Left rear tire keeps locking up

[djmarch]

So I'm backing out of a parking lot at Lowes and my left rear tire is locked. I'm thinking what the hell...Check the E brake knowing I never use it. Nope, it's not on. So I rock the Aveo automatic back and forth until it finally breaks loose. Drive home and everything seems fine. No drag, no brake noise. Get out and check for heat with my hand on the axle cap. (no hubcaps). It's dark so I would check it at daylight. On the way home today, had the same issue. Rocked it back and forth until it broke loose and slowly limped home. Has anyone else experience this problem ? I'm thinking something broke like a spring tensioner for the shoes. So I'm researching on-line and find 2 different scenarios on removing the brake drum. One is removing the axle nut, and the other removing the 2 phillips head screws to remove the hub and access the shoes. Can someone give me insight on this ?

Thanks in advance

[avguy]

My '05 had a shoe lining separate, which locked the brake up solid. You might have a partial shoe separation, or perhaps a piece of hardware has broken off and is getting pinned on and off. Doesn't matter much because you're looking at a full brake job in any case.

If your drum has the 2 holding screws on the face, that means it's a 2 piece construction (drum attached to the hub/bearing). If the screws aren't there, then it's the 1 piece unit (drum, hub, and bearing). The later requires removal of the axle nut, while the 2 piece unit does not. There are some good how-to threads in the archive.

[xintersecty]

if you pull it apart and find the solution, take pictures.

[djmarch]

My '05 had a shoe lining separate, which locked the brake up solid. You might have a partial shoe separation, or perhaps a piece of hardware has broken off and is getting pinned on and off. Doesn't matter much because you're looking at a full brake job in any case.

If your drum has the 2 holding screws on the face, that means it's a 2 piece construction (drum attached to the hub/bearing). If the screws aren't there, then it's the 1 piece unit (drum, hub, and bearing). The later requires removal of the axle nut, while the 2 piece unit does not. There are some good how-to threads in the archive.

Thanks for the input

[djmarch]

Well, how in the hell can I get that rear hub off ? Remove the caulking nut. I've beated and pried on that hub for an hour. I have the old style hub with no countersunk phillips heads screws. My hub never got hot so I know the bearings are not shot. Yea...I pumped the brakes 10 times as they sat, but I'm afraid the brake adjuster is what broke, or a brake lining came off the shoe so what difference does that make ? One would think if the lining separated or the adjuster broke, that hub would slide right off.

[avguy]

Are you planning on replacing the drum? If so, just punch a hole in the face, between and slightly outside of 2 of the lugs. One way is to send a fairly large drill bit in a few times, and then connect the dots with a dremel or angle grinder. Or maybe just cut the opening with the grinder, without punching any holes first. Then position the opening at around 10 o'clock, varying according to how big and where the hole is located. The idea is to create a large enough opening to be able to get the tip of a screwdriver onto the adjuster wheel. Doing this wouldn't be necessary if the manufacturer had cut the standard slots in the back of the drum, as they should have done.

But if you're not planning to replace the drum assembly, the only other thing I can think of is trying to get lots of WD40 inside of it, in order to make it easier to slide out. Good luck with that one!

[djmarch]

Are you planning on replacing the drum? If so, just punch a hole in the face, between and slightly outside of 2 of the lugs. One way is to send a fairly large drill bit in a few times, and then connect the dots with a dremel or angle grinder. Or maybe just cut the opening with the grinder, without punching any holes first. Then position the opening at around 10 o'clock, varying according to how big and where the hole is located. The idea is to create a large enough opening to be able to get the tip of a screwdriver onto the adjuster wheel. Doing this wouldn't be necessary if the manufacturer had cut the standard slots in the back of the drum, as they should have done.

But if you're not planning to replace the drum assembly, the only other thing I can think of is trying to get lots of WD40 inside of it, in order to make it easier to slide out. Good luck with that one!

Thanks...I'll need it