Sticking rear brake shoes-

Revredneck said:

You didn't mention it, but are your axle seals leaking at all? Just a tiny bit of oil in the drum will cause the brakes to start sticking.
Good Luck and God Bless

Click to expand...

No axle seals leaking.. Took it in today and the shop looked at it (by the time I got the shop that brake was making so much noise it was scary!). They saw the shoes were glazed (they ground them down a bit) and they said that both of the rear brakes needed to be adjusted (I didn't do this since I thought they adjusted automatically- whoops) but other than that they couldn't find anything. I just drove it a few miles and the driver side is still getting hotter than the right side, but it hasn't started moaning and groaning like before.
When I was at the auto parts store the counter guy mentioned the possibility of the backing plate getting warped from all the heat. I did notice that the drum doesn't seem to set perfectly flush against the shoes. If I push against one side of the drum the opposite side lifts just a little. Has anyone ever heard of a backing plate needing to be replaced (or maybe I could just bang on it with a really big hammer!)
On top of that they said the ticking noise I was hearing was probably a loose chain in the transfer case so that will need to be done at some point in the future! I'm starting to think 180K may be the end of the line for me and the burban!

Another plea for help!

Any other suggestions???
I'm at my whits end!
Brakes started groaning today again. The weird thing is the wheel is getting hot along with the brake drum.:gasp:
Quick summary:
1- noticed glazed/cracked shoes when inspecting noise from driver side drum
2- took it in to brake place that did the shoes about a year ago- they replaced the shoes on both sides
3- took it back when it was still making noise and heating up- they replaced the hardware and adjusted the brakes but said they didn't know what exactly was wrong
4- Replaced both wheel cylinders, found some fairly good size ridges in the backing plates that I ground down a little, re-applied grease and took the drum in to get it turned
5- When turning the drum found out it was severely out of round. Purchased new drum.
6- Still getting hot, took it to a second shop who ground down glazed spots on new shoes and adjusted shoes on both sides
7- Still having the same problem!!!! Brake drum is getting severely hot- so hot the wheel gets too hot to touch.

WHAT IS GOING ON???

I noticed when I put the drum on that when I press it flush against the back of the assembly it "lifts" on the opposite side just a bit, almost like it won't sit flush against the back. Could the backing plate be warped? It almost seems like the shoes aren't sticking but there is something generating heat from the wheel turning, even when the brakes aren't applied.

I've seriously considered driving it down to the dealership and trading it in on an 02 Suburban or Yukon XL (or even an Expedition!- OK maybe not quite that mad, but getting there)

Solved...FINALLY

I FINALLY have no more squealing/chattering brakes!arty:

I ended up taking it back to 2nd repair shop and asked them to test drive and let me know what was going on. The shop called and said they could not believe how loud the brakes were squealing and thought they would find the brakes a complete mess. After looking at it again they recommended replacing the shoes with different ones. They said the shoes the original brake place put on were extremely low quality (glued on friction material) and contained a high percentage of metallic substances and their guess was that's what was causing the problem.

So yesterday I took the shoes off (again, for the 4th time) and replaced them with $18 autozone riveted shoes. Problem solved!

I could not believe that brand new shoes could cause that type of problem, but I'm taking the shoes back to the repair shop (it's a chain called Brakes Plus- I highly recommend you stay away!) and going to ask for a partial refund. I'm a little ticked off, but I'm glad I can drive the vehicle without scaring me and everyone on the road.

I did end up having to grind down the contact points on both backing plates as the shoes had got so hot that they had melted deep ridges in nearly every contact point. Thankfully I had a brand new air grinder I was able to put to good use. Here are a few pictures of the ridges.