96 Aerostar Cargo 6 cyln. Auto.

There is a noise coming from what sounds like the rear passenger side wheel. Also, when you put it in drive and release your foot from the brake the van stays still. You have to push the gas to get it moving, like the brake is holding it. If you are going very slow on a flat surface the van will eventually stop instead of idling forward.

I have removed the wheel, it does turn hard. Pulled the drum (was very hard to remove). Had to move adjuster to remove drum. Cleaned inside, inspected the brake shoes, put drum back on, etc.

I am pretty sure that brake is causing resistance. Any ideas on how to resolve it?

Thanks.

 

What does the sound sound like? Is it a rumble or grinding noise?

When you remove the drum, is the axle still hard to turn? If so, it's the wheel bearing that's causing the problem. I hear that that's really bad, and should be replaced as soon as possible.

 

1. internally corroded rusted sticking brake wheel cylinder
replace in pairs l&r

2. corroded sticking parking brake cable or mechanism
take off rear drum and spray parking brake cable with PB penetrating oil, no WD40 skunk creosote.....let set overnight and spray cable and mechanism with white litium spray grease

3. rear brake return springs corroded and heat weakened, replace

4. rivited rear brake shoes worn down to rivits causing noise or bonded and worn down to warning strips, replace shoes

 

When I had it apart last time I checked the brake shoes and they are not down to the rivets. I also loosened the adjustment so that there wasn't so much resistance but is it possible it readjusted itself too tight again?

 

It may be your emer brake.. One of the most common problems with aero's..You have to release the emer brake lever. The way I do it is to get a long screwdriver. Lay in front of the front seat lift up the emer brake slightly inser the screwdriver pointed towards the rear blade vertical and towards the drivers side bottom. There is a place in there where you can push in or towards the rear that will release the brake. The lever will release. It may take a few minutes to find the metal arm on the bottom right looking towards the back. Get a good flashlight and look in there...Problem is the auto adj handle takes up too much slack when the emer brake is used..The fix I use is to get a number 63 spring and shorten it and hook it underneath the van where the two cables come together back to the metal frame...this will pull the cables back fast when you release the brake lever so the self adj doesn't get too tight.

On my 94 I had to carry a screw driver in the door. Don't use the emer brake till you put a spring in after you release it. After releasing the lever you may have to pull the drums and adj the auto adjuster. The shoes have to be tight to the pin at the top.before you adj them..

This should work unless you have a bad cable or springs.


Dick

 

Thanks! That was it... the emergency brake was so tight that you could barely pull the lever even one notch without a struggle. I found it easier to get underneath the van and remove the plastic cover from the bottom of the emergency brake mechanism then I pushed a little doodad and it went "ChUnK!" and it evidently released some tension. The e-brake still works but now it isn't "always on" and my problem seems resolved... for now.

 

Get a 63a spring and hooker up.



Dick

 

Thanks, this was the gift that keeps on giving! I just had a stuck rear brakes, jacked up the car to determine that the rear brake cable was under tension, then used a screwdriver to release the tension at the handle!!

On my 1997, there is a hole at the side of the handle (after removing the plastic base cover,) through which I was able to release the pawl on the ratchet. I couldn't do it head on from the front, but the hole is perfectly positioned in front of the metal piece and prying sideways has more leverage than pushing from the front. Plus, with the handle down I couldn't access i from the front, and pulling the handle up increased the tension too much. The hole worked when the handle was all the way down.