(T) Rear brake trouble

My rear wheels seem to be binding slightly but the handbrake cable was slack. They only seem to bind at certain points when I rotate the wheel by hand.
I adjusted the handbrake cable to remove the slack but the action is very stiff & not very effective.
The drums seem to bind even when I tighten up the drum securing bolt & the wheel aligning bolt.

Drums could have "ovaled" and may need replacing. When there swap the shoes and linkage arms for new ones. May be a bit of ££ though!

Kristian

Hi, I checked the drums with calipers & they seem ok

Are the drums new? Sometimes, if they are non-brand (read: cheap s**t), they may be poorly made - they may be circular, but the bolt holes may not be aligned properly and then the drum is not centered properly with respect to the hub. We went through this with my brother some weeks ago, we returned the drums to the shop and they gave us the money back. In our case the symptom was really strong - the brake pedal was pulsating like crazy when braking.

/Woj

I would never have thought of this - I'll check that out, thanks!

Also had you been doing anything too them before the symptoms, like replacing anything?

Kristian

What we also noticed was when we put on the drum and screw in the wheel bolts to center it the securing bolt holes did not line up with the holes in the hub. So much that we could not screw in the securing bolts. /Woj

I've just bought the car & I'm getting it ready for an MOT. The handbrake wasn't working (too slack) so I jacked the car up to adjust the cable & noticed the rear wheels were binding with the hand break off.

If it's not oval, then it sound just like the rear links may be seized and not releasing properly. They are not expensive from fiat, and quite easy to do. That would be my first bet.

Kristian

Also if possible, post a picture. there have been cases on here of incorrect assembly by other owners!

OK, do you feel anything unusual on the pedal when you brake (hard from larger speeds)? If not I would not worry so much about it, I would say slight (even if irregular) binding is not worrying as long as (a) the brake pedal does not pulse, (b) the wheel itself is not shaking/vibrating. It may as well be something with the wheel bearing, have no experience with examining those though... /Woj

I don't feel anything unusual when braking but there is a slight noise when driving - must be the shoes hitting the drums. The wheel bearings seem fine with no movement on the road wheels. Thanks for all the help & advice.

Forgot to say, most important, (c) brakes are not heating up!!! After an easy small drive (say 3 miles or so) try to touch the drum, but be careful, it may be hot enough to burn yourself. Normally it should be cold (after an easy drive that is, rally drivers can heat up brakes in no time so much that you can fry stuff on them).

EDIT: The noise could be the wheel bearings...

My bet is the crank "elbows". I usually take them off, spray with WD40 and work them (starting by bashing with a mallet, if necessary) until they're loose enough so you can open and shut them with a flick of the wrist and work coppaslip into the pivot. Then reassemble and adjust the handbrake.

Thanks Guys, I think I'll strip the rear shoe assembl, check it all out & lubricate al moving parts.