1 rear brake shoe dragging

Uncle Gump · Oct 30, 2018

Denisefwd93 said:
Do the brake shoes return to the pin when you lightly press & release?

Denise... It's one thing to look at that statically. It's a totally different thing dynamically. If the return spring are weak and/or damaged... they may very well have enough effort to return the shoes to the anchor pin with the drum off during a static state. When in a dynamic environment... brakes applied and self energized... generating heat. Weak and or damaged return springs might not have enough effort to pull the shoe back to the pin.

You also probably noted that the park brake strut was indeed removed in the pictures... so it eliminates anything park brake.

Denisefwd93 · Oct 30, 2018

Uncle Gump said:
Denise... It's one thing to look at that statically. It's a totally different thing dynamically. If the return spring are weak and/or damaged... they may very well have enough effort to return the shoes to the anchor pin with the drum off during a static state. When in a dynamic environment... brakes applied and self energized... generating heat. Weak and or damaged return springs might not have enough effort to pull the shoe back to the pin.

You also probably noted that the park brake strut was indeed removed in the pictures... so it eliminates anything park brake.

My other truck had a bad rabs valve and the shoes were not retracting it was acting like a check valve we went through 2 sets of new brake drums overheating and warping,

Uncle Gump · Oct 30, 2018

Denisefwd93 said:
My other truck had a bad rabs valve and the shoes were not retracting it was acting like a check valve we went through 2 sets of new brake drums overheating and warping,

That would cause a hydraulic drag... I believe the OP stated he cracked a bleeder and relieved no hydraulic pressure.

The OP stated it all happened after he did repairs. The bent up return springs remain suspect... at least for me... until they are repaired or replaced.

Denisefwd93 · Oct 30, 2018

What was weird about it dragging, soon after I stopped driving to brakes would release again. This kind of stuff can really make somebody go insane. It fits right in with trying to find shakes and Wobbles like I'm trying to do now.

1up · Oct 30, 2018

The springs are new, and I do see the deformity from repeated removal, I'll get a tool, but 1st I'll give them a squeeze with the pliers.

I don't see how the cable adjuster can be installed any differently, the cable is in the grove (note 1st photo) but the spring end that attaches to the adjuster arm fits in a grove, no other place to attach it to this arm, I was concerned about the clearance of the return spring, but there is clearance, I can reverse the return spring to be safe, I think I attempted it once but it was a pain to seat the spring into its hole.

I never have problems removing the drums so over tightening is not a real issue but it was most likely case.
You explanation of static and dynamic gives me more to think about and consider, it might go back to the springs as I only look at them statically.

1up · Oct 30, 2018

I squeezed those spring ends down to a more J profile, after a test drive it seems when I come to a slow stop the brakes sound like a violin, when I do a slow roll they make that noise but if I quickly tap the brakes it will release, so I can assume it's the springs or should I also consider the wheel cylinder/possible clogged line again?

Uncle Gump · Oct 30, 2018

So closing up the springs stopped the drag?

Some of the noise you're hearing could be from a glaze created by the dragging.

1up · Oct 31, 2018

Squeezing the spring ends down did help, but they are still hanging up and tapping the brake will make them release, but I still have to play with them to get them to release.
As the springs are new,and only the ends were bent, they should be ok, I'll hit the shoes and drums with some emory paper to break the glaze, don't worry I won't go crazy...

But still not 100% fixed, I now know where the issue is and need to work on getting the pads to return in the dynamic mode.

Uncle Gump · Nov 1, 2018

1up said:
But still not 100% fixed, I now know where the issue is and need to work on getting the pads to return in the dynamic mode.

Dude... That is the exact problem you've been trying to fix from the start.

Do what you will... But take a little advice from Uncle Gump...

Buy yourself a brake spring tool... Buy a new pack of spring hardware... exchange your overheated shoes for a new set... turn your drums or buy a pair of new ones.

Jack the thing up... take your time and use the tool... limit the lube on the backing plates to a minimum.... ensure that no springs are touching... give them a proper adjustment... and just get back to driving the damn thing.

Then you file all that you've learned about drum brakes into memory... lessons learned category.

EDIT... One other thing I noticed in your pictures and forgot to mention. The horse shoe retainer on the park brake lever... it looks like it could fall off. Take a screw driver and pry it down into the pin groove... then take a pair of pliers and squeeze it closed. The last thing you want is that falling off... it will create and new set of problems and destroy a fresh brake job.

Bgunner · Nov 1, 2018

Looking at the pics I noticed that the bar going from the E-brake pivot bar to the front shoe is missing also. This will prevent the E-break from working. This bar is meant to push out on the front shoe when the break is set. While this should not cause the rubbing issue you have it does say the breaks are not put together correctly. This is also apparent from the other issues mentioned with the break assembly. These issues need to be fixed first and foremost.

There are 3 rub points to each shoe, the top, middle and bottom put a little, not a lot of, break grease on these points. This will help the shoes close easier and hopefully prevent the break shoes from sticking out. There should be three raised, and usually cross hatched but not always, bumps at these points to show where the grease should be applied.

EDIT: I did not notice if you mentioned or not if you changed the drums. Years ago when you purchased break rotors and drums you needed to scuff the pad/shoe mating surface on them to prevent this type of noise, it acts like a record player in effect if not done. I have also noticed that cheap low end replacements lately have not been scuffed from the factory so this might be a possibility. To scuff them all you need to do is use a scotch brite pad and using a circular motion rub the breaking surface to break up the grooves that the lathe made when cutting the drum down. This stops the record effect that happens when the pads/shoes touch.

2trux · Nov 2, 2018

From the picture I would say that the red return spring at the bottom should be flipped so the long side of the spring is toward the e-brake lever so the lever doesn't catch on the spring.
I know that this is not causing the lockup since the e-brake is not functional at this time, but when you get the e-brake working you'll want it to be correct.

Uncle Gump · Nov 3, 2018

2trux said:
From the picture I would say that the red return spring at the bottom should be flipped so the long side of the spring is toward the e-brake lever so the lever doesn't catch on the spring.
I know that this is not causing the lockup since the e-brake is not functional at this time, but when you get the e-brake working you'll want it to be correct.

Great point... I was thinking it was equal length on each side. Been awhile since I've been inside one of these drums.

At a minimum... the bottom return spring touching the spring on the self adjuster cable could be setting up some harmonics creating the violin sound the OP said he heard.

Denisefwd93 · Nov 5, 2018

Could it be your abs, speed sensor tone rings etc? If all things mechanical have been ruled; out maybe it's time to look at electromechanical things that can cause problems. the first thing that comes to mind that is electro-mechanical is the ABS system

just saying...

1 rear brake shoe dragging

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