Violent clunking into stop

OP, let me know if you figure this out. I've got something going on that might be similar. Sometimes it's one clunk, sometimes it repeats like yours did. So far I think it's my brakes, most likely the rear drums. I had wetness inside one drum and cleaned it and it went away for a week or two. I had the rear seal and bearing replaced on one side and the problem went away for a couple weeks but now it came back for a few days. I'm starting to think rain water is getting into my rear drum on one side. I park such that the wet side is slightly downhill from the dry side. If (still unsure) it never happens during the dry season I'm going to be 99% confident rain water is my issue.

 

Driver’s side rear brake. Nothing seems a miss to my untrained eye...

 

Passenger side rear brake

 

Notice the difference in front shoe thickness on passenger side rear ...what could this indicate?

 

Good eye, I don't know. Sorry I'm a total noob.

Does it clunk like this every time you stop or just sometimes? Mine is sometimes. It might not do it for a week or two, then do it multiple times in a ride, every ride for a week.

 

It was intermittent and then went to every time

 

Ok so I’ve fixed it for now. I’ll try to post a video. All I did was replace the shoes and drum on the passenger side rear brakes with shoes from the donor axle I have laying around. When I swap the axles, I’ll do a complete brake job. But there is no longer any clunking when I brake.

How did I narrow it down to the passenger side? I noticed that the passenger side brakes looked older and more work than the driver side. The front show was almost completely gone and the ends of the shoes were crumbling. The drum had visible and very feelable ridges and imperfections in it. I cleaned it all off and replaced the shoes as stated above. Reused all parts (don’t recommend this for a permanent fix) and put it back together. No more clunk. I’ll post a video soon.

 

https://youtu.be/5hVccQnVlPg

 

Nice job! Let me know if it comes back. Perhaps foolishly, when I opened my drums up, I saw my pads had enough thickness, so I gave away my replacement pads (non-oem, therefore possibly a downgrade). My drum seemed smooth but maybe it wasn't. I didn't check the metal drum carefully.

 

Started doing it again just now. It’s not every time and it’s not as intense; but it’s there. It hasn’t rained or anything, so I doubt it would be water. I guess I’ll grease the slip yoke next.

 

It's a good day when a Taco gets fixed

 

Please see post #50 lol

 

I was going to say it sounds like brake "chatter" and not trans or diff problem.

why does your driver's side look so clean compared to the passenger side? did you do recent work on it, replace parts? have you adjusted the round bar so that you have "minimal" clearance on the driver's side (using the e-brake will self-adjust)?

you should be able to put the drum on over the shoes and have it rotate without scraping but not so much that it doesn't make solid contact with the drum when you press the pedal, which by looking at the shoes on the driver's side appear they aren't really engaging. The cylinder does not move much so more than 1/2" is too much play. They should be slightly shiny and smoother like the passenger side.

 

The truck is new to me and this was the first time I have looked at the brakes. It looked to me like someone changed the drivers side and not the passenger side. Maybe I’ll adjust the drivers side for minimal clearance today and see if it helps. Last night I regreased the whole drive line and took her for a spin. The problem is still there and I feel it in the brake pedal. The vibration through the truck seems to come from the rear passenger side, so something is definitely up.

 

if you have a friend nearby put the rear axle on jack stands and have them"drive" the truck and then apply the brakes. putting the drum on should "skim" the brake shoes, not have lots of clearance. you can always adjust them out as well/. maybe the passenger side is too tight now, usually you have to adjust when replacing the shoes as the material height is different

 

Not an expert but i have never seen drum wear like this or as seen on one of your other photos. I would considering getting new pads and the drums turned. Or maybe swap out the drivers side brakes too with some from the donor axle.

 

Interested to see what the fix is

 

When you have the drums off be sure and check for wheel bearing play. When one of my bearings went the bearing would occasionally lock up and the inner race began to slip on the shaft even though it was a press fit. Could account for your weird binding in one direction. Good luck OP

 

Wheel cylinders holding the brakes?