And More Brake Fun...

Or if a brake was dragging....I know, chicken/egg.

 

I'm having a similar issue on a Honda CRV. After about an hour of highway driving the driver's side front brake started applying itself to the point of getting hot and dragging. Recently I had pushed the caliper piston back to put new shoes on, and thought I had gotten dirt behind the rubber shield. I took the caliper apart, and it was a little dirty in there. Cleaning it didn't help for long, so I changed the caliper. I thought I was finished, but had signs of this again, although not so severe. Before I changed the caliper, a mechanic suggested I change the brake hose, because when the metal parts on hoses expand with rust it may apply pressure to the rubber part of the hose, reducing the internal dimension. I'm beginning to think he's right, and if it keeps up I'll change the hose. Mike, are you using the brakes as they are tightening up, or is it a highway deal where you're not applying the brakes, they're just automatically tightening? I'd say if they're on their own, it's hydraulic, otherwise sounds like pumping the brakes is causing them to mechanically tighten. At this rate, you'll know when you take them apart, your adjuster will be backed way off if it's a hydraulic problem, and it will be tight if it's mechanical.

Paul

 

pull the drums
disconnect the self adjuster cables
re-assemble
go drive the Jeep

 

Funny thing really. the other night after I finally got my brakes working I took the $ sink for about 4 miles of tooling around on the streets. about an hour after I parked it, the wife asked why my brake lights were on...:?

sounded awful fermilyer to me... so i messed around with it and wound up just unpluging the power wire until the next day.

next day I tried it and everything seemed normal so I left it until tonight when once again I went out driving... brakes did not feel good, so I brought it home to check it out...

long story short I had the top off of the MC and was slowly pumping the pedal when I noticed that the aft reservoir was slowly going down while the front reservoir appeared to be slowly going up with each pump...

so here is the theory: if, while driving, the rear reservoir is slowly leaking past and into the front, maybe you eventually pressurize the front brakes to the point to where the light switch is continuously lit

maybe, just maybe if someone had this condition and drove around long enough... maybe the front brakes would eventually reach the point where they're dragging or even lock up...

well it is just a theory

 

Mike, if the compensating port in the master cylinder is clogged or blocked up somehow, it will cause your brakes to bind when the fluid heats up. The compensating port allows for fluid expansion and keeps the brakes from self-applying. How much is a master cylinder for your Jeep?

Also, I probably should have read more carefully but are you using a hydraulic brake light switch?

 

Mike, actually, the FSM shows a brake adjustment tool and a small screwdriver that is used to hold the adjusting arm off of the star wheel while you make the adjustment. When adjusting either side, you should have to pull down on the tool to spread the shoes apart. To draw the shoes togather, as if you were taking the drum off, you would use the screwdriver to hold the adjuster off of the wheel and then push up on the tool to close up the adjuster. I just reassembled my 11" system and it's still fresh in my mind. Good luck.

 

The professional way to do this is with a brake resetting gauge: http://www.mytoolstore.com/kd/kdbrak09.html
Assemble the brakes with the adjusters drawn in. Then measure the ID of the drums with the gauge. You then adjust the linings to the corresponding diameter. With the drums off, you can repeatedly squeeze the cable with your thumb toward the lining to tighten the adjusters. When the diameters match, put the drums on, back up and apply the brakes a few times, and you're done.

I could get them pretty close without the gauge, and then back up and brake a few times till they were adjusted.

 

Yeah, if the adjuster lever is installed correctly (and not bent), it should be hard to back off the shoes. Basically you are pushing against the (strong) spring that holds the lever against the star wheel - it's not supposed to allow the adjusters to loosen.

 

I bet a dollar there is something wrong with the self-adjusters. Why it would do it on its own is up in the air, since these same brake assemblys worked on Dutch for many years.

I just swapped to the 11" on Lulu earlier this year, and just before that I did a full brake job on that '74 (which had 11's). Tim is right, if everything is working like it should, you'll think you're breaking something when you loosen the star wheel. You'll have to apply a ton of pressure, then it will POP really loud when you finally overcome the adjuster spring.

If yours were completely correct, you'd know exactly what we're talking about. It's something that will stick in your mind. Either your adjusters are backwards (which I doubt b/c they worked on Dutch) or something came loose with the self-adjuster hardware.

 

I know what the problem is....

























it is all that extra wheelbase Sorry I know I was no help.

 

Mike
is it possible when you removed the brakes from Dutch you re-installed them in different positions on SSDutch ?
in other words, if you removed the right rear from Dutch and accidently installed it on the left rear of SSDutch.
this would turn everything around backwards, adjusters and all; and they would tighten every time you hit the brakes while driving.
the star adjuster wheels should be to the rear of the backing plates, not the front.