2005 Dodge neon drum brake e brake dragging

[97prizm]

Hi all,
I swear I've never owned a vehicle with such finicky rear brakes with issues. Three years ago the rear left drum brake wheel cylinder leaked. My dad said he'd never had one fail. Within a month the right one failed. After just brakes decided that $400 was "acceptable" my dad and I installed new shoes drums hardware and cylinder for about 40 or so per side. A couple of days ago my car felt like it was down on power. After hearing the right rear squeak I could tell the e brake wasn't fully disengaging. I was able to back up and get it to release. I got home an hour ago and took temperature measurements. The left rear was 92 farenheit while the right was 142 Fahrenheit. This car has had constant little problems that none of my previous vehicles have ever exhibited. Anyone have any recommendations for a permanent solution? Thanks. I doubt I'll ever own another Dodge product short of a Viper. Has anyone ever converted rear drums to disc brakes?

 

[GSCJR]

Perform a rear brake adjustment and if that fails, replace the adjuster assembly.

 

[mk378]

It could be a sticky cable. Take the drum off and pry the lever to pull the cable all the way out. Don't use the parking brake again. See if the dragging persists.

 

[Lubener]

Agree with the binding cable. The right side usually goes bad first since that cable is the longest. The cables are cheap and not bad to replace if you want a parking brake.

 

[97prizm]

Perform a rear brake adjustment and if that fails, replace the adjuster assembly.

Is that difficult? I've never done that before. Getting all of the springs and hardware in place was a pain.

 

[joekingcorvette]

I had a really nice theft recovery 2005 Neon and the rear brakes always made noise when cold. It had low miles on it too. I took it to my favorite neighborhood brake repairman and he said they all do it. He said just leave it as is and if you ever sell it tell the buyer the brakes will make noise when cold. I drove the car about 10,000 miles, sold it to a friend and told him to leave the brakes alone because they will make noise even when brand new. It was the nature of the beast on those Dodge Neons. BTW that was a budget car and I really didn't mind driving it for a no frills vehicle. It was silver with a black interior.

 

[GSCJR]

Is that difficult? I've never done that before. Getting all of the springs and hardware in place was a pain.

No, just make sure you leave one side assembled for comparison. You would have done at least a partial adjustment while replacing the shoes, in order to re-install the brake drum.

Good luck!

 

[97prizm]

Well i sprayed some brake parts cleaner into the drum and then drove it gently around the block. I came out to go to work and it's now completely seized. Can I still loosen the shoes enough to rectify the problem?

 

[eljefino]

If you can't get the drum off you can cut off the little nails that hold the shoes and get a pile of parts. Or whale on it with a hammer and possibly break those nails. Of course you can try the adjuster angle to see if that loosens them enough.

Usually changing an e-brake cable involves 3-handed monte where you're trying to compress the cable spring with a screwdriver or other "wrong" tool while getting the ferrule through a specific notch in the shoe. It's not any worse than any other drum brake work.

 

[GSCJR]

Well i sprayed some brake parts cleaner into the drum and then drove it gently around the block. I came out to go to work and it's now completely seized. Can I still loosen the shoes enough to rectify the problem?

Remove the rubber plug from the backing plate and using a standard screwdriver, attempt to turn the adjuster in order to relax the tension.