while coming back from a trip up north, pulled into in-n-out for some dinner, and noticed my truck stunk like burning brake.. I started checking the wheels and noticed the smell coming from the left rear.. I was towing a 16' car trailer with an off road go-kart on it, and I figured I just heated it up a little when I got off the highway.. anyway when I got home, I noticed the smell again.. and I know I didn't do any hard braking.... uncoupled the trailer, and pulled out of my driveway and the truck barely moved while idling in Drive. all of the other wheels were cool except for the rear left..anyway.. what would cause this? maybe a broken return spring?

 

How often do you use your parking brake. I have seen many times where the parking brake cabel is neglected, and finnaly it is used (mostly when hauling trailers), and the cable binds.
look behind the wheel, and see if you can see the parking cable and lever (a small hook with a cable atached) have someone apply and release the parking brake several times while you watch to see if it moves in both directions. you could also have a problem with the hydrolics. If the parking brake cable is ok, then jack up the rear end, chances are that tire will not spin easly, so open the bleader valve for that wheel, and see if the wheel spins then, if so you have a hydrolic problem.

 

My old truck had a similar problem, the wheel cylinders had been on there for long before i got the truck, anyway, they would stick after heavy braking and repeated short drives. Once the truck sat for a few minutes they would cool down and I was good to go again.
If it happens again and you happen to be at home then you could try opening a bleeder or cracking a line to determine where you have fluid at and what seems to be sticking.

 

I have also had a vehicle where the wheel cylinders were bad, causing the brakes to gradually "pump up"... the more I used them the less the pedal needed to move to engage, 'till finally they were just siezed up.

Unfortunately for me, that was on a vehicle that had all four wheels using drum brakes...

Just out of curiosity, the brake that's giving you trouble... it doesn't by chance have it's lines running close to your exhaust does it? The reason I ask is, that same vehicle wound up having issues with the heat from an exhaust pipe causing the fluid in the lines to expand, thus causing excess pressure in that part of the system... The result was brakes that would not disengage after repeated use.

 

i'll check the parking brake cable, and the hydraulics in the morning.. will reply if I find something.. thanks for the help, and have a happy new-year.

 

Ummm, I think I would try backing off the star-wheel of the self adjuster first. But then thats just me...

 

found the problem..it's the E-brake cable like Mr. Finch mentioned..and it looks like the only way to do anything about it, is to remove the drum.. such fun..hopefully the brake shoes/drum didn't get chewed up to badly.. it doesn't look like the drum got too hot..

 

If the E-brake is stuck on, then you are not going to get the drum off. Your best bet is to soak as much of the cable as you can with WD-40 if you can find a way to spray it into the housing. You will need it to let off before you can get the drum off and unfortunately, it is attached inside the drum. Good luck.

 

you will at the least need a drum and brake shoes and you will need to do both sides if you do one.

my advice: fix all that needs to be fixed with good quality parts, from ford dealer if possible.

 

i got the drum off by using the starwheel (thank you, Scndsin).. the E-brake cable was cocked to the side of the lever(where the hole is larger for removal of the cable), so when I used the e-brake, it pulled the ebrake lever into the self adjusting lever and bent the crap out of the self adjusting lever, then the ebrake lever got stuck infront of it..I replaced the self adjusting lever, and the ebrake cable for that wheel, it was stretched out.. the shoes were still in good condition, as was the drum.. brakes work good again with no dragging.

Now if only I could figure out why the pedal is spongy/low.. this has been going on since I got the truck back in November 06... bled all four wheels like 6 times, and I still have a spongy/low brake pedal..I replaced the master cyl, bled and bled and bled (and yes I did bench bleed it before installing it.) and still have the spongy brake pedal..i haven't found any leaks anywhere.. my old 86 bronco was the same way.. is this just a Ford truck thing? or maybe the new master cylinder has an internal leak?
I replaced the master cyl on my 88 Ranger due to an internal leak.. and It has a nice firm pedal now.. so it can't be me doing it wrong..

 

I Just had the very same thing. I used the e-brake and it stuck on. I was able to get the drums off. The cables were shot and I just cut them off. I will replace them soon.

_______________
1990 F250 4x4 460 Lariat

 

My F350 is spongy. I think its a Ford truck thing. My friends 96 Bronco was like that also lol. I know if i press hard enough I hear the vacuum in the booser. Ill prob need one of them soon. I got other stuff on the list. New right fender, got bent on job with my uncle. Making him buy it. But back to brakes. Yea listen to your boster, the daiphram might be starting to go.

 

The spongy brake feel may be from the old rubber hoses, they expand and contract under pressure more than newer hoses do. Braided steel hoses do not expand or contract at all, and give much better pedal feel. Braided hoses aren't an expensive upgrade, and they last much longer than rubber hoses.

 

Not having your shoes adjusted far up enough can also cause a low pedal.

 

I had spongy and low. The rear star wheel adjusters were so rotted that it was just round. So i redid all the rear brakes. Do you know where to get the braided steel hoses? It was easy to get for my mustang but I cant seem to find them for the truck.