So I got in my Jeep just now (2000 xj, 230k miles) and my brake light was on. The pedal went straight to the floor. I opened the hood and checked the fluid to find it completely empty. I followed all the lines to find a leak, and all were fine except the rear driver side. There appears to be a leak coming from where the line attaches to the hub. Im supposed to be driving back down to school, and I'm obviously not making the trip and need to fix this asap. A little late now to start it, but tomorrow I plan on tearing into the problem. Has anyone had/know of this happening, or if it's an easy fix? Like I said, I need to fix this as soon as I can and any advice would be awesome.

Thanks guys,
Brandon

 

While changing the rear shocks on my 2000 XJ yesterday I noticed the same thing on my driver side rear. Mine is due to a leaky wheel cylinder. I went to the parts store and bought all the parts and plan on starting the job tomorrow morning. Are you sure it's leaking from the break line? If it's coming from the inside it's a wheel cylinder.

 

Literally happened to me 3 weeks ago. Same side in the rear. But do what McGuire said first and check if it's leaking at the wheel cylinder. Now, if it's the line that goes to the hub and splits off, like what happened to myself, it's a pretty quick and easy fix. Just be careful when bending your line to fit from the master cylinder down to your undercarriage. Just take your time on it a little, and bleed them and you should be all set. Same exact thing happened to my ol' bird. Keep us posted and goodluck.

 

I didn't get a really good look at it. The wheel had fluid on it below the drum, and where the line connects to the drum is wet also. I'm about to raise the rear end and get a better look at it, so I'll update it when I do

 

I should also add that some of the drum looked wet too, not just where the line connects

 

Wheel cylinder. But take a closer look at it.

 

What Mike said.
With that mileage you will probably want to replace both side cylinders along with pads and all the adjusting crap... Then bleed the hell out of them till you fluid is clean.
Do all the fluids that you can also..
It's so worth it!!

 

If it is the actual wheel cylinder leaking, just replace it with a new one, they're fairly cheap. Two bolts and the line is all that attaches it to the backing plate.

 

Most likely wheelcylinder. No drama, replace both while you're at it.
Tip: if it;s rusted solid, you might want to turn the cylinder itself to get it loose, rather then trying to turn the line connected to it.
Since your mastercylinder has now fallen dry, you will need to do a thorough bleeding of the entire system.

Plenty of material on youtube to help you out with the above.

 

So I got it fixed, turns out it was the wheel cylinder. I replaced it, and the line I broke while taking it off. Brakes haven't been this firm in a long time! Thanks for the help everyone, you guys save my but all the time

Brandon

 

Let me guess, you tried to screw the line out of the cylinder instead of turning the cylinder itself....

 

You got it. After the fact I had that "oh yea" moment. Cheap fix though.