Rear brakes sticking (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Aug 2, 2005
Threads
8
Messages
22
Location
COLUMBUS,GEORGIA
O.K. so I just get my truck back from a Aussie locker install and brand new Warn hubs up front and now my brakes are sticking in the rear.They seem to get progressively more sticky the longer you drive. I noticed a little extra slow down when I went from second to third gear, (three speed ),more than the engine compression slowing it down . Started smelling brake pads on the highway and when I got home my rear brakes were smoking .Both wheel hubs were so hot you could not touch it and smoke was really coming out of the drum brakes.
I don't think the parking brake is the problem. Also just had a brake job two weeks ago and all was good. Is my master cylinder or brake booster going bad? Maybe the proportioning valve is not proportioning? It seems to start out fine and then get progressively worse. The booster and master cylinder are less than a year old.
Anybody have this problem before? Thanks in advance for any advice
Doublegun
 
You said 3 speed so I assume this is on your 40. New front hubs would have no effect on this, don't know about the Aussie but wouldn't thinks so.

That would leave the brake job you had recently. Think I would adjust the rears loose so you can pull the drums for a look see. I'd look at the return springs, hold down springs & of course the wheel cyls. in that order of most likely suspects. If all looks good, put it back together & readjust the shoes & see if that 'solves' the problem.

Maybe the Aussie has some bearing on this but I don't know enough about them to say. Someone else ??

John

Edit : Columbus Ga. eh ? At one time I worked for Georgia Crown, who is HQ'd in Columbus...small world.
 
Who did the work on the locker install?


I would bet that they thought that they had to remove the backing plates/brake assembly, as you would with a 9”or a Dana 44, in order to remove the axles, and took your brake lines off, only to find out that your rear axle is a c-clip style, and that you do not need to mess with the brakes to remove axle shafts, and then either did not bleed the rear brakes again, or, did a poor job of bleeding them.


Bleed the rear brakes.

If air is in the system, it can cause what you are describing....
 
2nd visit to the mechanic

Well I got my 73 FJ 40 back from the shop after he went over the brake system. It worked for about 10 miles and then the rear brakes started sticking again. The brake pedal was adjusted so tight it only had about a 1/4 inch of play from return position to fully depressed.
After it stuck I could pull up on the back of the brake pedal with the top of my toes and it would release enough to drive. Then it would get stuck again after a few miles. I repeated this process until I got her home.
Called the mechanic ( he happens to be a good friend,lucky for him) and asked about the above comments from Poser and John. He had checked the return spring, hold down springs and wheel cylinders. He also said the brake lines had been bled.
I am wondering, since I could pull up on the brake pedal and get it to release, could it be something in the pedal system itself? Is there a return spring on the pedal it self ? I'll look a SOR's site and see if there is a return spring on the pedal. The mechanic thinks it may be the master cylinder. I bought the master cylinder from SOR last year brand new. Maybe a rebuild kit on the master cylinder and a new return spring for the pedal might do it.
Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Doublegun.
 
Yes Doublegun, there is a return spring on the brake pedal. Hard to see..but it's there. Look under the dash & you should see a black 4-5 inch long spring attached from under the speedo to the brake pedal arm on the rod that goes to the booster through the firewall.

John
 
I just had an ARB locker installed in the rear with a disc brake conv. The exact same thing is happening to me. I'm taking it in to a brake guy tonight. I'll post the results.
 
More brake mystery

Well my 40 sat up over night and I decided to try her the next day. Suprise the brakes were working fine. The pedal had more play and no locking up. I drove here for about 30 minutes with no problem. Then I decided to drive her to work today. She was fine. Drove home for lunch,5-7 mile drive, no problem. Leave home for work after lunch and yep you guessed it ,the brakes were sticking in the rear. It seems they work when cold ,but as they heat up they get more sticky.
I'm gonna order a brake pedal spring and some pedal pivot bushings to see if that helps. After that I guess a new master cylinder will be needed.
Could the brake shoes be adjusted too tight and then as they heat they expand to make it stick? All I can do is endeavor to persevere.
Doublegun
 
Not too likely that the brakes could heat up & then all of a sudden start sticking, unless the return springs inside the drum are not on right or even missing. I just reread your 2nd post, I thought you had some work done...had this problem & then took it back so he could inspect his work. But after rereading, it sounds like the 'recheck' was done over the phone. Correct ??

If so, that's not what I would do. If he did not actually recheck his work..I would take him out of the loop for now & pull those rear drums myself for a 'look see'. Most likely all is OK in there, but SOMETHING is wrong, and you can't really determine that w/o a visual check.

If you pull the drums & you are not familiar with the system and/or don't have a picture via the FSM, you should verify you have 2 long 8-10 inch springs attached to the shoes, both running north & south. One spring should be on the outside of both shoes & the other on the inside. Might not be your problem, but in 15 mins., you will know & can move on to something else that could be the cause your problem.

HTH John
 
If the master cylinder was replaced, maybe the brake booster rod was improperly adjusted. If it is too long, it will cause the problem you describe.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom