2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Rear brakes on the Ol' 97......not fun so far...

[mwilson]

Left rear wheel started locking up at some point this summer after the truck sat for a while. Got bad enough at times that I would have to engage 4wd along with.a good dose of ignorant to get the thing to let go.

Figured I had better deal with it before winter or replace the tire with a ski...

I have been two hours getting the drum off, backed adjuster off and drum would still not release. Finally cut a hole in the drum, spun it to the bottom and then cut the self adjuster in half to get some slack somewhere...still haven't figured out what was binding yet. Front shoe perfect, rear shoe to the rivets....

 

[JR]

Yikes! Was the rust ring around the edge holding it on?_Did you crack a bleeder or a brake line loose to see if the wheel cylinder was putting pressure on the shoes? It's kind of a stretch on a wheel cylinder but I have had to do it with a locked caliper before to get it home.

Everything is still original on mine (except wheel cylinders) and still in good working order but I had to turn the drums once because one was out of round and they both had a nasty rust ring at the edge that made it a royal PIA to pull the drums off for inspection. My buddy turned them for me but said they were right at the minimum thickness, so after winter she's gonna get new drums, shoes, and a spring kit.

 

[mwilson]

I don't know if the wheel cylinder was holding or not. It was leaking, all wet inside of the seals. I figured there was a ridge on the drum. There really is not. I have new wheel cylinders and related hardware. Seth is bringing me drums tonight 'cause I need at least one now....

 

[Wayne M.]

Betcha the WC was stuck on one side or the other. I didn't know the 2gens had hub piloted drums.

 

[VolsFan]

I remember on the 99 putting the rear on jack stands and having 3 lugs loose on the stud to keep the drum from flying off.got in the truck fired it up and punched it then slammed the brake on. Took the drum off. Got that tip from here years ago

 

[petersonj]

Front shoe perfect, rear shoe to the rivets....

Another thing to consider is that park brake may be improperly adjusted. Sometimes the brake auto adjusters on the rear brakes stop working and the symptoms show up as a weak park brake. The proper adjustment is to adjust the star wheels manually on the rear brakes and to NOT adjust the park brake cable along the frame rail. Often this is overlooked and by adjusting the park brake cable, the result can be that the park brake linkage inside the drum does not allow the rear brake shoes to anchor against their respective stops after the service brake or the park brake has been released. This creates a drag on the front shoe (energized by the park brake actuator inside the drum) and the drag from the forward motion of the vehicle causes the shoe assembly to rotate and apply more pressure to the rear shoe by design, thus prematurely wearing it down. This failure may only show up on one side of the vehicle because the energy may be transferred through the equalizer in the park brake linkage to one side or the other.

When you reassemble your rear brake shoe hardware, pay particular attention that both brake shoes on each side of the axle are seated against the anchor pins. If one side is not and you push the shoes by hand to make them contact the anchor pin, you have probably transferred the energy to the other side (via the park brake equalizer) and have pushed one of the other shoes away from the anchor pin. If this is happening, the park brake cable adjustment must be backed off until the brake shoes are seated and then backed off slightly more to ensure some free play.

This may not be he problem in your case, but is well worth investigating before you complete your brake job in the rear.

- John

 

[Wayne M.]

Above so true! You forget about the park brake and associated when air brakes are the norm! Indeed if you can't get both shoes seated on the anchor pin, there's trouble.

 

[BigPapa]

I would suggest you replace all brake springs, hardware, and adjusters on that one. You must get a lot of road salt or whatever chemical there using now days up there. Looks like the entire undercarriage is rusty.

 

[mwilson]

Oh yeah, she's getting it all.....

Besides, I cut the adjuster in half with a cut off wheel so I could get things to let go.

Road treatment chemicals in winter plus setting all summer really puts a crust on things.

 

[Wayne M.]

I strongly believe that the chemicals are really ramping things up. I see rot, but not like in recent years! It might even be part of a gov conspiracy to get us out of our vehicles!

 

[JR]

The whole road treatment debacle really fries me. I'd honestly rather deal with the ice than the crap they're slinging on the roads now. Think about it, with the money they would save on road treatment they could hire extra drivers and get the trucks on the road sooner while it is snowing to keep them clear before they get too packed. Then send them back out when/if the sun warms the road up enough to soften things up. So we may have to slow down a little more and learn how to drive....

 

[jgillott]

I strongly believe that the chemicals are really ramping things up. I see rot, but not like in recent years! It might even be part of a gov conspiracy to get us out of our vehicles!

The whole road treatment debacle really fries me. I'd honestly rather deal with the ice than the crap they're slinging on the roads now. Think about it, with the money they would save on road treatment they could hire extra drivers and get the trucks on the road sooner while it is snowing to keep them clear before they get too packed. Then send them back out when/if the sun warms the road up enough to soften things up. So we may have to slow down a little more and learn how to drive....

I agree 100%. It is beyond insane what they do to our roads lately. Our local township maintained roads are so much better than what our state roads are. The state pre-treats with brine, slings salt until it is as thick as gravel, and then comes through and plows it away. Usually, this results in the roads freezing over again. Our township on the other hand, comes out and plows the snow off first and keeps up with it. They use very little material and it seems to work so much better.

Speaking of brine, as you can see in the other thread I have going, it was 68 here today and has been warm for weeks. We have had no measurable snow to this point, except for one morning where there was a little on the grass. If it was light out, I would go out and take a picture of our road. They have been out spraying brine already this year. Maybe they are afraid of a flash freeze if it drops in to the 50's tonight.........

 

[Wayne M.]

They're pre treating NOW?!?! J?

I'm thinking of a way to get the EPA involved with contaminated ground water/ stream runoff. There has to be a connection.

 

[jgillott]

They're pre treating NOW?!?! J?

I'm thinking of a way to get the EPA involved with contaminated ground water/ stream runoff. There has to be a connection.

Yes, they sprayed brine on our roads the other morning when it was down around freezing. There were some reports of ice fog in some areas, so I am assuming that is why they were out. But, there was no issue here.

 

[JR]

They have been out spraying brine already this year. Maybe they are afraid of a flash freeze if it drops in to the 50's tonight.........

They've done that too here a couple of times. Temps near freezing but no measurable precipitation in the forecast. Then there are the mornings I'm on the road at 5am and making tracks through 12" drifts because they hadnt been out all night :-laf
Totally mind boggling.

 

[Wayne M.]

Over here we don't pretreat. It just gets sprayed on top of the salt as it hits the spinner All the time.

 

[NIsaacs]

Mike, you might want to check your spring bolts. I live in AZ and here is what mine looked like. I switched to 5/8's bolts. Note, the left side of the u-bolt, it was about 3/8's in size where the nut stopped. Nick

 

[mwilson]

Isn't the lead shoe supposed to the front? That's the one with the shorter lining. If so these were on backwards.

Checking it out right now. This has been bugging me all night as I have not discovered the "Why"...

 

[JR]

Yep, the lead shoe should be the shorter. The rear does more braking and should have thicker lining.

 

[mwilson]

Thats what I'm thinking.

I believe that the park brake link dropped out of slot in the forward shoe at some point. Then jammed into the shoe web below. All as a result of the shoes beng reversed. Primary and Seconday shoe iron is identical, holes and all. Lining is all thats different. If you didn't pay attention it would be real easy to do.

That's why the rear shoe was wasted and I could not get the drum off.