Alright... I replaced the drums and shoes on my 1996 Sunfire today.. the old shoes were still good, although one drum was out-of-round, that was the side that was giving me lock up issues. Also on the side with lock up issues, I found that after getting the new shoes and spring kit on, the ends of the shoes on the top, did not butt up against the round bits that they are supposed to rest on (sorry, I don't know the technical term for that peice, hope you guys know what I am talking about) I have yet to try the brakes out, I just came inside to clean up... but if the new crap doesn't solve my problem, I'm thinking wheel cylinder? (even though both sides of the wheel cylinder move in and out freely, and no leaking) or maybe my brake cables aren't releasing all the way on that side? I dunno.. I'm at my wits end with this rear brake issue.... I'll keep everyone posted if the new shoes and drums fix the problem, for whoever cares at least.. LOL

I had rear lockup issues with my car and I went through a bunch of different things, including replacing the master, shoes, springs, fluid, etc...

My e-brake cable broke on a wheel and I ordered the part from gmpartsdirect.com, on a whim I bought factory shoes for the rears and installed those at the same time.. I have not had a problem since. The problem started when I replaced the shoes and had the drums turned, I took the shoes back and had the store replace them, because they were locking up. I messed with the problem for months, some times the problem was worse than others, but it was eating at me.. Try the OEM shoes and see if that fixes the problem..

Thanks,

LB

I went through this with my Beretta which has same setup as J-Body... Such a pain in the ass.

In the end my issue with locking up in one certain spot, almost like the drum was out of round (I went through 4 sets of drums, they cant all be bad!), was the wheel bearing assembly was bad. Replaced that and was all better.


Dan Trump

2004 Cavalier LS Sport - Victory Red

sounds like wheel cylinder. that was kinda the problem with mine. it would work fine for months then for a week it would jsut lock up weird during braking. finally it locked up so bad the car went in circles (yes right rear completly locked) when i replaced it a put pressure on one side and the other popped right out, turns out the seal had given but not completly so tension was keeping it in place. IIRC wheel cylinders are only 35 bucks (dont hold me to it) worth replacing. o and hub bolts are T55 torx should you need it. (most people say you dont but i did)



My car may run 18s, but I can do your taxes in 10 seconds flat.
JBO lube - they would never have enough in stock and we'd never see RodimusPrime again

Thanks for the input guys! The first reply... I think the brake cable was your problem... I haven't used my ebrake yet, and its working good.. I've purposely slammed on my brakes many times, and they're not locking up at all. They should be broken in by now. So, next step is trying the ebrake, if the problem comes back.. thats the problem... I should be able to grease them up and work them in.. but its still weird, cuase its a stick, so you'd think the ebrake would be used frquently and not stick... meh.. we'll see. Next sdtep is front calipers, and that should bring the pedal up since the pins are seized, even after taking them out 3 times and lubing them up with the special caliper lube... When I put reman calipers in my wifes sunfire, it brought the pedal WAY up... I ha ve to be carefull when I drive her car cause I practically slam on the brakes without trying.. LOL... Oh.. and wheel cylinders are cheap... I may do this no matter what, just for insurance.

Machzel08 (Teh Jew) wrote: o and hub bolts are T55 torx should you need it. (most people say you dont but i did)

on both of my js the front hub bolts are t55 but the rear hub bolts were t50

It's all good input, but my issue was not the brake cable.. That broke long after this problem came up. I hope you get it worked out, because it's frustrating beyond belief to have these brake problems.. Not to mention dangerous.

Thanks,

LB

ooooh.. ok... yeah I wanted to get it fixed before winter, cause that would have been no fun at all!! When I worked at canadian tire, there was a mechanic there that was really good, believe it or not, and he could get the wheel cylinders out without removing the bearing... I dunno..

my car does much of this, first it was feeling funny in the back, like it was shaking when i breaked. then i noticed the abs light. now i replaced 3 of the 4 hubs, the pass. rear is still stock. i have new shoes and drums, and the same things. my ebrake got loose then, so i adjusted the wheel in the drums, worked, now it is getting looser.. not sure why, maybe the violent shaking does it. i will try a new hub, cuz that the last one to do. it feels a little warn, and it has 135k on it too... any other ideas?

Fireboy153
Brady Fire Co. - Station 150
Long Live The Sunflower! (yea its not so "cool")

I havent had any shaking...but mine groan really bad the first couple stops after the car has sat for a while, like over night or all day at work. They also groan under certain stopping loads. Theres only about 11K on the shoes, and they have been doing it for most of that time.


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