HELP! Brakes Lock up After Haggard Repair!!

Hello Fellow TACOers!! Newish Owner of a 2005 2.7L 5spd SR5 Tacoma with 93,000 miles, had a few mods, K&N filter, Pedal commander, ARB deluxe front bumper (the big boy & savior in this story) and could not be happier with my buy. I have had a brush of bad luck and got into an accident recently. My front end collided with the front left quarter of another vehicle, causing my Arb numper to bend upwards, my front LH fender to bend slightly but not into crush points, radiator, frame, even the headlights were all protected from the bumper. no leaking from anywhere, the ARB literally saved this things life!!! the accident happened down the street from me so i actually drove it home, noticing it wasnt driveable only because the bumper was rubbing onto the tires. I had to bend the bumper back, and without a frame puller, and ghetto engineering, Me and a friend in the auto body industry used his truck and a chain to slightly bend the bumper back into place for me to reset a new grill and headlight mount. LONG STORY SHORT!!! what is happening is my brakes are seeming to lock up after driving for about 10 minutes, pedal becoming stiff, I shut truck off, take lid off brake fluid reservoir to maybe speed up process, then its driveable again. something that must have happened when we pulled the bumper back out because after accident this did not happen. Now my mechanical logic said to have MY truck the one in reverse,connected to a truck via chain controlling the pulling of the bumper , and the other truck with e brake on, my truck being so light, but ... well, excitement, rushing, and overall rushing of the process threw logic out the window and we did the opposite. my truck being so light, i knew thatd be the way to do it as to not stress my ebrake to all hell. Instead, in haste, my truck had ebrake on, IN NEUTRAL(made absolute sure of that) and my friends truck pulled the bumper back, now the truck moved maybe 6inches toward the last pull. I know it should have been the other way around, desperate times, crazy measures, peopbut here we are, a Being a Forum where people pull trucks out of woods all the time, IM SURE someone knows EXACTLY what it is and what i have to do. The truck pulls a bit right now while driving, and when its at its end, its as if all brakes are locked up, until a little time goes by and the pistons reset... thank you for anyone who reaches out to help a fellow man. I do all my own work typically, just learning of body collision repair techniques but alwasy have worked on my own cars, brake work being the only thing i havent done unassisted.

 

Sounds like the brakes are rubbing, getting hot enough to eventually lock up the wheel. I'd jack it up and see which wheel doesn't spin freely.

 

Yes, THank YOU forgot to include that, also the accident didnt touch anything past the bumper, i mean ANYTHING, and it wasnt long enough to know for sure, but i really believe it was something to do with pulling the taco with ebrake on fixing the bumper.. im literally going to do that rn, my educated guess is it will be the front right tire and the front and/or rear left. update in a few... be right back lol.

 

okay front two wheels do spin, but not FREELY, like a dirty skateboard bearing. I am in the process of cleaning things up a bit, rattling some rust from everything, pb blast, dead blow here and there to loosen dirt up. then wash? then caliper grease?? im debating taking off calipers, inspecting, then putting them back on, but, if im gonna do that i should just wait until i have new pads. ill do whatever the consensus says i should to pinpoint the issue as efficiently as possible. thank you again for your reply. feel free to say Dont do that FOOL!! im good but not great. hence asking the forum.

 

Assuming you didn't pinch any brake lines in the accident or "repair", when the brakes lock up crack the brake lines loose 1 at a time starting at the master cylinder and work out to the ABS module and toward the wheels. If they release when you crack a line then the component that line goes to is suspect.

 

93k miles, that truck's still worth something

Why not pay the deductible and get everything repaired/replaced?

New bumper, new brakes and components (on account that there's an issue stemming from the accident) and whatever else is needed

Unless I'm missing something?

 

There isnt any leaking coming from any brake lines. ive inspected them as much as could. are you stating that it could be pinched somewhere thats cant be seen?? i apologize, i am learning about braking systems now that its an issue, ive replaced old copper lines with a pal, always did my own pads and rotors, but thats as far as ive needed to go as of yet,

 

You def want to check the brakes aren't overheating.

Brake fluid boils, when it boils it turns to steam, steam is compressible (your brake pedal will hit the floor)

A couple years ago I went around a 15 mph turn going 45 because some jackass mechanic didn't adjust the drums right on my Chevrolet Cruze.

The brand new drum turned blue from the heat.

 

i played caveman a bit, cleaned and llubed everything, tapped all the moving components, taking it for a ride, so far its made it the longest and no signs of locking up yet... when it happens.. i can feel the brakes pulling the motor back and when it is all said and done, and no movement can be made and i have to turn off,,,, the brake pedal becomes totally solid. not sure if i mentioned that. thank you all for the input.. keep it coming lol. i thought maybe it would be an obvious thing considering im sure its happened to people after theyve winched their vehicles out of the woods... then again, no brakes are engaged when winching so theres a hunch towards what had happened. I know someopne will see this and go AHA!!

 

Pinch and crush your brake line? It's got enough pressure to force its way in, but can't force its way back out again.

 

Pinch and crush your brake line? It's got enough pressure to force its way in, but can't force its way back out again.

 

With the brake pedal being firm, it certainly sounds like something is damaged and not letting fluid return when you release the brake

I’d get it to that condition and then bleed each caliper, it should be obvious if they are both the same, or different, and then start with brake lines and go from there

with an 05 it’s likely past time to replace the rubber brake lines anyways