Rear drum brakes

[The patriot]

OK, up until about 1. 5 year ago they adjusted fine with the factory "slam them hard in reverse" method.

Now I have to pull them up manually. It was about every oil change.

I now notice that between changes they need to be done. This is getting out of hand!!

I've been driving down the block in reverse @ about 30 MPH and hitting them, still N. G. !

Would the 1 ton wheel cylinders help? I'm probibally going to pull the drums and never sieze the screw adjusters, and in general just look around.

Has this happened to anyone? What could I do to fix it? I seldom haul heavy loads, should I pull the proportioning valve?

I had the drums off about 20K miles back, and had plenty left on the shoes.

TIA

Eric

 

[Bud Fox]

could your wheel cylinders be shot?? I just had a problem with my backs pulled one side and had gear oil all over (wheel seal) and the other side had a bad wheel cylinder- my brake shoes looked like they had 80%meat on them but I replaced them because they were covered in gear oil on the one side and had a crack on the one shoe. I did springs, brakes and wheel cylinders in both sides for @ $140 in parts. I had no warning signs of leakage etc. and have about 38k on truck. this was the first time the back drums were off---------





tell me dodge didnt steal the back brake design from chevy

 

[Shovelhead]

It was posted awile ago that the procedure involved backing... hitting the brakes, then pulling forward and hitting the brakes, repeating as often as necessary.

The forward and brake resets the pawl on the starwheel so it can go to the next position.



HTH

 

[The patriot]

I did my seal also. Only one side, but I bought one for the other, and the hardware. 69K miles.

I sprayed the shoes with brake cleaner, and all looked fine. After assembling it, no pulls.

I dont think this has anything to do with it (at least in my case) because they were fine for a while after doing this.



Eric

 

[Bud Fox]

maybe your brakes finally need to be done???

 

[The patriot]

Shovelhead, I do this so often that I fear the neighbors will be calling the guys with the white suits, and butterfly nets on me.

I'm very easy on brakes, I just cant see why they would need adjustment sooooo much more often than in the past, especially since I'm driving it the same as I always have. This method just seems to have stopped working in the last year or so.

I'm thinking something must be broke. I dunno.....

Eric

 

[ralphr]

if cylinders seem ok, check the hoses, they can get soft, and swell up reducing the braking force. the other thing that comes to mind, is the adjuster, check the wheel as well as the pawl to see if worn, and/or somehow "stuck". how far out is it adjusted itself? may have to remove and clean???

 

[Shovelhead]

Have you checked to make sure that the adjusters aren't frozen?



Just tossin' out thoughts here... ...

 

[MidwestMotorman]

Maybe you just are not getting enough pressure to the rear cylinders. There is a TSB out there to eliminate the load proportioning valve in the rear. The TSB calls for a section of long brake hose to replace the valve. Hose cost me about $24 from the dealer. I am just about to do it.



If you go the wheel cylinder route, the ones from a chevy one ton are supposed to be the biggest stock, even bigger than dodge one ton cylinders.

 

[The patriot]

The adjusters are not frozen, as I adjust them 1/2 way through my oil change. Theyve been taking about 6-8 clicks. Oh, BTW I've been slamming them forward also, to re-set the pawl. Still N/G.

I guess I'll have to make some time to pull the drums, but I highly doubt that the shoes are worn out. I had the drums off a little while back, and they were at least 70%.

Any more suggestions?

Eric

 

[MikeBeggy]

I changed to the one ton wheel cylinders chasing a similar gremlin. Once I removed the proportioning valve, I had so much rear brake that I put the normal cylinders back. Now, with EGR's pads and shoes, the ol' Dodge stops like a Ford.

 

[BK]

there are components in the rear brakes that need to be cleaned & greased for the self adjuster to work correctly.

DC recommends that once a year you "service" your brakes. DC also recommends a manual adjustment each oil change.



The once a year service doesnt mean you need to replace pads or shoes. But to inspect the system and clean the surfaces that items ride on and move on and grease as needed.



I think there would be a lot less complaints about pulling if DC dealers did the brake work correctly and the maintance was followed.



The shoes have a lot of friction against the back plate, there are points on the back plate that the pads ride on, those need to be clean and lightly grease, besides other areas. The grease over times attracts dirt..... and of course addes to the friction problem.

The adjustment star needs to be clean and regreased... points where the self adjuster pivots on and so on.



BTW, non of my fords ever stopped well... they all used up front calipers faster than brake pads and I could never lock up the brakes. Thankfully the front calibers were cheap.

 

[lschultz]

Brakes

Give Sam Peterson a call at 360 357-4958 8:30-5:30

You can find him on the members list too and send him email or private message. I ordered pads for my sons 99(haven't put them on yet maybe today) and for my 2000(doesn't need them yet). Looks like everything we will need is in the box with the pads. He has a brake and AC shop. He's suppose to be the expert. From his posts it sounds like he knows what he's talking about.

 

[illflem]

When braking in reverse for self adjusting you must come to a full stop. Could it be your adjuster is worn and allowing it to unscrew?

I use anti-seize rather than grease to lube the friction points, doesn't attract dust as bad and stays put under high temps.

 

[sam peterson]

Hey Mike Beggy---Saying that the old Dodge now stops like a Fird? If you worked on all the models like I do you would see that Ford has 10 times the problems as any of the others. If you were printing all of the factory bulletins you would burn up the printer before you got them all printed. Ford didn't solve their problems with the 4 wheel disc models either. ----Sam

 

[Joe Mc]

Try taking the adjusters off, clean em up real good, lube w/anti-seeze and then try em. MHO