drum brakes keep locking up....

I had a wheel seal go out and it leaked gear oil into my drum brakes ...well that caused my brakes to start locking. I fixed it about a year and a half ago and used 2 cans of brake cleaner to make sure I got all the oil out of it. well this past winter it almost got me killed...If your driving at reagualr speeds and apply the brake your fine...its when you start to slow down like when your stopping at a red light or parking that the right rear wheel locks up and literally almost throws you through the windshield...I spoke with the mechanic at work and he told me to check my e-brake thingy (lol) that goes through the back plate because it is known to sieze up...well it was and I unseized it and put some copper based anti seize in it...well this done nothing either...it still locks and drags the rear tire...he looked at my wheel cylinders, shoes rechecked my seal to see if was leaking again checked to see if my axle was bent and he said it all looked good except that one of my shoes was wearing on the bottom faster than the top and he said try changing the shoes....im going to do that today and i thought Id go ahead an replace both wheel cylinders and the spring kits....

has anyone else had this kind of trouble with their truck...its got to the point where i hate to drive it casue it makes me so mad i get sick

 

Ive had them adjusted 3 different times...i wish I had the cash for the disc brake conversion

 

I adjusted them once ( probably shouldnt count that one) My uncle did once (hes a mechanic) and the mechanic at work did....

 

I noticed on one post a few minutes ago that your s'posed to put high heat grease on the backing plate where the shoes contact it..I have not done that since i cleaned them with the brake cleaner...think that might could be causing me all my troubles?

 

In my experience (34 yrs pro mechanic) I found that when shoes get saturated with oil, no amount of brake clean will clean them thoroughly. The oil impregnates the lining and you can only clean the surface. As the shoes get hot from use, and wear, the oil comes to the surface causing grabby brakes. It is not always noticeable looking at them but it changes the friction properties of the lining. The only way to correct the problem is to clean the drum thoroughly and replace the shoes.
And don't go cheap on the shoes, a few extra dollars for quality shoes and they should last a long time on the rear of a Toyota truck.

 

you know thought that as well...the pads look like they could be some what pourous

 

I was gonna say, you get any type of grease, oil, brake fluid, something like that on shoes and their done for.

 

well i changed the shoes saturday and havent had a single issue since...thanks guys!

 

It's great to hear you found / fixed that problem.

I wonder why your brakes locked in the first place though... you ever notice the ABS system pulsing the brakes to keep them from locking?

 

Mine doesnt have ABS for some stupid reason....the wheel seal broke/leaked on it one time and leaked