1997 XJ Drum woes

First off, I have a 97 xj with a dana 35 rearend. It does have a 3" rough country lift, but the problem existed prior to this. I have a reoccurring problem with the right rear drum dragging and making an obvious clunking noise. I have replaced wheel cylinders, shoes, and hardware. The adjusters are on the correct sides. This is most noticeable when making an uphill turn after stopping. There is obvious premature brake wear on that side. I also have a vibration between 40 and 60mph which was present before the lift. I think both are related. I am leaning towards a bent axle or bad wheel bearing, but I would really like the opinion of fellow jeepers. Thanks

Have the drum brake shoes correctly installed primary vs. secondary ? I would suspect low quality brake parts and/or an out of round brake drum first. Indicating the axle for run-out that would signify it being bent is not difficult.

They are 10", so they are side specific shoes. Definently on correctly. My original thought had been a bad pinion, but everything was clean and had normal wear. Could my center brake hose at the axle not be allowing that side not to release?

Brake shoes are also orientation specific, forward and aft. Front soft brake lines are known to deteriorate and become a sort of one way check valve causing a dragging caliper, IDK if the rears do that also.

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I should probably put an extended hose on anyway for the lift. If there is any kind of debris trapped in that block, I guess it could give me drag if its not allowing flow back when I release the brake. I will start by getting the warranty on my shoes and resurfacing the drum. There's definitely glazing and heat wear on that one side. Probably out of round too.

A rubber line wouldn't cause one-sided wear on drum brakes since both drums are receiving fluid from the same line and the left rear doesn't drag. Something in that corner of the car is off.

A few things come to mind. The first is the parking brake cable is sticking!

Weak return springs and or return springs in the wrong hole on the shoe.

Poor shoe fit for the drum. The drums wear and get a larger diameter. The shoes may only be contacting on the center of the shoe until they wear in. Wearing in can take a long time. You can usually see when only part of the shoe is making contact.

Measuring (miking) a drum and re-arching the shoes takes minutes.

IMO turning the drums is less necessary than arching the shoes, unless the drum is seriously ridged. A few small ridges don't really mean much.

Bleed the rears, air expands and can cause issues.

Sometimes there is scale or trash in the brake lines, the orifice in the cylinder may be blocked. Not likely but possible. The easy way is to bleed them until you get clear brake fluid. Bleed into a glass container so you can see what comes out.

If your shoes get oil soaked or brake fluid soaked they get soft and grab. I usually just feel them for oil and/or sniff them. Oil and brake fluid both have a distinctive, but different odor.

n_i_c_k said:

I will start by getting the warranty on my shoes and resurfacing the drum. There's definitely glazing and heat wear on that one side. Probably out of round too.

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I had some drums in the shop to be turned. The old guy who had them on the lathe brought them back in 5 minutes and told me one of the axles was bent.

I hope you get a good tech on the brake lathe.

When's the last time you changed the gear oil in that diff? May be a good time to pull that cover and check things out anyway, then you can pull the axle shafts and take the 2 minutes to roll them and check for wobbles. You can change your outer axle seals while you're there too. If you're feeling really adventurous, you can change the axle bearings just in case they are allowing the end of the shaft to wobble.