Moisture Problem w/ brakes

after it rains or I wash my 2000 jeep cherokee, for a few days when coming to a stop the back brakes grab like it is a really slow acting anti lock break it grabs ,lets go, grabs, lets go, it makes a clunking noise, it has been doing it for a while i have taking to the dealer they say there is nothing wrong with it. Any suggestions is greatly appreciated.

my 1997 has done this for ever
when under wrty did everything to it
rear wheel cyliners-porportiong valve
new shoes etc
every winter i drive up the street and jam the brakes on 5-6 times
before i can drive normally on the main streets without spining sideways
its a wonderful thing in the ski hill parking lots people think your nuts
yes its a moisture thing been told shit about the metal content in shoes
adjusting the rear brakes up often and checking adjuster star wheels
help for a couple of weeks then just goes back to the same thing
good luck getting it fixed.

yup same prob couldn't fine any real solution

my solution was to build an 8.8 with disks!!

Normal due to a thin layer of rust that builds up inside the drum causing them to grab until it rubs off.

Mine does it on mornings, I usually just ride the brakes a few hundred feet down the road once I pull out of the driveway. Seems to dry them right out. Now that you mention it since I put new shoes on the back end it has not done it, that was back in november when it came up for inspection. Until then they were the original OEM rear brakes from when I got it. They lasted 240,000mi but one of the cylinders leaked so I had them both done...

MJR said:

Normal due to a thin layer of rust that builds up inside the drum causing them to grab until it rubs off.

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Yup. Sometimes it helps to clean them w/brake cleaner and/or brake lubricant, but be careful not to get the cleaner on any parts it shouldn't be on.

Something you could try is lightly sand the tabs on the backing plates with emery cloth ... make them smooth as silk... then use a small amount of anti-seize on the tabs. This may not solve your problem, but it's a good practice to make sure the shoes work freely on the backing plates---in all temps and conditions. In addition, the backing plates need to be checked to make sure they're not warped---this often is overlooked as a potential problem.

I haven't done a brake job for about 25 years ... at the time, I was instructed this was a common practice.

Since then, I have never seen a tech do this to the b-plates. At the last brake job on my XJ, I specifically instructed the tech to do this to the plates and it seemed to improve, if not correct, my ongoing rear brake problems.

Good luck with it.

unklethumbtack said:

after it rains or I wash my 2000 jeep cherokee, for a few days when coming to a stop the back brakes grab like it is a really slow acting anti lock break it grabs ,lets go, grabs, lets go, it makes a clunking noise, it has been doing it for a while i have taking to the dealer they say there is nothing wrong with it. Any suggestions is greatly appreciated.

Click to expand...

Mine did the same thing on my 87 and I tried EVERYTHING to fix it also. I even had a local industrial shop make a custom set of beveled pads for me that they said would work. Nope, but I got the refund.
My solution was a disc conversion. I spent WAAAYYY more money trying to unsuccessly get my drum brakes working right than the disc conversion cost.
I did a Ford conversion but I hear the ZJ conversion is just as easy if not easier.

The only thing that helped the locking drum (and howling drum) situation was constantly keeping them in adjustment and by that I mean manually adjusting them in every week. The reverse thingy and mash the brakes didn't help even with new EVERYTHING inside there. Adjust them in at least once a week, it's the only thing that worked but that gets old quick.
I've still got my adjuster wrench in the door pocket 10 years later! :laugh3: