they had to clean it all out.

If your drums ever get wet again, don't use parking brake that night. Block your tires instead and leave truck in gear.

 

Well, the good news is you know your parking brake works well.

 

My 08 just had this issue but I could feel the drag didn't lock up.
Parking brake was hanging on right rear. No water issues yes it was cold but it did it even after a 25 mile commute. After some hunting here on TW it seems when our pads get worn to a certain extent they can hang up against other parts in side the drum. I also found the grease seal on my wheel bearing had failed letting the grease in my drum. I did my stock rear shoes at 126 k miles.
Cleaned inside the drum nasty brake dust and grease lapping compound. Anyhow not sure if it was because of the grease crud or because my shoes were worn but my issue has gone away. I still need to change out my bearings soon.

 

Mine is due for front brakes at some point this summer so at the same time I'll pull the drums off and clean everything up.

The are two points on the drum backing plate where you should apply brake grease when you clean them out. On each shoe opposite the end with the pivot there were be a small area facing the backing plate and this area is where the shoes slide back and forth on the backing plate.

 

Cool thanks I will keep that in mind. I'm second guessing if I did this but I think I did. As soon as it warms up here I'll be taking it back apart. Not sure if the bearing had enough grease to ruin the new shoes?
I'm thinking it's gotta be dry.
Don't want to have it fail and loose my rearend fluid, I just changed all of them and the tranny. Manual so it's easy and it's easy on the brakes.

 

I washed my 2006 Tacoma late in the day Sunday April 30, 2017. I gave it a good rinse with the garden hose, only mild temperatures around 60's or low 70 degrees . Next morning at 9 AM or so I started it, put it in reverse and traveled back about 10 feet distance or so. Suddenly a lunge with screeching sound where the vehicle stopped on a dime with a jolt back and forth. I got out and realized an obvious skid mark about 18 inches has just been created by the passenger side rear tire. This wheel was locked up! I was not able to make it move forward or back even an inch. I had it towed to the dealership for what I thought to be a major issue. Somehow when the tow truck delivered my vehicle to the service they claimed this vehicle was fine and no evidence of any issue whatsoever. They did a full end-to-end inspection that revealed no issues. they suggested I may have left the parking break on. They seemed nice about it and did not charge me for the full inspection.
Guess what, this is an illusive issue but not so simple as leaving the parking break on. BTW, I would not have freely traveled the distance I did, also it seems both tires would have evidenced the drag while it would not have been such a sudden grab like it was. not sure of the full correlation, I agree the issue relates to water spray, going in reverse, and the right rear tire.
I hope my experience helps others in some small way

 

Freewheeler, I had/have the exact same issue. Water gets into the drum and freezes the brakes. My got worse and worse and dealership and to take everything apart and clean everything. They asked if I launched a boat a lot because it looked like a truck that did that. SOme times I could rock the truck back and forth and pop the brakes loose but 2 instances they completely locked up.

After I wash my truck I block the tires and leave the parking brake off. If you do that, it'll never lock up. Stupid solution but it works.