Greetings all, any advice on this situation:
On a 2003 Ranger 4.0 4x4, 31,500 miles; I did a front brake job. Main problem was frozen lowe pins on calipers on both sides. I drilled out the old pins VERY carefully on a drill press and replaced pins the replaced rotors and pads. I never touched brake lines.
Afterwards heard slight soft thud when applying brake ONLY AFTER shifting from a drive gear to reverse or vise versa. It would only thud or pop once. Not a universal joint, it would thud after brake applied, not right after shifting.
It sounded like it was coming from rear, I thought maybe shoes were worn in back since my front calipers were frozen, one open and one closed, before front brake job.
I tried removing driver side drum to check shoes and springs, etc. Couldn't get drum off (maybe I need a drum puller?). Even after turning adjuster wheel BOTH ways many times.
After giving up on removing drum (until weekend) problems with that drum brake;
first smell of burning brakes, so I loosened adjuster wheel. That helped but that drum still feels hot, other side cold after long drive.
Now brake pedal has excess travel. Master Cylinder has full fluid (no leaks?)
Any advice?Thanks

 

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Does the pedal always have excessive travel or does it stay up if you pump the brakes. Brakes are a heat engine; meaning they turn the vehicles kinetic energy into heat, it's normal for them to be hot, abnormal for them to be cold. I suspect a self adjuster is malfunctioning on the cold drum side, that or some of the hardware is loose/missing/broken.

Also, when you turn the self adjuster, it should resist in one direction, that is the direction you need to turn it. The drums could be worn substantially from the shoes so the shoes will be sitting in a groove and it may take quite a bit of turning to get the pads out of the groove.

 

The pedal is not always spongy, if pumped it stays up. I was thinking maybe the cold side is the problem as well. When turning the self adjuster on the hot side I can feel it getting looser or tighter when going one way or the other. I haven't tried the cold side.
I have to get those drums off tomorrow and take a look. I think a drum puller may be the way to go. Even when I loosened the self adjuster all the way I can't get that one drum off no matter how much I pound on the back lip of the drum (not the backing plate). Plus it's tough to get a good shot at it since the lip is so narrow. I've done this on much older cars without so much trouble. The center hole in the drum seems so tight on the hub too. I tried penetrating oil on the center around the axle hub but I don't know if it will help.
Any advice on what to look for in a drum puller? How much are they, is it worth it to buy one?
Thanks

 

I had the exact same problem with mine. What happened with mine was one of the shoes on one side came off whatever holds it on, and got stuck between the other shoe and the drum. Couldn't get the drum off of there for nothing. I didn't have one of the adjuster tools, and it's hard to do it with two screwdrivers in a parking lot. Finally gave up and took it to a brake shop and had them replace the shoes and machine the drums for $65. Since the shoes themselves were going to cost me $30 in the first place, I think it was worth it.

 

RESOLVED! Higgin I had a similar problem as yours. One of the pads came off the shoe and was wedged down toward the bottom of the drum. I don't know if that's why it was so tough to get off though. Also the self adjuster was totally rusted in place. A torch and some pounding with a 2lb blow hammer and a block of wood did the trick. The other side was almost as hard to get off and that side had no broken parts. I never saw so much rust inside the drums of a vehicle with only 30,000 miles. I replaced all the hardware on both sides and the self adjusters. New drums and shoes too. Now feels like new, for another 30k. I think I'll check at 45k and lube up the self adjusters.
Nice to hear from those who answered.