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Back brake skids...


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Rebuilt my drum brakes a couple months ago (did not replace the wheel cylinders) and when I stop fast and I am going less than 25mph it will start skidding the back right tire. I replaced the wheel cylinders and I believed the issue had stopped but I came back after a few days. I took off the brake drum again and noticed I had forgotten to put the plate in right below the top of the brake shoes, which serves as a backer plate for a couple springs and a cable with an eye on it. I thought that fixed it but it is still doing it. Doesn't matter if it's wet or dry out. I am at a loss as to what could be causing it. Any help would be appreciated 

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Just make sure it moves in and out normally and doesn’t hang up. What sometimes happens is the cable will get a kink or rub through and pack with grit or rust. It’ll apply normally because there’s a lot of tension in the cable, but then it won’t release.

 

I guess I should ask for more details on the skidding. Is it locking the brake up and releasing when you take your foot off the brake or does it hang up and drag for a bit?

I’m wondering about brake proportioning and adjustment. Anything that might cause the opposite brake not to work, like a wheel seal leak, or incorrect assembly. 

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On 5/8/2023 at 4:39 PM, TurboedMJ said:

Rebuilt my drum brakes a couple months ago (did not replace the wheel cylinders) and when I stop fast and I am going less than 25mph it will start skidding the back right tire. I replaced the wheel cylinders and I believed the issue had stopped but I came back after a few days. I took off the brake drum again and noticed I had forgotten to put the plate in right below the top of the brake shoes, which serves as a backer plate for a couple springs and a cable with an eye on it. I thought that fixed it but it is still doing it. Doesn't matter if it's wet or dry out. I am at a loss as to what could be causing it. Any help would be appreciated 

The fact that the skldding issue returned after being gone immediately after installing new wheel cylinders makes me wonder if the drums were adjusted correctly once the new wheel cylinders were installed.

 

In addition, are the self-adjusting mechanisms properly installed and functioning as expected?  (A lot of guy crab about the self adjusters being a POS, but we old guys lived with those devices for decades, and learned to keep them clean.  Also, the self adjuster only really works when the brakes are applied going BACKWARDS.)

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1. Seized parking brake cable, as others mentioned.  Your description is classic example for it.

2. Oil or greased soaked brake linings (obvious, you would have seen it)

 

If you are new to drum brake work...

3. Are you familiar with the Primary and Secondary shoes?  There are two different brake shoes per side, a primary and secondary.  The primary shoe has a shorter brake lining, the secondary a longer brake lining.  The secondary shoe goes on the rear (it faces the rear of the truck).  I've seen mistakes were the secondary shoes were on the front, and where both secondary shoes were on one side, and both primary shoes on the other.

 

4.  Just a thought, check the tires pressures to make sure they are even on each side.

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7 hours ago, gogmorgo said:

Just make sure it moves in and out normally and doesn’t hang up. What sometimes happens is the cable will get a kink or rub through and pack with grit or rust. It’ll apply normally because there’s a lot of tension in the cable, but then it won’t release.

 

I guess I should ask for more details on the skidding. Is it locking the brake up and releasing when you take your foot off the brake or does it hang up and drag for a bit?

I’m wondering about brake proportioning and adjustment. Anything that might cause the opposite brake not to work, like a wheel seal leak, or incorrect assembly. 

It stops when I let off the brake. Sometimes I have to give it a bit more throttle right after it happened to stop it from stalling. 

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4 hours ago, schardein said:

1. Seized parking brake cable, as others mentioned.  Your description is classic example for it.

2. Oil or greased soaked brake linings (obvious, you would have seen it)

 

If you are new to drum brake work...

3. Are you familiar with the Primary and Secondary shoes?  There are two different brake shoes per side, a primary and secondary.  The primary shoe has a shorter brake lining, the secondary a longer brake lining.  The secondary shoe goes on the rear (it faces the rear of the truck).  I've seen mistakes were the secondary shoes were on the front, and where both secondary shoes were on one side, and both primary shoes on the other.

 

4.  Just a thought, check the tires pressures to make sure they are even on each side.

I will check that stuff tomorrow 

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On 5/10/2023 at 11:58 AM, AZJeff said:

The fact that the skldding issue returned after being gone immediately after installing new wheel cylinders makes me wonder if the drums were adjusted correctly once the new wheel cylinders were installed.

The skidding didn't come back until I had been driving for a few days.

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On 5/10/2023 at 6:50 PM, schardein said:

1. Seized parking brake cable, as others mentioned.  Your description is classic example for it.

2. Oil or greased soaked brake linings (obvious, you would have seen it)

 

If you are new to drum brake work...

3. Are you familiar with the Primary and Secondary shoes?  There are two different brake shoes per side, a primary and secondary.  The primary shoe has a shorter brake lining, the secondary a longer brake lining.  The secondary shoe goes on the rear (it faces the rear of the truck).  I've seen mistakes were the secondary shoes were on the front, and where both secondary shoes were on one side, and both primary shoes on the other.

 

4.  Just a thought, check the tires pressures to make sure they are even on each side.

I've just learned something today, thanks!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ok so I changed out the diff cover gasket and when bolting the diff cover back on I must've not installed the load sensing brake adjustment set up, and it doesn't skid anymore🤷🏼‍♂️ guess that fixed it. 

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