2000 Cavaleir Back Left Brake Not Releasing

You need to adjust the brake expander. That thing that goes between the shoes on the bottom. Make it shorter. During use, this device ratchets to keep the shoes in contact with the drum, as the shoes wear.

Have you ever done this before?

Go to Wiki.

i allready did, infact i took it all the way down and it is still too expanded to put it back on, are there other ways to decompress the back brake?

As lynlynch says, you need to reset the auto adjuster - it's a kind of snail cam with ratchet-type teeth. They can get pretty stiff & reluctant to move. Have a look at a Haynes manual (from the library?).

I had a Buick once that locked a brake on. I was told that there was some sort of an equalization valve in the brake line. Somehow the valve failed and kept full pressure on the brakes on one side only. I never knew if I was told the truth, but I'm sure some CR4 readers would know.

P.S. Use the other suggestions first. Mine is a "if all else fails" comment.

Throw it in reverse, punch-it, go as fast as you can, then slam on the brakes. That used to be the "auto-adjust" for drum brakes on GM products. I don't know if that works anymore.

Well I haven't seen or read that you checked the emergency/parking brake and cable and operation. These used to rust and then get stuck in the "on" location. If that is it replace it and the other side, don't trust oiling and freeing it up. If that proves to be operational and okay look for correct wheel cylinder operation. I hope that while installing the new shoes you compressed the brake wheel cyclinder on each side and that the cylinder seemed to move freely. If that bad side is stiff or not moving you will need to replace the wheel cylinder. Next check that the shoes are free to move their normal travel. The backplate could have worn notches where the shoe is supposed to rest and slide. Lastly, look for technician induced trouble. The guy before may have installed a wrong part, one upside down or backwards, left side on right, I have seen them all.

make certain it is blocked well and beat it with a hammer a ferw times from every direction. If you back it up quickly s per Steve-O.. check for children behind you!

JL Mealer

http://mealercompanies.com

"when i went to put the drum back on it wont fit because the brake is on just on that side."

You shortened the adjuster a lot? You are only supposed to adjust the adjuster enough so that the new shoes fit the drum neatly when you put it back on and the automatic adjuster will take care of the rest. If the bottom of the shoes go too close the tops go too far apart as they pivot on the parking brake strut. the could be the problem.

If the parking brake had been adjusted to compensate for worn brakes it needs to be loosened to allow the parking brake levers to disengage. The new shoes on the other wheel may have taken up the slack and caused it to pull on the brake you are finishing with.

Other unusual things:

The work on the first side may have forced pressure into the cylinder and extended one or both pistons out too far when it was disassembled and may have gotten got stuck. I doubt this because the parking brake strut and lever would fit funny.

(I usually serviced my cylinders during a brake job.)

The brake fluid is supposed to return when the brakes are not engaged. The return springs should pull the shoes in and force the fluid out of the cylinder. If it appears to be the cylinder open the bleeder to release the pressure and see if the pistons move inward.

I have heard of primary and secondary shoes being reversed but I don't think that is the case. It's worth checking though.

This problem must be corrected as it may be related to the reason you needed to change the brake shoes in the first place. You may have a frozen piston in that brake cylinder. Make sure the piston moves freely. If it doesn't, rebuild or replace the cylinder. Bleed the entire system after any hydraulic repair.

Get a proper mechanic (preferable old and retired) to look at it.

This is a safety problem and you do not appear to have the needed knowledge to fix it......

You have had good infos from other posters too that should have found/fixed the problem(s).

From my own limited experience with back brakes sticking, it is probably the brake cylinder piston stuck. If the brake pads wear down too much the piston reaches the maximum extension and gets stuck, often with corrosion adding to the problem. My remedy was to apply a clamp to force the piston back into it's cylinder. You should do this before adding any fluid to the master cylinder or it will overflow and damage the surrounding paintwork. Forcing the piston back into it's cylinder also makes it easier to fit the new shoes/pads.

Warning: ......

With this sort of problem the only safe long term remedy is to fit new brake cylinders to BOTH rear brakes as the cylinders sometimes stick in the relaxed position and you lose the rear brakes completely - only comes to light after you run into the car in front at the lights!!! The brake cylinder is reasonably cheap/easy to replace and you shouldn't lose too much fluid if you put a bit of cling film over the top of the master cylinder reservoir to stop air getting in while you do the work.

JFYI: This was really odd. I had a rear wheel brake draging ,it was not old springs, bad wheel cylinder or self adjuster or emergency cable.

The rubber flex hose hose to the hydraulic wheel cylinder had a internal seperation of the layers. It created a flap. When applying the brakes the fluid moved to the wheel ,but upon release the flap acted like a check valve keeping the brake on the one side applied. It never completly released no matter how long you waited.

That IS unusual!

That IS unusual.

Most likely the emergency brake cable is stuck on. Check to see if it moves freely, if not replace the cable.

This used to be common on old Rovers that I drove, usually caused by the parking brake levers seizing. These are the levers that pass through the backplate of the rear brake. As suggested in an earlier post, the solution was to remove the levers & beat them liberally with a club hammer until they moved freely.

Warnings in brake repair instructions include NOT hammering anything.

thankyou all for your help it was a old spring.:)

They may say that but it is the only way to fix them. The pivoted lever hangs under the car & picks up lots of muck. The levers seize because they corrode & have to be worked free. I drove Rover SD1s for about 20 years & this was a regular job.

Usually it is the cable rusting in its housing.

The Rover got water and muck inside the hub? Sounds like a flat lander that rarely had its cable pulled.

That nice grease that is applied to the various contact points must have missed that part of the Rover.

Other than that Rovers are cool.

Hammer method always worked for me... But I'm just being honest.

JL Mealer
Mealer Companies LLC
http://mealercompanies.com