First Time Replacing Rear 10 Inch Drum Brakes

[FL-400S]

My Ranger's passenger brake adjuster assembly had come apart and damaged the drum. I have replaced the rear brakes following the example of the intact drivers' brake assembly. It looks correct on both sides with the adjusters on the correct side. My problem is that when I adjusted the shoes to allow the drum to be fitted onto the assembly and test drove afterwards, the brakes are giving off a burning smell after an 8 mile drive. I checked the brakes with a non contact thermometer and the passenger drum was 202 degrees and the drivers 100 degrees. Is this normal and are the brakes supposed to smell so when first installed? I replaced the 10 inch drums, shoes, the shoe hardware and the adjuster components. When I would apply the brakes in a long slowdown, they would begin to shudder slightly. I found and read this thread: https://www.therangerstation.com/forums/index.php?threads/drivers-side-drum-getting-hot-after-brake-job.208999/#post-2035525
but it doesn't help much. Any help from an experienced person would be appreciated.

 

[pjtoledo]

the shudder is the drum getting hot and slightly warping, the shoes are dragging.
make sure the shoes fully retrack and contact the top anchor pin.

on the wheel cylinders, peel the rubber seal back to inspect for corrosion.
the pistons inside the cylinder must move freely.
hydraulic pressure easily pushes them out, only the springs can pull them back in.
are the parking cables free?

recheck the clearance/drag.


one cheap & dirty trick to check even shoe-to-drum contact is to coat the shoes with magic marker then spin the drums.
hi points will show, then I shaved the shoes for a perfect fit.

 

[FL-400S]

I removed the drums and rechecked the shoes. with no reference to definitely check what the clearance should be, I can only guess what it is supposed to be. I adjusted them to the point before the shoes would touch and drag. I tested it out again and the passenger side measured over 200 degrees and the drivers side 166. There was some shuddering from the previous drive and in a 10 mile drive the shudder began to diminish. The amount of heat the passenger drum generates worries me, but I don't know what is normal after a brake replacement. BTW, thanks for the advice.

 

[pjtoledo]

alternate adjusting method, it's worked for me a couple times.
leave the shoes loose, then do repeated reversing brake applications. that allows the self adjusters to do their adjusting.

rear self adjusters only work in reverse, and only as the brakes are applied. they do not continue to adjust if you try to stop harder/longer.
that means multiple quick jabs while reversing 5-10 mph will do the adjusting for you.

check the drum for out-of-round. maybe rotate it a couple holes.

while driving, should be no heat in the rear. however, stopping to check it generates heat. no way to avoid that one.

 

[Jazzer]

RonD mentioned that you can do the same thing by repeatedly engaging the parking brake, IIRC.

 

[FL-400S]

I finally had to take the truck to the shop. The drums warped on the trip over there. They replaced the drums, checked things out and told me my installation of the shoes and their mechanism was correct and said it should be all good to go. I drove the truck to work (20 miles, driving into Atlanta). got out of the truck and it had the bad burning smell on the passenger side. I have a good idea what it isnt and no idea what it is. I'm also waiting for the shop (whom I've used for about 20 years now and trust and is pretty knowledgeable) to call me back with their best guess. Now another drive home and another smoked drum.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I wish you had some pictures of the brake assemblies.

The fact it switched sides is perplexing.

Does the park brake function?

Did you ensure you didn't have a park brake cable stuck?

 

[FL-400S]

I'm sorry. It was the passenger side. Just writing while I was flustered. I haven't set the parking brake since I initially started work on the brakes. It's done badly enough without doing so.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I'd say you have a cable stuck.

When that happens... it will hold the shoes off the anchor pin and the primary shoe to drag. This causes the brakes to self energize... and burn up your brakes.

It's sometimes hard to see... but a screw driver under the lip of the backing plate... while prying downwards on the brake shoes will show you movement.

With the shoes are at rest... and properly adjusted... the shoes HAVE to be firmly seated on the anchor pin.

 

[FL-400S]

Thanks, I'll talk with my mechanic about it today. I had the truck towed back to them Last night.

 

[FL-400S]

Since having it towed to my mechanic, he has tried driving it with the emergency brake cable disconnected on the bad side and he has replaced each of the brake components on both sides except for the new shoes and drums and the passenger side brake consistently gets hotter than the driver's side. The day before yesterday, he capped and disconnected the hydraulic lines to both brakes and disconnected both emergency brake lines and still the passenger side brake gets hot. When I was checking it before taking it to the mechanic with my non contact thermometer, it maxed it out. I'd thought I was over insane vehicle problems when I bought a Ranger I reckon I thought wrong. Fortunately my mechanic has done all this work for me at parts cost. I know that he is a very good mechanic. I've done business with him for over 20 years now.

 

[superj]

If brakes were disconnected and its getting hot, check the bearings

 

[FL-400S]

He's doing that now.

 

[pjtoledo]

sometimes part combinations just don't work.
I have a set of brand new 10 inch drums that overheated like you describe.
at the time of my fiasco I think they measured slightly smaller than the set I eventually used.
it's been running fine for several years on the better fitting set of drums.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Did you get the brake shoes to fit tight on the anchor pin?