Hello

i'm in a bit of a problem here. i just installed a brand new brake master cylinder onto my car. i bench bleed the master cylinder first before installing it. after i installed the new part onto the car, i began bleeding the brakes. when i was finished, i tried to go on a test drive to make sure everything was ok.

it turns out that my drivers side REAR wheel is locked (i have DRUM brakes in the back). the parking brake is down completely and when i put it into drive or reverse (its an automatic), the car wont move because the brake is applied to that one side. theres no problem with the passanger side, i can spin the wheel when the car is up in the air, but the drivers side rear is stuck.

can anyone shed some light on this issue?

halfway through bleeding the brakes, i distintly remember moving the car further up the garage so i could work on the rear. i remember there being no problems with the brakes being stuck since the car moved freely. it was until i bled both the rear drums that i got the locked brakes.

i'm guessing it could be that the parking brake cable is stuck on that side only? maybe the new master cylinder has something to do with it?

help!

 

bump for some help...

 

theres a tool (see attached file) that you can get at any auto parts store that is about $10 that allows you to screw in the calipers for your e-brake try that?? it looks like a metal cube with 2 or 4 pegs on each side, youll need a 3/8 socket for it. just use the side that fits. maby you can reset the calipers as to how far they push out.

 

^^^ thanks for the reply, but that cube if for rear calipers. my car has drums, so i cant use that...

 

I'm sure since you're doing the brakes yourself, you can probably easily diagnose this yourself. Go check out the e-brake cable and make sure it's not stuck, then take the rim off and see if the drum will budge. If you can't get the drum off, try unscrewing the bleeder valve to relieve some of the pressure(that seems to be there for no reason). It sounds like the brake is applied, so just check everything that could apply it.

 

well my bad, (should have said so), get a piece of 1/4in scrap metal/ or thicker piece of wood and a c-clamp and try it that way.

 

Try what?

 

nateb22, what you suggested makes no sense.


OP:

take the wheel off, take a decent sized hammer and hit the drum a few times in between the wheel studs (take car not to hit the studs)

see if that will break loose the brakes from the drum so it will spin.

if that doesnt work, then do what the others said and loosen the bleed screw and see if that works.

if neither works, try removing the drum, you can beat it with a hammer, but if its really stuck that probably wont work. The other way to remove it is:

find the two threaded holes on the drum, get a bolt that fits in those threads,(dunno the thread pitch, i think maybe an 8 or 10 x 1.25mm) and thread the bolt into one hole, then the other, then the other, etc until it lifts the drum off. then see if the ebrake cable is binding up, or if the drum assembly is bound up.

then repost what you find.

 

or if you cant open it by opening the bleeder screw, then behind the drum there should be a little rubber seal.remove that seal and use a flat head screwdriver into that slot and try to loosen the tensioner that is inside.its possible that you might have blown your wheel cylinder.hopefully you can get it that way. good luck

 

that last one was totally my bad i was thinking of calipers and not drums.
theres a gear thing in the back side that has 2 screws 1 for each pad that you can adjust to move the resting position of the drum pads back in

 

i'm gonna guess that you have a collapsed brake hose on that particular side. i had the same problem. what's happening is the pressure is getting through but not letting it out therefore keeping the brake applied to the drum.

 

Thanks for the replies.

I should let you guys know its my sisters car, which is a '95 toyota tercel. I'm posting here because there are more knowledgable people here.

The rear drum brakes on a tercel is different than that of a civic. There aren't any screw holes on the drum face to help push the drum off. Instead, its helh on by a big axle nut and cotter pin. So, its gonna be a pain trying to take off the drum with the brakes locked.

Should I just loosen the bleeder screw and try turning the wheel? Should I apply the brake pedal?

Does anyone think I messed up the install of the master cylinder somehow?

Keep the great advice comming, thanks again!

 

I also notice that when I pump the brake pedal, I can hear the rear brake try to disengage like its creaking, and the car starts to inch forward very little.

 

GOD, thats just what he needs, compensation for a part failure

im with midori green boi on this one.

crack open the bleeder and see if the drum releases. if it does its probably the rubber line. look for any abnormalities on the line, usually bubbles and such. sometimes they are bad and still look quite good.

pop off the armrest/ebrake cover. (depends whether you got a ex/lx or dx) and make sure both parking brake cables are working..

one or the other should be the problem

 

when you pump the brakes you apply pressure to the brakes but if the hose is collapsed it won't release the pressure. so the brake hose is shot. the axle nut you are referring to is the wheel bearing nut and thats not a problem to take off. some cars like vw have to have the wheel bearing removed to take off the drums/discs. see if this helps

 

so i should check the brake line for defects? how can i be sure thats the problem? i just dont wanna replace good parts. i guess the frist thing i gotta do is relieve the pressure on the brakes so i can actually inspect the problem. so we agree the best way of doing that is through the bleeder screw? just loosen is without pumping brakes?

TIA

 

Did you try smacking the drum with a hammer

 

its a toyota, just get rid of it

 

How does that help anybody?

sounds like the rubber line collapsed. check the rubber line for flat spots, maybe twists ( like someone had it off and kinked it) or cracks.

Also, are you sure the E-brake released? i'd hit the drum on the bend (where the flat part where the studs go through meets the back part that goes all the way around) its really hard to describe.