Technical Drum brakes not making sense

Regular Bendix drum brakes on the rear of an O/T vehicle. Parking brake cable was shot (I had to cut it because it stuck on some months back) and it was a little grabby when it was cold, so I sprung for new shoes too.

So I do the right side, have to drill a hole to push out the adjuster tab so I can crank the shoes in, it won't go otherwise (and when it slips I smash my hand into the u-bolts). Only odd thing I find is the adjuster side pin has pulled through the retainer and the spring was bouncing around inside. And a bunch of dust. Maybe that's my grabby brake.

I get the cable on and routed, it's a tad short but there's slack in it so I don't worry about it. I did have to pull it up with the crowbar against the nut to connect it, but it wasn't particularly hard to do. Put it all back together, shoes adjusted in so I can get the drum on, axle spins fine. Adjust it back so there's a touch of drag, spins fine. Adjust new cable down some before I attempt to test drive it. This is where it makes no sense - brake on or off, it won't go forward, it's like the parking brake is on and set pretty solid. If I crank down the adjuster on the cable, it loosens up some.

Open it up again to check my work, maybe I made a mistake, compare to pictures of the same brakes online, everything is correct, I can push on the cable with the spring and there's still some slack in it. I did have to crank in the shoes a couple of turns.

Big shoe is at the rear, small at the front, nothing looks out of place. Didn't mess with the hydraulics because that's another cluster-expletive. Old shoes really weren't that worn. Drum looks fine inside.

So I do it again, make sure there's a bit of drag, spin the drum over. Set the parking brake and start to tighten it down. It's starting to rain so I stop even though I can still bar over the drum with a crowbar. Put the wheel on, pick up, pull it ahead in the driveway and it's doing the same damn thing.

Either I'm missing something really dumb and obvious or something's screwed up, but I can't see what unless the brake hose is collapsed inside and there's some pressure in the lines back there. But, it's driven fine, 700 miles in the last three weeks. And I can take it right apart no problem.

And I never even touched the left side, never got that far.

 

Makes no sense to anyone else either?

 

The drum brakes on my 56 plymouth are a nightmare,the adjustment nuts are super touchy but a lot of bad words later and you will get it working ,just keep at it

 

I don't even want to take it apart again without some idea what might be wrong. If I can spin the thing by hand it shouldn't act like the brake is on full trying to drive it. That, makes no sense. 1/2" difference at the cable adjuster - not enough to make it hold the vehicle - shouldn't be pushing the shoes out to where it's not drivable. The adjuster between the shoes is already cranked way in, it doesn't have a lot more room to spin tighter.

 

it's not that wheel. check the other 3.

 

You mentioned the brake cable was a "tad" short. When you lower the car on the ground could the movement of the rear axle from the weight of the car be pulling the brake cable tight? Just a thought.

 

The axle has to be in the normal ride height before any park brake adjustment can be made, and setting it level on two jack stands is one method. Next, adjust the shoes for about .030" clearance to the drums with shoes centered. (The park cables may have to be relaxed to allow for brake shoe adjustment) Now, make sure the park levers are fully retracted (the use of a screw driver or small pry bar works well) and adjust the park cables for a minimum movement of the horizontal park struts against their springs. This may take several tries on each brake to finalize a good adjustment. Install the drums, apply/release and check for strut clearance.
Curious about the "adjuster side pin pulled through the retainer"?? Maybe a picture or two would help.

 

I am totally confused by this post.

 

Since the right cable seized in the on position, has your messing with the e-brake made the left seize in the on position?

 

If there is an equalizer bar between the shoes, make sure its free and not hung up.

 

I guess it's just finicky. There's a super fine point between dragging the shoes to where it won't roll free and having the parking brake function well enough to satisfy the People's Republic of New York. But it passed inspection and that's all I cared about, I can back the adjuster off so the thing drives normal and forget about it until next year. I just have to remember to cycle the cable once in a while so I don't have to change it again.

And now maybe I can change the shoes on the other side.

 

You can also check the Wheel Cylinder and make sure that one of the pucks isn't seezing up. This happened to me and once I rebuilt the Wheel Cylinder, problem gone.

VR&C.