Rear brake drum on right side getting hot

[Mr Lee]

So, while dealing with some leak issues with my proportioning valve, which I think I have mostly squared away, I have another issue, and that is my right rear wheel was smoking after a short test drive. 

I turned the star adjuster to bring the shoes in several times. 

With the rear off the ground, the wheel spins freely and it does so immediately after hitting the brake pedal.  But I haven't done this test in the garage with the car running.  Could it be a vacuum thing?   But it's only the right side getting hot.  Left side it fine.  And there is only one brake line coming from the front of the car before it splits at a T on the axle, so I can't figure out why it's only the right side getting hot.  All parts are new.  Everything is bled.  New wheel cylinders, shoes, springs, everything painted, no rust, new stainless lines, proportioning valve etc etc.  I have a little grease on the backing plate where the backs of the shoes rub just like you're supposed to.  E brake cable does not seem to be the problem. 

(These are stock 11" power drum brakes in the rear btw).  With the car in the air, and spinning the wheels, there is no rubbing whatsoever.  And while driving, i don't hear any rubbing or anything out of  the ordinary but that one wheel still gets HOT. 

I may try bleeding that one wheel again because I don't know what else to do. 

[kawahonda]

I'm going through same issue but with rear left.  Did everything you said you did, but I went further to change e brakes. I will test this out soon.

I wonder if it's normal as the shoes are breaking in.  Keep this thread updated.

[Rich G.]

Bleeding it has nothing to do with it. If you had air in the line the pedal would be soft. Are they new shoes that have to break in? I usually lay them in the drum first to see how they fit making sure the shoe isn't bent or just hitting on the ends. I'd also check the parking brake cable and see if it's holding the shoe out. One other thing you can do is after you drive the car and jack it up, if the wheel is tight and you open the bleeder screw and the wheel frees up then that's a hydraulic problem the needs to be addressed. Maybe it's simply adjusted to tight.

[kawahonda]

Building off what Rich G said--it has nothing to do with bleeding. If you have firm brakes, then bleeding is complete and move on.

With that in mind, I disconnected the front e-brake cable to where I had access to the rear parking brake cable ball ends. I was able to move the right rear cable by hand, but the left rear cable felt stuck. I yanked and tugged and it wouldn't budge. So that's why I chose to replace the parking brake cables because that is not correct.

The problem is that the cable sleeve can get corroded to where the cable isn't able to "float" in the sleeve. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I bet you that just regular driving/suspension travel/braking can move the parking brake cable/alignment. And if the sleeve is corroded, then the cable doesn't get a chance to move "back" where it belongs and doesn't allow it to "float." So yes, you can technically disconnect the front cable and still have a parking brake cable issue. You should disconnect the front cable, and try to tug on the right rear cable to see if it's stuck.

In my case, my wheels/tires test OK statically (if I raise up the car...spins just fine). If I get back home from a drive and raise the car, it will spin just fine. But after 1-2 miles of driving, I can start to feel some drag. It's obvious that your wheel is dragging as well. Shift into N when it's safe and coast...if it's dragging you will slightly feel it.

If you do all that and if it's a hydraulic problem, then it's very unlikely being that wheel cylinders are new. From what I'm learning, it is very rare for wheel cylinders to not "free up" after being depressed.

I notice with my car that after backing up and driving off from a cold/fresh start that I get zero drag. As soon as I drive around a bit more, the drag starts to happen.

I ruled out adjusters because I loosened them up a few times (and they will adjust pretty close back to where I had them). So they are automatically adjusting appropriately, and confirmed that they are not over adjusting because my "bench" testing.

So honestly, I would continue to look closely at your E-brake cable operation.

[Chryco Psycho]

I suspect the adjuster may be wrong , as you reverse the cable should extend the adjuster but if it is adjusted correctly the arm should skip over the star wheel & not adjust it too tight , the lever could be working too well on the adjuster wheel

[kawahonda]

If he's able to spin the tire freely before and after a drive, then the adjuster should not be at fault.

[Mr Lee]

Ok so while I'm out driving the car, when coming to a stop, I let off the brakes just before I'm at a dead stop and the car will roll easily to a stop - doesn't seem to be dragging. 

The car does pull to the right slightly when hitting the brakes but the car has not had an alignment yet.  So I don't know if it's the brakes or the alignment. 

The e brake theory makes some sense I think. 
My cable is new.  Repop.  I just checked it by pulling on it where it connects to the bracket in front of the rear wheel and it moves freely inside its sheathing.  The photo will explain what I see better than I can.  @kawahonda - does yours look like this too?   The top cable is the right wheel.  It's like one cable is too long and the other too short.  I remember when I installed it seeing how it was not even but I couldn't figure out how to correct it.  I tried spinning that bracket around but it didn't help.  Anyway, with the rear in the air, I spun the rear wheels with one hand while pulling on the right side e brake cable to see how far I had to pull it before it grabbed.  It was a pretty significant amount.  So I don't know if up and down axle movement while driving could be enough to make it grab slightly but I guess it's possible.  And that seems to be my best lead at the moment.  So I am going to explore that.  Not sure how but... 

I also noticed that I actually do have the slightest bit of drag on that right wheel but only in one spot and it is ever so slight.  Maybe I didn't hear it before because I had the air conditioning on in the garage.  It is so slight, and I can't feel any drag but I think I'm gonna go take the drum somewhere to have it cut just to be safe because I'm guessing its slightly out of round.   

Hope I didnt miss anything.  Thanks for the input.  ....

[anlauto]

I would forget about the brakes and check the rear axle end play 

[kawahonda]

I'll take a look and photo of mine when I'm done, but...the instruction state to compare cable lengths with your old ones to assure they are the correct length. One should be short, and one should be long. I can tell you that my Inline Tubing repro cables were perfect. The passenger rear is the long one, and it was perfectly sized. The driver's rear is the short one, and it was perfectly sized. Interesting to hear that your cables...if the short one was too short (the bottom), that would mean at worse your driver's rear wheel could have the potential drag, but it doesn't seem like you're experiencing that. Since you already replaced then, and they move freely and are not in a bind, I think you're probably done here for the time being.

The best way to tell for dragging is to shift into neutral and then coast it to a stop. The car should feel like it wants to continue going. It's harder to tell drag if you leave it in gear.

I had both of my drums resurfaced when I did my brake job.

If your drum is heating up, then it's dragging at some point. Something is either holding it (always on), or the cylinder isn't retracting fast enough during braking. You'll have to figure out which.

I'll continue to follow the thread!

[Mr Lee]

Axle end play seems to be correct.

I'm noticing as I drive it that the brake pedal sometimes doesn't come back up all the way.  Or it seems to be delayed a bit coming back up.   Could this be a bad wheel cylinder?

[Rich G.]

Did you change the master or booster? If there is no clearance in the pushrod to m/c the fluid won't return back in the M/c and that will cause a drag. I'd find out why the pedal isn't returning up.

[Chryco Psycho]

It is not a bad wheel cylinder if the springs are installed correctly , they return under the spring pressure if there is a problem they leak , you cshould ba able to pull the drum & watch the shoes push outward & retract if someone pushes the pedal a little .
You said you had to back off the adjuster before tho , is it still over adjusting ?

[Mr Lee]

Did you change the master or booster? If there is no clearance in the pushrod to m/c the fluid won't return back in the M/c and that will cause a drag. I'd find out why the pedal isn't returning up.

Yes, I have a rebuilt master from a '71. And my booster was rebuilt my Booster Dewey. 
I just read a thread on moparts about what you're referring to with the pushrod.  I will look at the pushrod next.  Hmmm

@Chryco Psycho - I don't believe it's over adjusting.  It only adjusts when hitting the brakes while driving in reverse right?  I wonder how man clicks it will move just from one move in reverse backing out of my driveway.   I may not have even hit the brakes when backing up. It's a 4 speed so I might have just coasted to a stop then threw it in gear.  (shrug)  But wasn't really paying attention while doing it. 

[anlauto]

Use vice grips to clamp off the rear flex hose, then carefully take the car for a short test drive, braking as you normally would. When you return home check the temperature of the rear wheel. If it's still getting hot, it will have nothing to do with the operation of your rear brakes

[JS29]

Then after you take vise-grips to your break hose you will probably need to replace that hose! There is steel webbing in the hoses that can crush. If you want to check if the problem is hydraulic, make caps for your break lines.