No Break Cable Causing rear lock ups

[jk44054]

I have a 2000 base model Ranger with a 2.5 and a 5 speed in it. A few weeks ago my parking brake got stuck on me after tugging on it I thought I had popped it loose. Well after the 30 + mile trip to work I find that indeed it was still partially stuck. So that night I replaced the shoes and springs on the back wheels. I also disconnected the brake cable inside the drum and tucked it away. Everything seemed to be working fine for about 2 weeks but now one of the back brakes is locking up at slow speeds, also squealing some too. This is most noticeable when I haven't driven for a few hours.

Now on to the question....

By disconnecting the emergency brake cable am I messing up the adjustment mechanism or causing them to lock up? I wasn't planning on replacing the brake cable because the last one only lasted for a year and a half or so.

Sorry for the long post, thanks for any suggestions

 

[Mark_88]

The parking brake cable removal shouldn't cause the brakes to lock up...did you put brake grease under the shoes before installing them? Also, did you reset the adjuster to a lower position? If they are locking up it can be caused by those two things: Adjusted too high and not able to spring back due to binding on the backing plate...

 

[jk44054]

I did put some brake grease on the first time but I think I missed the points on the one pad and may have applied it a little too sparingly on the others when I first did them. I got some more today and reapplied it to all the points and verified the adjusters were screwed in. The short drive I took it on today was promising that it fixed it. Now to move on to the front brakes and other things I find that need attention, thanks.

 

[Mark_88]

That's good...my first ranger had the brakes lock up after every stoplight...never did figure out what was wrong with it though...think the emergency cable was sticking most of the time because yanking on that seemed to release them...ended up replacing the entire rear brakes and cables eventually...