Stuck brake

[Earl Junior]

Last night I roll into the driveway after a few hours down at the local watering hole and as I fumble for my house keys I notice quite a bit of smoke pouring out of the right rear tire.

"That's odd," I say to myself. Actually I said it to the rose bush I walked into while not paying attention to where I was going. I quickly followed up with a "F%$#" a "G%4 D!&$" and a "Son of a B&^$#" as I extracted myself from the rose bush.

I went over, touched the wheel and pretty much repeated the last three things I'd said. That sucker was hot! I've got a blister on one finger to prove it.

Seems I have a brake that is stuck on. I haven't had time to tear into it yet, so I'm not sure what the problem is. Hopefully I haven't ruined anything beyond repair.

Any suggestions on things I need to be looking for? Broken springs? Bad piston? Anything?

[neonlarry]

The rear brakes have self adjusters, sounds like a good place to start looking. A broken sping or a bad cylinder might cause some drag but not that much. Outside of a few thousand miles wear and tear you proabaly didn't hurt anything that much

[Class of 69]

You didn't happen to stumble into the park brake pedal on your way home did you?? rusty park brake cables sticking have eaten a lot of brake shoes.. Other wise your brake cylinder may have stuck too.. Ever rebuild it recently. They get very gummy inside with age, and old brake fluid. Check for a tight self adjuster, like was mentioned. A broken return spring won't apply that kind of pressure, just lets the shoes ride on the drum. If it got hot enough to blister your finger, don't be surprized if the axle seal starts leaking soon. I would recommend replacing it when your in the brakes, so you don't soak the new shoes with gear oil. Be sure to check the drum for heat cracks. That kind of heat can make a drum brittle, and prone to sudden, unexpected brakeage. Better to be carefull than save a few bucks.Good Luck!!!

[Earl Junior]

I finally got the wheel torn apart over the weekend. Not good news, campers.

From what I can tell, one of the pins that hold the shoes in place snapped and allowed everything to twist about a quarter turn.

Results:
broken wheel cylinder
broken anchor bolt (the pivot point at the top where all your springs attach)
broken self adjuster
gouged to heck drum
bent spreader arm for e-brake
bent shoe
broken springs

And I have nobody to blaame but myself. I had all the parts to do a brake job on hand except those damned pins. Thought I might get away with reusing the old ones. A $2 part cost me almost $90, and one hell of a lot of headache.

I really didn't want to have to change the whole dust shield as my axle seal isn't leaking, yet.

Ever try to remove the anchor bolt? Heat, oil, cool, oil, impact. Heat, oil, cool, oil, impact. Repeat for ten hours, cut head off bolt like you should have done hours ago.

Not as easy at the junk yard (this is a discontinued part). Most of a can of penetrating oil onto bolt. Wait, wait, wait. Apply ten foot breaker bar.

Carnage photos follow

[Earl Junior]

Carnage #2

You can also see the tip of the anchor bolt is missing.

[Stout72]

Ouch! And I thought my brake problem was bad...

My condolences.

[Longhorn Man]

Hmmm, mybe i should look into my delayers.
Naaa. Never mind. The leaking brake fluid will keep it all cool.