Another dreaded drum brake issue

Lowcountryearl

Lowcountryearl

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 20, 2020
Messages
129
Location
Charleston SC
Searched the forums for a while and still don't have an answer on my drum brake issue.
Every once in a while, well, more often than not my brakes will drag after about ten miles or so. I can feel and smell it when it happens. Both wheels heat up evenly meaning both radiate the same amount of heat from the drums so it may be possible both master cylinders are going bad. No issues with the front brakes. Yesterday after I got off the interstate I pulled over in a parking lot, backed up and hit the brakes pretty hard. Went on to work for about an hour, drove 25 miles home got out and the brakes were cool as cucumbers, no issue whatsoever so, any thought on what's going on?
 
I would take a look inside and check the condition of all the hardware. May be time for a rebuild including new wheel cylinders. This is good preventative maintenance especially if you don’t know when they were last serviced. Also, make sure your parking brake is releasing when you let the handle down. Look at the linkage to see if it is binding.
 
Last edited:
Thanks. I have been avoiding using the ebrake just to eliminate that, took the drums off and inspected, didn't really see any issues
20200913_115802.jpg
 
Well, I'd say your hardware looks pretty new. Could they be set just a bit too tight? There should be a slight drag felt when you rotate the drum. Not with the tire on, just the drum. Also there seems to be a lot of reinstall problem with (iirc) the E-brake cable in there. Someone has a nice pic they post that clearly shows the hardware layout.
MrBlaine is the resident brake expert, so hopefully he'll chime in and troubleshoot in 1 sentence or less.
 
Is it possible the drum brake shoe contact points are hanging up on the backing plate due to rust or lack of high-temp grease in those areas??
 
Hardware looks ok, and if you got the drum off without much trouble that pretty much rules out the shoes being stuck.

I would bet your wheel cylinders are sticking. But it's kinda weird for both sides to be doing it equally.

What does your brake fluid look like?
 
Brake fluid looks OK, not overly dark. Ebrake has no tension when released. Just can't think of anything in common with both rear drums that wouldn't affet the front brakes as well.
 
Lowcountryearl said:
Not sure what that means, is there grease points I need to
Click to expand...

If you take them apart the rear of the shoe has three flat points where it contacts the backplate. It's just metal on metal, so those points should have anti seize or something like that applied to keep them lubed and to prevent them from rusting.

That's three on each shoe.
 
Are you sure the hardware is on right?

We get a lot of drums with shoes on backwards (some are location specific) and some with springs wrong places.

Just verify 100 percent the hardware is properly placed including adjusters. Many people hate drum brake jobs abd they just jam those sumbitches on.

Your fluid might be shit but won't cause your issue.
 
If the Ebrake cable is floppy loose when disengaged then it might be hanging up a bit back by the adjuster areas. That might cause the problem on both sides.
 
Nice,
Still happening, on the way home form work, third gear was sluggish bc rear brake was dragging
There is no rhyme or reason why this happens but it's fairly significant. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Been to the brake shop a couple of times and they just adjust the star wheel, but this happens after driving 5-10 miles of a mix of highway/ city. Sometimes it will self correct, others it just keeps happening, no issues with the front rotors
 
Can you get a pic from the bottom? Showing the star wheel and adjuster lever.

It is possible to mess up the orientation of the cable as it connects to the lever. I've heard of the brakes dragging if the spring at the end of the cable is flipped around the wrong way.

Other possibility is the wheel cylinders.
 
Another possible culprit is the rear brake hose. As these hoses age, they can swell and restrict flow. This could make it so that the wheel cylinder would remain slightly engaged. However, I believe this is more common on disc setups. This would affect both rear brakes equally.
 
Last edited:
Sun Dog said:
Another possible culprit is the rear brake hose. As these hoses age, they can swell and restrict flow. This could make it so that the wheel cylinder would remain slightly engaged. However, I believe this is more common on disc setups. This would affect both rear brakes equally.
Click to expand...
There are no rubber hoses with these rear drums; only hard tubes. They degrade by corroding or rusting, but no swelling.
 
Top Bottom
Back