i have an 86 toyo pickup and am trying to sell it. this weekend i took it for a spin and it ran fine. today i went to move it and its struggling to move. it appears that the left rear wheel is locked up sort of. it was a little warm today around 60 degrees. when it cooled off this evening i went out and it ran better, not near as "draggy"
is this the rear end or perhaps the brake drum is locked up?
please let me know
chaz
Chaz pull the left rear wheel. Look at the brake drum. Is it black ? Is there grease all over the back of the wheel? If greasey you have a bad axle bearing. If the drum is black and burnt looking it's the most likely brakes. If neither it could be in the differential.
It isnt black and doesnt look burnt. I took it out tonight, cold, runs fine for about a mile, then SLOWLY starts to drag, by the time i got home it was crawling. Engine runs fine, noticed an odor but dont know if it was brake dust, wouldnt know what a transaxle might smell like.
chaz
If the brakes are seizing, that wheel should be considerably hotter than the others. I had one that would only seize when the temp got over 85F. Sold it to a guy from California who was shipping it to Belize. I'll bet they fixed it :-)
That drum might be locked up a bit. If it's been sitting for some time it probably has some rust on the drum. try turning the star wheel back a couple of turns and see if that frees it up. Using the brakes a bit might clean it off as well. leaving a vehicle just sitting is very bad for them. Good luck with it.
parking/emergency
The problem seems to be associated with the rear brakes, when its warmer. When I take the wheel off should the drum slide off or do I need some sort of puller?
It *should* pull off with only some mild cursing. If the problem is that the brakes are stuck in the engaged position, then you very well may need some mechanical assistance, especially if they've cut themselves a groove. A small lip can form which effectively captures the drum. This is pretty rare, but I've seen it happen. Go easy, go slow. A rubber mallet or deadblow hammer, judiciously applied, might be helpful. Space the blows evenly around the rim, don't hit it several times in one place. Don't use a sledge or an engineer's hammer (in other words, don't use a metal hammer,) you might damage the brake drum.
D
If you look carefully, there may be threaded holes in the drum (some not threaded also). Put a bolt in each of the threaded holes and slowly turn them in *evenly*. Don't strip the holes with the wrong size bolt!
Often it is just easier to work the drum loose; turn and pull, pull and turn. Patience.
The problem was the brakes, I bled the system and no more problems!
Thanks for all the great advice.
chaz
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