Will I damage anything if I remove the shoes on one of my drum brakes and drive it?

[trek]

I have a service appointment Tuesday morning, but would like to be able to get to work and back on Monday without the brake dragging. I think the parking brake is stuck on, either inside the drum or just before in the cable housing. I already used the brake adjuster wheel inside the drum and turned it all the way down, but the brakes still drag. Not sure how wise that was.

 

[MiataNC]

If you pull the shoes, the pistons in the drum brake wheel cylinders will pop out under hydraulic pressure when you depress the pedal. You will be pumping your brake fluid out into the drum, and lose all brake pressure.

 

[3chordcharlie]

It might be cheaper to cut the e-brake cable than to keep driving with the brakes on. Then again, it might not.

Since you're comfortable opening the thing up, spend your time trying to free up the cable, not removing the shoes, which is a bad idea.

 

[Squisher]

Were you able to get any movement out of the parking brake cable by manually pulling it back toward the brake/brake lever?

Getting a helper to actuate the parking brake and watching the parking brake in action without the drum on, might give you some clues as to what is going on. Note: DO NOT push on the brake pedal without the drum on, only the parking brake pedal/lever.

 

[Doppel]

If you're talking about only parking brake (i.e. your car has drum for parking brake but disc for primary) just make sure not to actuate it in the mean time

 

[mike2fix]

I used to be in the parts business and this reminds me of the customer that came in to buy a brake master cylinder for his import. I needed more info on which one he needed, went outside to look at his old one on the car and there was a hole in the firewall where the MC should be. He had removed it to try and rebuild it and didn't feel the need to reinstall. He said he just used his emergency brake to stop.......

 

[3chordcharlie]

Were you able to get any movement out of the parking brake cable by manually pulling it back toward the brake/brake lever?

Getting a helper to actuate the parking brake and watching the parking brake in action without the drum on, might give you some clues as to what is going on. Note: DO NOT push on the brake pedal without the drum on, only the parking brake pedal/lever.

We disconnected the brake booster from a car for a while when it failed. It made stopping a lot more effort.

On the plus side, the car had a pretty heavy clutch, so the heavy brakes kind of balanced the workout on your legs.

 

[trek]

If you pull the shoes, the pistons in the drum brake wheel cylinders will pop out under hydraulic pressure when you depress the pedal. You will be pumping your brake fluid out into the drum, and lose all brake pressure.

Figured it would be a bad idea, thanks. I'll try squisher's suggestion next.

 

[Squisher]

We disconnected the brake booster from a car for a while when it failed. It made stopping a lot more effort.

On the plus side, the car had a pretty heavy clutch, so the heavy brakes kind of balanced the workout on your legs.

My first car was a '64 F85 Oldsmobile, it had manual brakes and manual steering. Now, the brake pedal travel was longer and similarly the gearing for the steering allowed for further travel and this allowed for you to be able to steer and brake without assistance, but it involved significantly more effort than what most people would be expecting.

 

[Bartman39]

I would just pull the drum and disconnect the park brake linkage if thats the problem...? Its normaly a lever type arm that the cable moves to spread the brake shoes... Be sure to re-adjust your brakes so the reg service brake works correctly then get it fixed ASAP

 

[alkemyst]

it's called a tow truck. Please use one.

 

[skyking]

My first car was a '64 F85 Oldsmobile, it had manual brakes and manual steering. Now, the brake pedal travel was longer and similarly the gearing for the steering allowed for further travel and this allowed for you to be able to steer and brake without assistance, but it involved significantly more effort than what most people would be expecting.

We had a '65 my folks bought new. We really liked that car.

 

[kevbot]

If you insist on doing something that stupid, plug the line going to that wheel and then remove the brake shoes. Many years ago, I had a brake line burst on one of my front disk brakes, and I used a vice grip to pinch the line. It made the difference between no brakes and brakes on three wheels. Stupid and dangerous, but it allowed me to get the car home.

That said, don't do it.

 

[BUTCH1]

We had a '65 my folks bought new. We really liked that car.

Wow, I had one as well, 330CI V8 if I remember, always liked Old's body style from that era, I also had a '66 Cutlass, great car except for that crappy 2 speed auto (the slip and slide)..

 

[skyking]

The 330 2 barrel, YES! It had a hard shifting 3 speed. That thing would bang second gear like it had a shift kit

 

[BUTCH1]

The 330 2 barrel, YES! It had a hard shifting 3 speed. That thing would bang second gear like it had a shift kit

You mean the manual right?, the automatic offered for that year was the same "jetway" 2 speed that I had in my '66 Cutlass, GM started offering 3 speed autos in 1967, well behind the Ford "C" series and the excellent Dodge Torque-flight..