Rear Drums (Catching) (74 Dart)

-
L

LJS30

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2007
Messages
1,053
Reaction score
5
Location
Hemet, California
When going in reverse I could feel and hear a slight catching in the rear. So I decided to jack up my Dart and noticed it was very hard to turn my rear wheels by hand. In fact about half way the wouldn't turn bad then they would catch the rest of the way. What is the issue? Out of round drums? How difficult are drums to work with?
 
Could be out of round. If there is enough left they can be turned to clean them up. Could be adjusted up too tight. Have you worked on them?
 
The reason I asked is sometimes folks get the shoes on backwards. It could be the drums need turned and some new shoes put on.
 
It could be, but it's not unheard of for the drums to get out of round and fetch up.
 
badsport said:
The reason I asked is sometimes folks get the shoes on backwards. It could be the drums need turned and some new shoes put on.
Click to expand...

The car has been sitting for over a year and it's been a long time since I've had them serviced.
 
trapster said:
Eww sound like a bad rear-end to me

Are you running a 7 1/4 ?
Click to expand...

You know that is my fear also though I am hoping for something better. I believe it's a 7 1/4 but for sure is not the rear end that came with the car. I know that because many years ago when I was a teen the original went out and some friends of mine grabbed another from a junkyard.
 
Sounds like rust build up from sitting. Could be it just needs a good cleaning.

Back the shoes off and remove the drums. Might have to spin them and bang on them with a mallet to get the rust out to get the drum off. Just take your time.
 
A bent axle will cause the same condition. Brake fluid or gear oil saturated linings will too. I know it sounds hard to believe that oil would cause a grab but it's true.
Since you said the car has been sitting, at minimum the drums would need turned. Just enough to clean the rust from the braking surface. Coursest piece of sand paper you can find to scuff ( de-glaze ) the linings if they need nothing more.
 
LJS30 said:
The car has been sitting for over a year and it's been a long time since I've had them serviced.
Click to expand...

I would agree with 70 DC it's probably just some rusty buildup on the inside of the drum. Pull them and have a look, clean them up and check it again.

If you want to be sure then jack it up and put some stands under the rear, pull both rear tires and drums. Put a tire on and turn it to see if the problem is still there or gone. If gone then it's in the drums and shoes.

Edit: It's also possible a spring or something broke and is loose in there and wedging between the shoe and drum.

Bottom line pull it apart and have a looksee.
 
Thanks for the input guys. It turned out to be a sticking emergency brake. So I just used some brakekleen and cleaned both sides thoroughly. It's all good now.
 
LJS30 said:
The car has been sitting for over a year and it's been a long time since I've had them serviced.
Click to expand...

It would not be unheard of to have rust ridges build up from sitting or to have the pads delaminate and actually start to come off of the backing. However, everything is just conjecture until you take off the drums and look. As we always told our customers who wanted our best guess ... we don't know until we know!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top