One rear brake locks up

[sieg01]

E350 '94 IDI RABS

Right rear brake locks up when braking slowly on icy/snowy road.
No warning lights flashing in the dashboard. Doesn't even have the yellow RABS light there.

Traction control system doesn't seem to work either. Left rear wheel stands still, while right one keeps spinning on slippery surface.
Sometimes, the brake pedal seems to travel to the floor while waiting at a traffic light.

Brake booster and vacuum pump are new. Brake fluid is approximately 3 years old.

Any ideas? I am asking here first.
I am not lazy, but here in Finland weather is like in Alaska and I have no garage or warehouse where I can work for hours in a warm environment...

Thanks.

 

[JPM4]

Several things could cause your issues, I had similar issues a while back. I'd recommend the below. Do the easy checks first and maybe you'll get lucky with an easy adjustment fix.

Check for a frozen parking brake cable. Look under the bed where the brake cable splits to the right and left brake, cycle the parking brake and make sure both right and left cables pull and release accordingly.

Adjust the "self adjusters" on the drums. Jack the rear up, chock the tires, jackstands/safety stuff. Shift to neutral. Manually spin the tires and adjust the "self adjusters" until you hear/feel the brakes start to drag. You could have on adjuster that never adjusted and one that did, hence one side locking up. Google adjusting rear drums for details or someone else can chime in on an exact official procedure, all it takes is a flathead screwdriver.

Then the harder check, verify that the emergency brake cable is correctly routed inside the drum and all the springs are installed correctly. My issue was that the mechanic who installed my last brake shoes incorrectly routed the cable and it popped off the guide. Then the self adjuster didn't work and the cable eventually froze up. I pulled the drum off, disassembled and cleaned the parts, then reinstalled everything correctly. If you do this, I highly recommend getting brake tool pliers/spring tool. They make this job 100% easier. Cost is minimal, around $15-30 USD. You "can" do it with basic tools, but not easily.

If you see any evidence of brake fluid leakage, replacing the brake cylinder is not that hard while you've got everything apart.

Everything takes time, and not enjoyable in the cold. But definitely get the brake tool pliers or else you'll be spending more time and frustration getting those springs on.

Hope this helps!
JM

 

[sieg01]

Thanks JPM4 for your support.

I made a coffee, shoveled the snow in the yard around the van away, pushed the garage jack under the axle and lifted it - so I could pull the right drum.
Then a surprise - but I don't know if this is the cause of the locking brake:
It seems that a/the (radial shaft) seal from the right hub is broken.
The drum, the shoes and other stuff is oily and partially stiff as grease, since it collected all the dust inside the drum brake system.
Now I am asking myself, for how long the Simmerring is already broken...

I am cleaning it and put it back together. Maybe tomorrow I open it again. My fingers are freezing and it is already dark out there.

 

[franklin2]

Contaminated brake linings will get sticky and lock up the wheel. Sorry to say, no matter how much you try to clean them, when they are soaked with oil or brake fluid, they are ruined. In a desperate situation one time, I did take a torch and heat the linings to drive out the oil, and it seemed to work. But it was a smokey stinky operation. It was on another vehicle where we could not get the brake linings readily.

 

[u2slow]

I have cleaned up oil soaked brake shoes before. Basically wash them with brake-clean. Not ideal, but shoes worked ok after.

The R(ear)ABS is primitive and only monitors a sudden change in speed of the driveshaft and the directly-coupled ring/pinion gear in the axle. It doesn't read individual wheel speeds.

As for "traction control", there is no such thing on a '94 e350. An axle can be equipped with a limited-slip differential, but it is not common on vans; and they also wear out.

 

[chillman88]

The problem with oily brakes is the shoes actually absorb some of the oil. The only way to clean them is as franklin2 said, you have to burn the oil out with a torch. Certainly not something I would expect to be a solution unless it's all you can do. That seal will need to be replaced though because they'll just keep getting soaked.

Traction control system doesn't seem to work either. Left rear wheel stands still, while right one keeps spinning on slippery surface.

There is no traction control system on these vehicles. If you have the optional limited slip in the rear axle there are clutches inside that could be worn out. I've heard of people shimming them to make them work again but I've never had one with that setup in it.

 

[chillman88]

@u2slow true to the name, beat me to the post

 

[Old Goat]

sieg01, pick up one of these Propane Torpedo Heaters. They work wonders when working out in the cold. They come under many different brand names. Also some use Kerosene/Diesel.

https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-MH60QFAV-Portable-Propane/dp/B00KRFVDP4/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_w=KZGzl&content-id=amzn1.sym.116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_p=116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_r=8YVVH12CEGSAJMZX05N4&pd_rd_wg=i1Lez&pd_rd_r=98b16192-f2e4-4112-bc51-21e57a10a95c&pd_rd_i=B00KRFVDP4&psc=1

Goat

 

[IDIBRONCO]

sieg01, pick up one of these Propane Torpedo Heaters. They work wonders when working out in the cold. They come under many different brand names. Also some use Kerosene/Diesel.

You can also put a tarp over the van to help hold in the heat from this type of heater. Even if you just put it over the back and the side that you are working on it will still help.

 

[Rondo]

I remember reading a long time ago that you could boil contaminated shoes or pads in a lye solution to bet the oil out of them.

 

[sieg01]

Hi @ all.
I had the vehicle inspection this week and things went well.
BUT I still need to fix this problem.

Now I have to prepare the fix and to get the spares: https://www.oilburners.net/threads/dana-60-rear-hub-spare-parts.92016/

Regarding "heating the environment": I may be too cheap to do so, or I didn't run in such severe problems, that I had to do so.

 

[WrenchWhore]

I had a similar issue with my old truck that did that. A wheel seal went out and soaked it in gear lube/brake dust. I did a new rear wheel seal and cleaned it all out. It had a large Lance camper on is back and it was dry outside so I never noticed the lockup until I sold the camper and started driving it around. I just kept driving it until it built up a healthy amount of brake dust inside the drum and it seemed to work how it should and not lock up as bad. I second the propane torch idea on that bad boy and see if you can cook that oil out of the shoes. That would be my poor mans cheap fix.

 

[papadiesel]

The hassle of trying to clean oil soak shoes is never worth it. Even a set of cheap shoes is less than 50 bucks but I never look for the cheap ones make sure that the reman shoes you get that the E brake horseshoe on top is not worn out, so your E brake won’t work again. A new spring kit is not that expensive either and well worth it. I worked on brakes for 40 years. Have I cleaned shoes and put them back in? yes was it ever worth it? NEVER , meaning you’re going to have to do it again real soon in the near future if you try it that way.

 

[u2slow]

Cleaning shoes has been 'worth it' to me. Just a good wash with brake-kleen. It's usually been when a hub seal or wheel cyl fails shortly after putting in new shoes. Haven't had any problems.

My background is autowrecking and wrenching on my own stuff. I don't have customers or liability to consider.

 

[captain720]

Cleaning shoes has been 'worth it' to me. Just a good wash with brake-kleen. It's usually been when a hub seal or wheel cyl fails shortly after putting in new shoes. Haven't had any problems.

My background is autowrecking and wrenching on my own stuff. I don't have customers or liability to consider.

This is EXACT your are on the money. However older ones pose a risk of “delaminating” which is very not cool so if they are old it’s worth replacing almost every brake part on these trucks when you get them.