[colinlesser]

ok i've tried getting help in main tech forum but my thread must be invisibe so ill try in here

I'm doing a brake job on the rear drums of 1979 F150 2wd and i having some problems, first off i cant get the new drums i bought to go on more than half way on the new shoes, but the old drums go on fine. BUT, when i put the old drums on to check and make sure the shes were set righti could rool the tire backwards fine but when i rolled it forward it would roll a little more difficultly and slam to a stop like the shoes were catching.tehn if i rolled it back a tiny bit it would be able to roll forward again but slam after a second again. WHat is going on? the self adjustor is fully compressed so i can get the drums on. the shoe parts appear to be correct and i even went to back to the part store and compared them to my cores and are 99.9% the same(minus the no pads on the cores) and the drums are almost the same, the barnd of drums i have are wareever or what ever the name. the guy and i at the part store came to the concluseing that the drums are jst a micron too smal or somthing so im getting the bendix ones when they arrive at a 10% discount and ill try them. but why am i having so many problems withthe drums and shoes? why do my adjustors have to be compresssed all the way just to get the drums on?

 

[78bronco460]

It sounds like the rear diff has a detroit locker in it. Are both wheels off the ground?

 

[colinlesser]

yes both wheels are off the ground, what does a detroit locker do?

 

[colinlesser]

these are the codes from the tag on my rear end

WFE- AW - 8KB
3L50 9 3.66A

CAN ANYONE DECODE THIS?

 

[TxTaurus74]

Looks like you have a limited slip in the rear diff with 3.5 gears...I think thats what the 3L50 means...

 

[colinlesser]

is that whay it stops itself when i turn it hard

 

[colinlesser]

basically why im asking is because i cant get the drums on the truck and im getting frustrated, should drums just slide on easy? or be tough?

 

[Billz4x4z]

Did you replace the springs?Go over your installation again and make sure all your springs are on and tight,also check your wheel cylinders to make sure they are not frozen,push in on the pin on both sides to make sure they move freely.be careful though if you push to hard you can push to far and have 1 side come out.If your self adjuster is turned all the way in your drums should slide right on.A limited slip will act like what your getting when you spin the wheel.By your numbers given you have a limited slip with 3.50's
If you can pull the other drum off to make sure ya got everything in its place,if your doing 1 side at a time.

 

[colinlesser]

springs are fine, im lost at this point

 

[colinlesser]

would limited slip cause the wheel to stop like it does when i try to turn it?

 

[TheUnforgiven]

yes colin, a limited slip will do that.

as far as the drums and shoes, make sure the wheel cylinder is compressed all the way, push on both actuating pins @ same time, get them in as far as possible (best is just to replace the damn things, you don't know how old they are). if you haven't already, get a hard-ware kit for the drums to replace all the springs and levers. make sure you rebuild the shit in the correct order, and that nothing is sticking, or out of place. if you have done this already.....cool.

since the adjuster is all the way in, the drums should slide on, if you have the correct drums, and the correct shoes, and the drums are still a bit too small, take 20 bucks (price around here), and have a shop turn them to take .003"-.005" of an inch off the drum, then they will slide on NO PROBLEM, then, you can turn the self adjuster out, and walla, brake job done!

and don't forget about front brakes!!! lol

:beer

 

[colinlesser]

front brakes? who needs em

 

[colinlesser]

the springs and adjucters are all fine, they were a bitch to get on so i dont need to replace, but haveing them taken down some will solve this?

 

[bronco1]

Make sure the brake shoes are contacting the anchor pin at the top(the anchor pin is the part where the return springs attach to).If they are not touching,then the park brake cables are hanging up and need replacing.

 

[colinlesser]

they are nearly touching, i mean really close like toothpick close , ill get a pic if i can

 

[colinlesser]

here is the pic i got, the brakes seem to be shifted off to the front a bit more than the back. this is driverside. also i think your right about the brake cable being stuck cause i wiggled the shit out of it and i was able to get the new drum on but it still wouldnt turn so i belive you may have hit it on the head

 

[95_G&W_XLT]

Just a quick note-get yourself a hardware kit while you're at it. They are cheap enough and while you have it apart is the time to do it. Plus, those old rusty springs are probably a little weak and could cause you some problems.

Put the tranny in neutral when rotating the drums. It will allow the DS to turn and you won't be fighting the Diff.

 

[colinlesser]

the drive shaft isnt attached, the springs cant be that bad though

 

[swampertrax]

Colin : as i suggested the other day it looks like your park brakes are on slightly.. see the spring on the bar that runs from the primary to the secondayy shoe ??? It should not be fully compressed !! That tells me that your park brakes are on a little bit or not adjusted properly. You have to back them off so that both shoes touch that anchor pin at the top..see what you can do in that department and let me know.. Are the cables siezed or are they free to move??

 

[all4ford]

I agree, that the Park brake cable is the cause of your problems. You should try pulling on them and see if they move.