I am new to FTE.

My 1977 Ford F-350 has sat in front of the garage for a week now. I went to move it tonight and my right rear drum brake was locked up. Other side was free so I bumped it back and forth( I have air brake experience) and finally it broke free. Now when I hit the brakes that wheel acts like it has no brakes.

The truck had a flatbed and currently has no bed so rears lock up very easily but both sides always did. Now the left side only locks.

I have owned the truck for 6 months now and it never has had brake issues or used any fluid.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I apologize if this has been covered once before.

1977 Ford F-350 351m 4 speed front disc brakes rear drum.

 

Was the parking brake set after it was last parked? That may be what froze. Sometime they hang up and the cable gets stuck and the brakes act like they are frozen. Usually can fix by crawling under and jiggling the rear brake cable. Mine has done that twice now. Not sure about the no brakes now though. May be a seperate issue.

 

Not that I am aware of. Previous owner had not oiled cable in years and I tried to use it one day and it locked up tight. The cable is very rusty. I have not used it since but I am gone 12-14 hrs a day and someone could of jacked with it.

 

It may be hung up E brake cables as posted. A good soak with penetrating oil + the wiggle mentioned helps a lot. Still, there is no substitute for pulling the drums and having a look-see. On mine ('78 F250) that's what I did and found one side to be completly FUBAR. New shoes, hardware and slave cylinders got it fixed up in the rear... then on to the front which had a sticking caliper. Reman calipers and some brake line improvements got the front fixed up.

 

pull the wheel and the drum and see if there is brake fluid in there. Could be a blown wheel cyl. Could also possibly be that the shoes are worn down and the adjustment mechanism is all the way out. Or could have just been one of the springs that pulls the shoes back has broken. Either way, pulling the drum should give you a good idea of whats going on. I'd also check out the E brake, but again, that should be obvious once you pull the drum..... or if you can't get the drum off, you may have to wiggle the line or spray it with pb blaster.