1993 Dodge Dakota LE, 5.2L, A518 Auto Trans, RWD, 187,000 miles, original owner

I recently rotated my tires. Since then (and it's possible it's coincidence) I am noticing my brake is dragging on the drum when I apply the brake and slow up to a stop (it sounds like my left rear brake drum tho it's possible it's the left front rotor...not always easy to tell). Not a constant drag, but rather it drags in only one spot of the rotation. I can hear it. Yes, it's supposed to rub but why the noise on one spot of the rotation? It's almost as if the shoe isn't extending far enough to meet the drum except on one spot or the shoe loses contact in one spot before re-engaging. Any idea what this sounds like and a remedy? Wondering if my adjusters need some attention. BTW, I replaced all the brake components 2-1/2 years and 7,500 miles ago. Rear drums are Bendix, Wagner pads, ACDelco cylinders, RayBestos hardware/adjusters. No noise without brake applied or if I stomp on the brake.

Oh, and if it is a front rotor, would a warped rotor do this? Rotors are same age as drums.

 

Warped rotors or drums would do that.... You can jack up the truck, one end at a time, and turn the wheels by hand... might be able to hear/feel which one is being problematic.

 

I’ll probably need to lightly apply the brake. Looks like I need to recruit the wife unit.

 

A warp in thr rotor will usually cause a pulsation in the brake pedal. Really bad and it will shake the steering wheel. A rear drum doesn't usually do that. I would pull the wheel and drum in back and look for a rusty spot with most of it clean. Then again, a leaky wheel cylinder will have a spot with fluid which won't grab and the rest of the drum will.

 

Yeah, I really think it's likely the rear drum. I initially thought it was the front rotor but as I listened to it more I began to think it was the rear drum. I'll try turning and inspecting to see if i find something. If nothing obvious, I'll swap with the front wheel. No idea why that would matter but this noise didn't start until I rotated the tires...maybe that's only when I noticed it.

 

Lifted the back end. Took both wheels and drums off. Tested each drum by itself. Definitely found a "loose" spot on the left rear drum. About a 60 degree spot where the drum rotated loosely with little/no drag. Right rear not so bad. Tightened up the self adjuster till loose spot was gone...about 3/4 of a turn on the star adjuster. Even drag across the entire rotation now. Tightened the other side but only maybe a half dozen clicks just for good measure. Cleaned up both sides, test drive, noise gone. Problem fixed. Appears I might have a lazy self adjuster on that left rear. Guess it doesn't pay to get RayBestos parts. Brakes have only 7,600 miles on them, Guess long enough for the lazy adjuster to rear its ugly head. May have to go in there once in awhile and hand adjust. On to the next problem... Thanks, fellas.

 

I've used Raybestos for decades and have never had an issue. If the drag isn't consistent you have a warped drum. You may not have an issue with the adjuster as it will stop tightening when it grabs. The looser portion won't grab. that's the way it's designed to operate when you back up.

 

If the drum is warped after 7,600 miles then Bendix sucks. Someone sucks. Bendix has always been a solid name but lots of these places have gone Chinese so who knows what we’re getting anymore.

 

Drums and rotors will warp for a variety of reasons. Far too many to simply 'trust them' right off the shelf. As such, it was my habit to take a few thousandths off of even NEW drums/rotors before installation. Fewer comebacks that way.

 

If only I had the tooling to do that.