Frozen drum brake?

[futon]

So this morning was icy. We had rain yesterday morning which turned into snow around mid-day, and the temps hung around -10C after that.

When I reversed out of the driveway this morning, it seemed like the e-brake was stuck on. It happened a lot on my previous car, so I know the feeling. My driveway is on an incline, and the truck didn't roll after releasing the brake. But, I figured I'd just need to drive it a bit and it would unstick itself.

Talk about a pain in the ass. On ice, with one wheel stuck, and the other spinning furiously, I was going nowhere fast. I got stuck at an intersection, and had a stranger push as hard as he could, and the truck wouldn't budge. For reasons I don't quite understand, the truck would reverse just fine, though. So I drove backwards all the way home.

The brake eventually released on its own while I was searching for a hair dryer in the house, so I set out again. This time, the wheel seemed to be moving ok, but there was a rattling sound coming from the drum (ice?).

After being stopped at another intersection, the brake froze up again. Same thing; barely able to inch forward, but I could limp it home in reverse.

I took the wife's car after that.

Any theories? Based on what I've described, does this sound like mechanical failure, or just water/ice in the system? The drums were serviced (and shoes replaced) a few months ago.

Thanks

 

[ridgerunner]

My 90 F150 did this all the time. One problem could be the brake shoes swelling a little when wet. But it sounds like yours froze inside the drum. I used to carry a large hammer and banged the outside of the drum on the inside offending wheel and it would free it up. Even in 4 low with a mini spool locker in the rear it would not free itself without the hammer.

 

[futon]

Thanks, ridgerunner. I'll add a hammer to my arsenal.

It sounds like if the problem doesn't resolve itself after things warm up, it could be due to a bad return spring that's leaving the shoe engaged.

If it's fine after things thaw, I'll just make a point of not using the e-brake during the winter.

 

[pjtoledo]

the E brake cables are notorious for not releasing. your foot can apply enough pressure to pull the cables, but the springs cannot pull them back to release the E brake.

 

[adsm08]

Yeah, that reads like a frozen cable. Water can get under the sheath and freeze and it keeps the brake from releasing correctly because the cable can't move. The fix is to replace the offending cable, and in our case it sounds like it might only be the one at the wheel that is sticking. Sometimes setting the brake farther can get it moving by breaking up the ice, but this is a band-aid, not a fix.

The parking brakes on Fords (and most other vehicles with drum-style parking brakes) are actually pretty weak in Reverse. It's just the way they work. Nothing wrong there.

 

[futon]

The thing that throws me is that after the e-brake finally released, there was a rattling sound coming from the wheel, but it otherwise drove fine. After applying the brakes (while stopped at a light), the wheel froze up again and the rattling stopped. This is what made me think it was something in the drum itself. At the time, I had two theories:

1. The rattling was from ice that had broken up, and said ice wedged itself under something, causing the shoe to stick, or the ice melted and re-froze.

2. The rattling was from a return spring that broke, and the broken spring eventually wedged itself somewhere and seized the brake.

Today, the truck appears to drive just fine. I'll take it for an extended drive this evening to confirm, but it seems ice was the culprit.

 

[black_demon69]

check your wheel cylinders.......

 

[Andy D]

check your wheel cylinders.......

You definitely want to get the drums off, The ultimate cure for the Rat was both rear cables and the widget and spring that equalizes the pull. Be very careful with the one on there, they are NLA I got one in a JY .The E brake cables flummoxed me, they worked great when I replaced 90% of the brake system. Then in a couple of yrs they rusted solid in their housings. So Now 95 % has been R+R'ed

 

[black_demon69]

You definitely want to get the drums off, The ultimate cure for the Rat was both rear cables and the widget and spring that equalizes the pull. Be very careful with the one on there, they are NLA I got one in a JY .The E brake cables flummoxed me, they worked great when I replaced 90% of the brake system. Then in a couple of yrs they rusted solid in their housings. So Now 95 % has been R+R'ed

getting drums off would be my first thing to do.. then i would just plan on rebuilding the rear brakes with wheel cylinders, hardware, shoes, drums, and e brake cables. however i would get all parts ahead of time and only use what was necessary to fix then return unused parts if any. (i don't like to make multiple runs to parts store and i like to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best).


also if e brake cables are sticking you could just remove the spreader bars until you could get them. however this is not recommended as a long term or permanent solution...

 

[futon]

I appreciate the confidence you guys have in me, but I'm one of those people who take their vehicle into a shop. If it was summer, and I had jack stands, and the appropriate tools, and four hours of free time, and a six pack of good beer I'd take 'er apart and sort it out myself (with the help of this site and youtube), but today I don't have any of those things.

The problem was a seized e-brake cable and a snapped return spring inside the drum.

The truck is getting new drums, shoes, hardware, and cable, as we speak.