PoorGary wrote:
Thats that. Replaced front calipres and short hoses. Jacked up rear end and beat the **** out of the drums. Had the drivers side wheel break free then dropped it back down to the ground drove hard ahead freeing the other. Thanks Griff. I mean thanks!!
You're welcome ... that's what we're here for.
You used the same technique on the rear brakes that I've used in the past and would have probably tried in your case.
I would, however, pull and rebuild the rear brakes just to make sure they're working correctly and are in good condition. It sounds like the shoes were stuck to the drum, the parking (aka emergency) brake mechanism corroded or gummed up, or the wheel cylinders were gummed up or corroded.
Also, I'd lube the parking brake cables and make sure everything is properly adjusted and working correctly. (I ran across a case, years ago, where the rear drums kept locking up because someone had over-tightened the parking brake adjuster.)
I know this is extra work but it prevents, or at least reduces, the need to deal with the issues again in the near future. (In the military there's saying that always raised my hackles -- "We never have time to do it right the first time but we always have time to do it over.")
BTW, from my MSF instructor training -- most of your braking power. as much as 70 percent, comes from the front brakes. I watched a buddy punch a hole in a hedge with my 75th Anniversary Edition Electra-Glide because he was wary of motorcycle front brakes. (My bike had to older single-piston rear brake caliper whereas he was used to the dual-piston rear caliper on his newer Sportster, which didn't help the situation ... I proved I could stop my older heavier Electra-Glide faster than he could with his newer lighter Sportster, all just by also using the front brake.)
It's worth considering your rear brakes control four of the six friction patches in contact with the road when you're trying to stop. Weight differences aside, our motorhomes should be able to stop better because we have six friction patches versus the four on most vehicles. (This is why you see so many 4x4's in the ditch during snow- and ice-storms ... they have the same amount of stopping potential as every other four-wheel vehicle on the road.)
