Rear shudder and parking brake issues
 

1995 Toyota Pickup 3.0 v6 4Wd

Had a problem with the rears locking up under the slightest braking so I changed the drums, shoes, Springs, wheel cylinders, but not the adjuster on both sides. The parking brake cable snapped a long time ago and the rear cable was seized up so I also put new front and rear cables on.

The issues now are that my locking up has stopped but now my brakes shudder from the rear while being applied. Can someone confirm this being drums out of adjustment? I've never adjusted before so I had a friend show me and he may have been off slightly.

Also, my parking brake works but it is almost impossible to pull back. Like brace the floorboard and curling a weight type difficult. It works though once you get it out. It seems to help to hold the brake pedal and pull. Everything is free though such as the bellcrank and all associated stuff because I checked it all when I replaced them. What can cause this? It's driving me nuts!

Thanks for any help!

EDIT: It's also worth noting that I've yet to drive the truck over five miles since this because of the shudder. I don't wanna ruin my new drums and shoes!

Probably the most common reason for drum brakes to grab and lock up prematurely is oil/grease contamination of the shoes, typically because a rear axle seal is leaking. If you didn't check for that issue, and the leak is still there, you may have more contamination on your new shoes and drums causing the shudder.

Also, one of the more common causes of a rear axle seal leaking is a plugged differential breather. Check that out.

If all is clean inside, the other possibility is that your brakes are adjusted too tight and are heating up in normal driving. The self-adjuster is a one-way device - it can tighten the brakes, but only you can loosen them.

Not sure about your stiff parking brake. I think I would disconnect the cables from the brakes and determine if the mechanism moves freely without the brakes connected. That will help you narrow down where the problem is.

Thanks for the response! The previous owner said that the wheel seals had went bad some years ago and he fixed them. But I know there hasn't been any recent leaking but there were remains in the drums before I changed them. I know it's clean since I wire brushed it all and brake cleaned it spotless!

Also, I tried loosening the adjustment and tightening it with the same results. I had two mechanics tell me they felt adjusted right as well. Is there a possibility I got new drums that were out of round?

Forgot to follow up on this from a while ago but I solved the issue. Swapped the new drums for a different set and problem solved! Must have been a bad batch? Haha