HELP? 1977 Chevy Driven with Parking Brake On

[1977_LEROY]

Got home yesterday and my wife had taken the 1977 Chevy Scottsdale to drop off my son at work about 5 miles away and then drove it right back. The rear left wheel assembly was smoking like the truck was about to catch fire and you could smell burnt rubber. Thank God it didn't... Now... Rewind to when I parked it the day before on Sunday... I naturally put the manual parking brake on and my son or wife did not realize it when they drove it to his work and back yesterday. I am not sure how they didn't feel it. Plus, the parking brake light was not illuminated when I hopped in it yesterday to disengage it. My wife did say it felt a bit sluggish while driving it home. I need to know what my next steps should be??? Will the brakes work at all now... Will the parking brake still work? Do i need to get the truck up on jacks and check things out? Would driving it up and down the road with parking brake off be okay? This is my first post and since I am mechanically inclined but have a lack of working knowledge... I joined this forum for some support. We just picked up the 1977 Chevy "Leroy" (his Nickname) about 2 weeks ago. Leroy is going to be in our family for many years to come.

Any help or guidance is very much appreciated.

[rich weyand]

Several things. The below is my opinion, hopefully some others will chime in as well.

I don't think there is a parking brake light. The BRAKE light on the dash is connected to the proportioning valve in the front. If the proportioning valve, which should run somewhere in the middle, goes hard over to either side, it means one side of your dual-cylinder braking system has failed. Going hard over to either side, the proportioning valve will light the dash light.

She definitely overheated the brakes. You may have warped drums or burned brake material on the shoes, which could necessitate replacing the drums and shoes, which is the routine brake service when they wear out anyway. Or it could be OK. Several hard stops from speed, or dragging the brakes down long hills, will also heat up the brakes and cause the burning brake lining smell.

To test, drive at very low speed -- 10 mph or so -- and then stop hard. Does the vehicle pulse or shudder or shake or make grinding noises or pull to one side or the other? If yes, get the rear brakes serviced immediately, which will probably be replacing the drums and shoes. It's probably OK to drive it to the shop, gingerly and with long following distances, to get it serviced, if the shop is local -- a few miles.

If it seems OK, try again at a higher speed -- 20 mph. Keep repeating, 10 mph faster each time, until you are at highway speed and can hit the brakes hard all the way to a stop and not have it do anything stupid. If it does something stupid, have the brakes serviced immediately. If it seems OK even when stopping from highway speed, the next time you have the vehicle serviced, have them pull the rear wheels and drums and inspect the drums and shoes for wear, etc., and replace as required.

[tinydb84]

I'd pull them apart and take a look. A dial indicator would be able to tell you how much damage there is if it isn't obviously visible. 10 miles with a parking brake is quite a bit and I'd expect some damage.

[motornut]

my 78 dosn't have a ebrake switch,79 does.
later may fit/install? and wire it,even to another light.
Ebrake, have to lube it and use it or you lose it.
pull the tires and drums,and look, heated shoes can seperate and crack off

[MalibuSSwagon]

I never use the parking brake when I park in the yard for an extended period, for fear of a seized cable (has happened once already). I would suggest pulling the drums and inspecting everything. This happened once with my Dads old 94, cable seized and we drove a good 5 miles before we noticed the smell....still had another 5 miles to go. Dad had to replace everything.....shoes, hardware, drums, and I think the wheel cylinders got cooked too. Still inspect your truck before you order parts, you may not have to go that deep or at all.

[gchemist]

Welcome to the site. Remove the drums and check. A rear brake job is not expensive unless you have to buy new drums. Turning drums is cheap.

I set my brake and the truck will rev really high to try and move. I like using the brake on inclines to keep stress off the trans.

[motornut]

Originally Posted by gchemist

I set my brake and the truck will rev really high to try and move.

thats what the police roadside checks do here,
if they think your rears are not working,like if they catch you spinning tires
or rusted/siezed up can get you a ticket (inoperative brakes)and or towed off the road

[1977_LEROY]

Thanks Gents for all the assistance. I did a check and it seems everything is "ok" for now. I am going to get the rear drums checked out very soon. Thanks again.

[willett]

Pull your drums, if it got that hot your probably looking at a drum, shoes, and my even a hub seal if your running a full floater. Not really the end of the world and it shouldn't run too much of a bill either if you can do it yourself.

[tucsonjwt]

My 83 does have a dash light that goes on if you leave the parking brake on. Unfortunately, the last mechanic to work on the truck somehow disconnected it, and I don't want to crawl around under the dash and try to hook it back up again. I think it is part of the parking brake pedal assembly (switch on top?) which is a bear to get at. I think you have to remove the whole assembly and lining it up into the two mounting holes in the firewall is no fun.