First Gen Spin out while braking on highway.

Thanks for the reply, it is raining pretty heavily today. I took a different vehicle to work. When it dries up tomorrow I am going to clean the calipers and the rear drums and do a thorough inspection of them, then afterwards go to a large parking lot and try to recreate the spin out there to see if it does it again.

 

I am guessing if you had any oil on the pads or shoes you would have taken notice .

 

Definitely agree with checking the LSPV if it has one, secondly, if its 5SPD, any chance you downshifted super hard? With no load in the bed you can skid the rear tires on a hard downshift without any over-rev.

 

I didn’t notice any on the front pads yesterday evening when I took the wheels off to inspect the front suspension, but it got too dark for me to check the drums in the back. It rained today so I will check the drums tomorrow.

I didn’t downshift, When braking I normally just push the clutch in, brake, let off the brake, then select whatever gear I need for the new speed I am then traveling then let the clutch back out while smoothly applying gas. I have only ever owned standards with the exception of the 2019 Tacoma being my first automatic. I even had a 2015 Second gen that was a 5 speed manual!

 

I would be leaning towards something having been on the pavement if you can't replicate this at 30 or 40 mph, especially if it was dry out. FWIW, when doing SCCA training days, the instructor told us to leave the car in gear to avoid skidding until nearing a stop, and then depress the clutch. I'm not suggesting I do that all the time, but that stuck with me. He also mentioned that the best way to stop without skidding is to apply brakes as firmly as you can, and then try and curl your toes BACK, so they are pointing towards your face. Strangely, the latter works REALLY well with non ABS cars.

 

You know that makes a lot of sense leaving the car in gear so that way you still have the wheels trying to fight against the braking forces instead of just freewheeling while braking. I can 100 percent see a skid being more likely to occur with wheels that have no power input from the engine vs wheels that still are receiving power even while the brakes are being applied. I honestly should have checked the road after but I was a bit shook up after the truck did a 180 on the highway into the jersey barriers. Also that reminds me I remember reading somewhere it isn’t a bad idea to take one or two courses on car racing since those skills can translate directly to being a more in control driver.

 

I wonder why the vehicle in front of you slowed down ??

Did they see or have something happen that caused them to slow down??

I go back to my first statement .something on the road

Brake problems seldom fix themselves as you have not been able to recreate the problem.

Fuel oil is the Black Ice of summer

 

You sound like someone who is open to ideas; that's refreshing, and the logic behind having even a bit of power preventing the rear wheel from skidding is how it was explained to me. Works incredibly well for motorcycle braking as well.

 

I didn't read the previous replies, but it sounds to me like the rear brakes locked up causing a 180 spin. I also do not have ABS, and during emergency braking I do sometimes lock up the front brakes. I would check the brake system making sure the front brakes are working correctly, and check for fluid leaks and fluid level. Another thing I would look at is the rear brake proportioning valve, not sure how the vehicle is set up (lifted or lowered) but if not set correctly can make the rear brakes operate incorrectly (lifted rear brakes may not work, lowered rear brakes may lock up easier).

 

I did not see why they were slowing down, we were in the right hand land approaching the exit, maybe the person in front of them slowed down to exit at the last minute making them slow down as well. I am not discounting fuel/oil being in the road either. If the location where the accident happened was closer to my house i’d go take a look.

I really like this truck and want to find some explanation to what happened so that I can confidently drive the vehicle as a daily. Because of this I am willing to hear anyone out and also accept it may have just been user error.

I have not checked the rear proportioning valve, but the truck is Stock 95 4X4 and hasn’t been lifted or lowered. So I’m not sure if anyone modified it in anyway.

 

I am really appreciative of everyone’s input and being non-judgemental.