Need help with rear diff problem

i put some stop disk brake quiet grease on rear brakes a few hours ago. ( i doubt that has anything to do with my problem, but thought id mention it) just now i started to back out the driveway, rolled about 20-30 feet in reverse and heard a loud moan/growning sound, VERY LOUD, then rear wheels locked up. i was about 5 feet in the street so i put it in drive and rolled about 10 feet forward to get out of the road. as i was coming to a stop that same loud moan was starting again. i have it jacked up now, when in park if you turn one wheel the other goes in the opposite direction like it should and if you try to turn both wheels in the same direction they wont turn like they should when in park. i drained the gear oil and it looks ok, there was a little bit of very fine metal dust on the drain plug magnet but no big chunks like i always see when a differential fails. any ideas? what else can i try as far as trouble shooting? thanks guys!one more thing, may have put a little too much LSD addative last time i changed the gear oil a few months ago, could that have anything to do with it?

 

ABS kicking in because of the grease?

 

Exactly where did you put the grease. Please tell me it wasn't on the shoe material..............

 

yah.... i did

 

Well, I think we have found the problem............

At the least you need to remove the drums and use brake cleaner on both the drum and the shoe material, then lightly sand the shoe material while using brake clean to flush it off. At the other end, replace the brake shoes and clean off the drum surface with brake clean until everything is clean.

The only place grease goes on drum brakes are the self adjusting threads and the small pads on the backing plate that holds the shoes in place. Just a lil dab'l do ya.

 

what does the grease do that would cause the wheels to lockup?

 

Causes the shoe material to grab the drum surface as soon as any pressure is applied. Instead of being ''lubed'' they become sticky and that is the cause of your ''moaning.' Congrats, you now have zombie brakes just in time for holloween.

 

LOL! ya, i guess if you gonna have a zombie halloween is the best time of year! Thanks bro!

 

I had a leaky wheel bearing seal on my boat trailer brakes once....caused the same thing to happen. Grease on brakes is no bueno.

 

Best of luck, make sure at the least you remove as much of the grease as you possibly can and don't forget to refill the axle.

 

10-4

 

2 cans brake cleaner, lots of rags, u can use an emery clothe to scrub the inside of the drums to get the grease off

 

I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't just read it. This is just krazie.

 

I see what you did there.

 

Had the same thought but then thought there's no way....

But I've been proven wrong. OP, you're probably best of just replacing the shoes, but of course still clean the drums thoroughly.

 

I knew somebody would!

 

i guess you learn something new everyday! seems that was the issue, i cleaned and sanded and cleaned and sanded all afternoon, then drove about a mile with brakes sounding like a moose in heat (or pain, lol!) then noise and issues stopped. seems all is well. thanks for the help guys! should i still change shoes?

 

I would make a determination based on how much soaked into the shoe material...

 

If the noise comes back, you need some of this on your shoes: Just don't put it in your rear end.

http://www.tinks.com/shop/products/hot-shot-power-moose-synthetic-estrous-mist__w5318bl.aspx


No seriously, if it does come back, the shoes will need to be replaced. Was it a silicone or synthetic silicone based brake grease you used? That stuff is very difficult to remove as it does not break down easily with brake clean

 

I would change them. It's cheap insurance. do you really want to risk your brakes failing?