95 DS Brake Dragging

[anpgator]

in the process of restoring a 95 DS and just reassembled the rear end. I had the rear axle completely removed as I was replacing the leaf springs, shocks, and motor and wanted to paint the axle tubes. After installing the new leaf springs (which are dual-action, more leafs than stock) I am dragging the brakes. I removed the drum and pressed the brake pedal and only one of the shoes (the rear one) moves when pressing the brake pedal. Also, the brake pedal is extremely stiff. There is very little free play, and with all my might I can only press the pedal about 2 inches.

What should I look for in the brake assembly thats causing only one shoe to engage when pressing the pedal? I spun the little star adjustment wheel a few clicks and it also rotates one click when I slide the mechanism on the back side of the backing plate forward. Did not seem like either shoe moved at all when spinning the adjustment wheel.

[Phil_Billy]

just a few quick things come to mind. since you replaced the leaf springs and did other rear work, you may want to verify that you are routing the cables under the leaf springs to the rear brake assembly. they should pretty much free hang under the cart. also since the leaf springs have more leafs, it may of put more tension on the cables, which would require you to loosen the cables at the equalizer, located under the brake pedal assembly.

if it is not the above, here some other checks. make sure both cables are moving freely. you can pull the cotter pin and clevis pin from the rear brake assembly and make sure that the cable moves freely when the pedal is pressed. also check to see if brake drum will spin freely with cable disconnected - Phil.

[anpgator]

Originally Posted by Phil_Billy

just a few quick things come to mind. since you replaced the leaf springs and did other rear work, you may want to verify that you are routing the cables under the leaf springs to the rear brake assembly. they should pretty much free hang under the cart. also since the leaf springs have more leafs, it may of put more tension on the cables, which would require you to loosen the cables at the equalizer, located under the brake pedal assembly.

if it is not the above, here some other checks. make sure both cables are moving freely. you can pull the cotter pin and clevis pin from the rear brake assembly and make sure that the cable moves freely when the pedal is pressed. also check to see if brake drum will spin freely with cable disconnected - Phil.

The cables are routed the same as before, I never removed them from the hangers. The cable does have movement when not connected to the back of the brake assembly. I removed the drum to inspect the shoes primarily for curiosity but also because when spinning the wheel freely with the rear off the ground I could hear a rubbing sound in the drum, and It was harder than I felt it should be to spin the wheel. I wish I had tried to spin the wheel with the cables disconnected before I took the drum off. Now it’s not wanting to go back on.

[Phil_Billy]

Inspect the drum and see if there is a lip at the outer edge. That may be keeping you from getting the drum back on, it's from wear. Also is you move the shoes as bit, you may be able to slide it back on. Last resort is to turn the adjuster in reverse to pull the shoes closer together.

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[anpgator]

There is no lip on the drum. I will try moving the shoes but my concern is that both shoes were not moving when the brake pedal was pressed. Furthermore, my adjuster star wheel can be spun in either direction without having to use a second screw driver to slide a release (read this on another thread, although there may be different types and that might not apply to mine). Additionally, unless the shoes would only move a hair with each click of the adjuster, there is no movement when i spin it. I probably turned it 10 clicks in each direction looking for a significant change. I guess I am concerned that my brake assembly is not functioning properly but maybe it would be different under a load/with actual movement vs. sitting on jack stands?

[mrgolf]

Sounds like you are missing the return spring. Can you post a photo.

[Phil_Billy]

having your cart in the air or on the ground should make no difference on the brake function. if you apply pressure and hold the shoe towards the front of the cart and push the lever in the back of the brake, the adjuster should click at least once.

if your brakes shoes do not move at all, even if you push on them you may have a problem on the backing plates. over time the shoe will wear out the portion of the backing plate it makes contact with. there should be 3 slight raised dimples on the backing plate for each shoe rest on. check them for grooving.

I have attached a blow up of the passenger side brake assembly. if you feel comfortable doing it, you should probably pull the shoes off, clean, dry lube and inspect all component's for wear including the backing plate. do one side at a time, so you have a reference for where parts go, just remember its a mirror image of the other side. I hope this helps and you find out the problem - Phil

[anpgator]

Originally Posted by Phil_Billy

having your cart in the air or on the ground should make no difference on the brake function. if you apply pressure and hold the shoe towards the front of the cart and push the lever in the back of the brake, the adjuster should click at least once.

if your brakes shoes do not move at all, even if you push on them you may have a problem on the backing plates. over time the shoe will wear out the portion of the backing plate it makes contact with. there should be 3 slight raised dimples on the backing plate for each shoe rest on. check them for grooving.

I have attached a blow up of the passenger side brake assembly. if you feel comfortable doing it, you should probably pull the shoes off, clean, dry lube and inspect all component's for wear including the backing plate. do one side at a time, so you have a reference for where parts go, just remember its a mirror image of the other side. I hope this helps and you find out the problem - Phil

Much appreciated. I will report back once I’ve had a chance to get further into it

[Bama Brad]

I had a similar problem with my brakes and it ended up being that I had tightened the adjustment under the pedal too much and it pushed the mechanism (#9 in diagram next to spindle adjustment) too far and it had "jumped" out of slot in brake shoes. When I pressed the brakes, it wasn't doing anything. The pedal was hard to press (like you described), but wouldn't stop the cart. I adjusted the tensioner under pedal all the way out, then took springs off shoes so I could separate the 2 pads and put the mechanism (#9) back into position, then adjusted the spindle in (because I had spun it so much trying to figure out what was wrong). Put springs back together and started adjusting everything back out until pads started contacting hub. Hope this helps...took me a while to figure out why brakes wouldn't stop until I happen to notice the part out of place.

[anpgator]

Originally Posted by Phil_Billy

having your cart in the air or on the ground should make no difference on the brake function. if you apply pressure and hold the shoe towards the front of the cart and push the lever in the back of the brake, the adjuster should click at least once.



if your brakes shoes do not move at all, even if you push on them you may have a problem on the backing plates. over time the shoe will wear out the portion of the backing plate it makes contact with. there should be 3 slight raised dimples on the backing plate for each shoe rest on. check them for grooving.



I have attached a blow up of the passenger side brake assembly. if you feel comfortable doing it, you should probably pull the shoes off, clean, dry lube and inspect all component's for wear including the backing plate. do one side at a time, so you have a reference for where parts go, just remember its a mirror image of the other side. I hope this helps and you find out the problem - Phil

So I was trying to get the shoes off and they were hard to move. Nowhere near as simple as the videos I watched on YouTube. During the struggle I knocked the Star adjuster wheel piece completely out of the brake assembly. Is that supposed to come out, and can it easily be reinstalled? In my almost 20 years of driving and tinkering with my vehicles, I have never had a car or truck with drum brakes so I’m completely ignorant to how they should work.

Here are some pics, although I’m not sure if you’ll be able to tell anything from them?


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