# drum brake keeps catching



## Cameron121216 (Apr 6, 2010)

I have a 1974 nova that I just replaced wheel cylinders, lines, and pads. When I am driving down the road my back right brake likes to make an extremely loud grinding noise and will occasionally catch and make me swerve a little bit. Does anyone know why it is doing this?


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## octaneman (May 13, 2009)

Hi Cameron121216

Rear drum brakes are called shoes not pads, shoes are identified by the length of asbestos material which is the primary and secondary. When installing the rear brakes it is paramount that the primary shoe (the longer material) is pointing to the rear of the vehicle and the secondary (shorter material) to the front. If the rear brakes are not installed properly, or have been contaminated by oil or grease during installation, the asbestos material will heat up causing asbestos dust to build up within the drum. The dust can cause the brakes to grind, make all kinds of funny noises and eventually seize. 

On vehicles with drums, they have to be checked frequently for out-of-round with a drum micrometer. Mechanics do this to make sure that the thickness and the shape of the drum stays within safety parameters, because on many occasions heat and impact is used to free the drum when it's seized on. Out-of-round drums and hand brake cables that are stuck are usually the primary cause of wheels grabbing unexpectedly when driving. 



post back your findings.


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## wolfen1086 (Oct 4, 2007)

Also when replacing brake shoes, I recommend replacing the springs also, and take the adjuster apart and clean it throughly, then slip the two pieces back together, remember to NEVER lubricate ANY moving part inside the drum either.


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## poohead (Apr 22, 2010)

did you replace them yourself?

did you adjust the handbrake cable accordingly? 

can you post brief description of checks please?

fluid level etc

and i didn't think asbestos was used in brake pads/shoes anymore wolfen?

cheers hope you find the fault


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## wolfen1086 (Oct 4, 2007)

No poohead there is no more asbestos used in brakes anymore, at least here in the United States, here they are all either organic, semi-metallic, metallic, or crematic, but they still need to be throughly cleaned to prevent any parts from being gummed up from road debris or other stuff. And modern brake dust should NEVER be inhaled, just like the old ones


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## poohead (Apr 22, 2010)

i agree wolfen our brake pads/shoes here stink like fish too 

if i'm right in thinking,them old Nova's were notorious if left for a while for the rear drums/brakes seizing up.

since he hasn't replied i'm assuming the brakes were fitted new? which i'm also assuming would mean there to be a lack of dust build up or foreign bodies. (hopefully the mechanic did't mix up the wheel bolts and put longer ones back in out of the car next to his)  (also is the car tricked out? i remeber the offset of wheels for old vauxhalls being et47 or there abouts? if the bolts were aftermarket and slightly longer or original bolts with a different offset wheel maybe they are cacthing? as in they might have been fine until the slightly thicker new shoes were fitted pulling the springs and components to a slightly different position) ok ok i'm rambling now.

also since cameron has said there is a loud grinding ,i would say even if the handbrake needed adjusting or the pistons were faulty or for whatever reason the drum in question was locking on, that there should be no grinding if the shoes and drum are good.

take it back to the garage/mechanic/technician who fitted the parts.

if it was you ,whip that wheel and drum back off and check the clearances,check the inside contact area of the drum for scoring and basically what octane and wolfen said up there.

good luck


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## wolfen1086 (Oct 4, 2007)

ANY old vehicle with Drum Brakes will stick if left for a long period of time, but once you give it gas they free up and you can drive away normally.

Personally I keep up with all the modern brake systems as much as I can because in todays lazy butt lack of quality society we live in I don't trust ANYBODY with my family's safety except myself, right now I'm downloading the latest computer program to diagnose a brake computer on the vehicles I have, so payday I'm ordering a 25 foot interface to connect to both the Malibu and the Jeep, the old S-10 Blazer I don;t have to worry about, the brake light comes on in that thing it means its a mechanical problem, not electronic


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