on my 87 e350, the rear brakes have been a bit grabby at times over the last few weeks, much like they would if they were contaminated with fluid.
so yesterday i bought shoes, wheel cylinders, and hardware kit, and pulled the drums off tonight.
i found absolutely no sign of any fluid leaking anywhere in the brakes, and measured the shoes thickness and found them a few thou thicker than the new ones i just bought.
but the right one had broken the self-adjuster cable, which i'll be picking up tomorrow. as a result, that side was pretty loose, so i tightened it.

so now i'm asking myself if i should just go ahead and change everything since i'm there anyway, or if that would be a pointless waste of time and money. what do you guys think

 

I have never touched the brakes on a car or truck, at least that I can remember, but my general rule of thumb is that if the installed components are working fine, then continue using those. Leave the risk of a new component failure for the day that the installed components have already failed or otherwise require replacement. The installed components are demonstrated reliable.

 

Personally never had to pull a drum to confirm a brake fluid leak. The leaks I've had didn't make brakes "grabby" it made them ineffectual & smelly.

When "rear brakes have been a bit grabby" it made me suspect dragging hot brake shoes w/drums full of dust & sticking rusty brake cylinder piston/bores.

Old brake shoes thicker than new suggests recent replacement. I'd examine brake cylinders closely by pulling back boot, to check if it's all corrosion, or clean & gliding on brake lube. Many aftermarket brake cylinders are sold w/pistons installed dry & rust EZ.

When FL used to have vehicle inspections 1 part of the exam was real nifty. They had 4 'skid pads' on floor & owners were directed to drive on it & hit the brakes at examiner's signal. Each pad registered a column of fluid indicating the braking power at each wheel, instantly revealing any deficiency.

You may imagine the problems. If owner didn't drive fast enough, or hit brakes hard enough, to make the grade, they got 2nd chance. Unless they were in a good mood, or not backed up, you might beg a 3rd try. Otherwise you failed, had to go to licensed repair shop to get fixed & bring receipt for retest!

A couple of anxious owners, nervous about the test, lost control, hitting examiners & other cars. Was once surprised to fail. Hit brakes so hard on 2nd try stuff got tossed in E150, still no rear brakes at all. Couldn't believe I hadn't noticed front brakes only! Rear wheel cylinders were locked solid by rust!

These days I regularly check brakes on quiet dirt road. Skid marks in loose dirt are about as diagnostic as the old FL inspection. A dragging brake is warmer, 1st to engage & shows in skid marks.

 

well club wagon, i recently had the priveledge of driving a friend's truck just a week before it lost all braking due to a fluid leak at one rear wheel, and they were grabby as could be - like i couldn't stop without locking up one rear wheel. a week later he called me with no brakes, and i found a major leak at that wheel, which then was evident on the inner sidewall. but not until i pulled his other drum did i know about a lesser leak at that wheel too. so while you've never had to find a leak that way, i have.

as for dragging, i check the temp of the hubs and wheels every couple of weeks after a good drive, and never find any abnormal heat, so i don't suspect a problem on that side of things.

i've used the skid test on many vehicles, but with a locking diff back there, it would likely lock the diff and give no indication of which side was the root of the issue, though that is a good method with open diff.

and i'm not sure if i mentioned that its not grabby every time, only when it wants to. leaving the parts store this morning i gently tapped the brakes at maybe 3mph and stopped quite suddenly, much moreso than i should have compared to how that pedal input usually responds, which would have been quite gentle. this seems to be common leaving home in the morning too, and at random other times, but nowhere near every time
at first i was wondering if my vacuum pump was over-producing and causing my booster to be hyper-effective, though i doubt that to really be the case.

i don't remember if i ever replaced the rear brakes on this van, but if i did it was shortly after i got it, nearly 2 years and over 60k miles ago. i know i replaced the fronts around that time using wagner severe-duty pads, which are currently at about halfway through their life. i also inspected the fronts for any signs of leaks or uneven wear, and found everything perfect.
so i think i'll replace that bad cable on the one rear brake, adjust them perfectly, and continue troubleshooting this issue.

 

Good luck w/your "vacuum pump...over-producing and causing (your) booster to be hyper-effective" theory.

Never heard of "a locking diff" affecting rear brake function in FL inspection skid pad tests.

OK then, don't inspect your brake cylinders for bore corrosion & pistons seizing, just b/c pulling drums & finding them dry wrecked your leak theory. In which case you may as well flip a coin to decide whether to replace them, or "if that would be a pointless waste of time and money".

Before you go to pick up brake self-adjuster cable suggest you look closely at condition of brake lines/connections at wheel cylinders. Odds of being able to reuse these lines on an '87 may be iffy.

 

I would replace everything...just for safety...Including springs /adjusters / and E-brake cables....It is over 20 years old ....

 

Way "over 20 years old". More like 26 years old.

However, IF the brake shoes are thicker than the new ones & not contaminated by leaked brake fluid - why replace them?

As to E-brake cables, normally only the exposed portions are subject to rust. IF the cables function properly & upon inspection are not rusted -why replace them?

 

Because of all the Bull**** it takes to get to them...I just replace them and not worry about it....My time is worth 1000 times more than the price of the shoes....

 

they really aren't that hard to get to on mine. the drum comes off with just the wheel removed, unlike the older axles that required tearing into the bearings and all that.
so i'll fix whats broke, inspect everything a little closer, and leave the old shoes on there cause they're still good