So last friday I installed a new rear brake line on my jeep. Its a longer unit so I dont bust the stock one when I install my lift. I bleed the brakes on it and everything was working great until today when I noticed that the jeep was braking oddly. After some further tests I discovered that now the rear brakes are locking up with the slightest touch of the brake petal. I dont think this has to do with my brake line install but im not sure. What do you guys think any ideas?

 

hey it sounds like you need to adjust your starwheel adjuster wheel on your drums

 

That crossed my mind however its just odd that this would start out of no where ya know?

 

Newer lines create higher pressure which will expand the wheel cylinder more. So ya i would say back them off some

 

You think it just took a week to build up that pressure for it to respond?

 

other than that could be some possible broken hardware in the drum not allowing it to come back all the way. just some ideas

 

hmmm I guess i'll pull em off and take a look.

When you compress the pads which way do you turn the adjustment wheel up or down?

 

I have had several vehiculars do this. Try adjusting you rear brakes. Works 4 me everytime.

 

t

 

As soon as you pull the drum off and see the star wheel, you'll be able to tell immediately. You have to push the little retaining clip away from the star wheel to loosen it. The other way, will normally make a clicking sound, and thats tightening. If the shoes are pushing against the drum, it may be difficult to get the drum off too. So, you may want to make the adjustment using the service port, before trying to pull the drum off.

 

Great thanks for your help im gonna mess with it later today.

 

So I called up my uncle who worked as a brake engineer for 30 years. After looking for leaks and doing a general inspection of everything including the E-brake cable. I found nothing. Then I took it for a test drive and The brakes were fine. After calling him back and explaining. We came up with the following reasoning. It was raining yesterday, I have beyond bald street tires (lift and 33" Duratracs getting installed next weekend). Monday at school I may pull the drums off again and take a look. But, Im def. gonna watch them and take it easy for a few days and see what happens.

 

Hmm... interesting. Well, if you have the time, you could just as easily jack up the rear and pull your tires off. Then give your drums a turn and listen. If you hear any kind of grinding, then your set a little too tight, in which case you can again just adjust the tightness using the access port and a couple screw drivers. Either way, it couldnt hurt to take a peak inside the drums just to be certain.