thump thump thump when braking

[jgilbs]

so i redid my rear drum brakes and everything looks textbook. everything fits in exactly where its supposed to, the drum slid on very nicely when i was done, and everything looked better than when i started. that is, until, i started to back up. at first my brakes were rubbing against the drum even though the self-adjusting screw was completley collapsed. so i put on the parking brake, cuz i heard thats how the brakes properly adjust themselves. CLUNK! i heard a noise from my drivers side rear. i put the car in gear with the brake on. passs side was fine, but u could tell drivers side wanted to move a little. so i figure "fudge it" and i drove around to test anyway. firs tthing i noticed was that brake pedal travel was excessive, but firm. when moderate to hard braking, the rear end would go like "THUMP THUMP THUMP", and u could feel the car shake. so i kept driving anyways. i also noticed when hard braking, the car pulled to the right. after a while, I got out to make sure everything was OK and I could smell burning and I noticed my pass. side wheel was smoking and smelt really bad. so i let it cool off and i drove it home (it seemed to be fine under normal braking, but before it had started to smoke i did several cycles of 60mph-0mph slamming on the brakes) and i opened the drum up, and sure enough the drivers side parking brake cable was detached, but nothing else out of the ordinary. so i tore everything apart and started to reassemble it anyways. I noticed that the pin that holds the retaining spring in place was bent AND the parking brake cable seemed too short (the actuating lever that sits against the drum did NOT sit against the drum, as the parking brake cable seemed to be in the "locked postition", even though the parking brake was disengaged) so I tried tugging on it to bring it to its normal length, but it would budge. what gives with this thing? also, do my other symptoms (thump thump thump, pulling hard when braking and pedal travel) point to the parking brake system being improperly serviced?

Sorry for the long post. i just hate rear drum brakes.

 

[mrboyle]

First thing you need to do is check the cables for proper release. This is easiest with an assistant (wife, kid, old man taking his daily walk, etc...). You need somone to apply and release the e-brake while you watch the cable at the drum (with drums removed) . If it retracts and releases fully you are in good shape. If it retracts and doesn't release the cable is rusted internally (or damaged otherwise) and needs to be replaced.
From the description it sounds like something came loose, shifted wrong or stuck and caused the e-brake to stay applied on the right side.

As a side note. "I put on the parking brake, cuz i heard thats how the brakes properly adjust themselves."
This is NOT the proper way to adjust the brakes. I'm sure you have heard or read this several times in the past. Unfourtnatly the information is not entirely true. The e-brake will adjust the brakes as they wear (to a point), but they have to be properly adjusted to begin with. This is done using a brake spoon (adjusting tool) and adjusting the star wheel through the hole in the backing plate. Once the brakes are adjusted manually the self adjusting mechanism (sp?) will keep the brakes somewhat adjusted. I have never seen a single drum brake design that keeps the shoes adjusted 100%.

 

[jgilbs]

I used the brake spoon to adjust the shoes so the drum slips over them. I redid everything and the ebrake isnt stuck locked anymore. but when I try to apply it, I can barely get one click on the pedal, and it takes all my weight to do even that. I'm just afraid im going to break it. But it works when I do apply it, it works. I just went driving around for an hour and the pass. side drum is VERY hot and smells like burning, and the drivers side is hot, but not as hot as the pass. side. everything was properly adjusted - what gives?