rtabish

hey.
i went back a few pages but didn't see anything along the lines of my issue, specifically, so i thought i would throw out a question, hoping someone has covered this before.

when i start out "cold" with my truck [1988 F150, 2 wheel drive,302/4sp/w OD], i can roll a few feet fairly normally, but then the rear brakes seem to engage. especially the passenger side wheel...enough that it will actually drag the wheel a bit and i need to gun the engine to overcome the resistance.

once i have gone a short distance...maybe a hundred feet, the resistance stops, and the truck behaves normally, and i will not have this issue again the rest of the time i am driving...unless i let the truck sit again for a long enough period of time to cool down.

i have not inspected the rear brakes yet. i have only had the truck a few months and have been busy sorting other issues out with it [long story]. this, however does not seem to be a brake shoe problem. the brakes seem to work fine, even under the pressure of hard stopping. the Emergency brake works OK, and i don't get the Anti-Lock Brake light coming on except when i first start the truck [i think that is normal].

obviously, i need to get this issue remedied. where i live, it gets snowy and icy, and i do NOT want to have brake issues that might cause the truck to be a danger under slick conditions. any ideas what might be causing this problem?

thanks.

Scott'sF150

Wheel cylinders are the suspects I would look at.
Change them out for around $8 -$12 a piece.
Flush the fluid out for new fluid, and replace all the hardware and shoes as well.
All told, it shouldn't cost you more than $70-$80 for everything.

Good luck.

southernyankey1

Pull the hubs and inspect the components. Most likely broken spring or a seized/seizing wheel cylinder. It's not a difficult job to redo drum brakes but you need to do it correctly. The first time is always a challenge, so take pictures before you pull everything apart or get a good repair guide to reference to. If 1 cylinder is seized, I usually replace both so everything works. Don't want to skimp on brakes!

rtabish

wheel cylinders and brake assembly makes sense, and if it were not for the Anti-lock Brake aspect, might have been the first place i would look after removing the drums. the front disks look fine. not new, but recent, so i was hoping that a previous owner had done the rear as well.

bleeding the brake fluid is a PITA, but something that needs to be done on a regularly scheduled basis, just like anything else...especially in northern climates. this truck looks like it had been taken care of by "someone", but certainly not by the guy i got it from. the oil in the crank case proved that.

i am particularly gun-shy of anything to do with anti-lock brake systems. seems like every vehicle i have owned that had ABS has some issue with the system that could cause the vehicle to be a hazard on the road....one Pontiac Bonneville i had a few years back was an absolute nightmare.

rtabish

how sturdy are the rear axles on these 2WD F-150s? this one is a limited slip unit, and the guy i got it from admitted to using the truck "to get firewood". overloading a half-ton truck is a sure fire way of trashing an axle that isn't heavy-duty enough for the task...and i fear the wonky action of this truck might be signs of eminent failure of the rear end. it is not howling or anything...no clunky noises when engaged, either forward or backward, but it has me concerned.

Scott'sF150

Ford 8.8's are pretty near bulletproof, and will handle moderate abuse without problems. If you're not experiencing any clunks, rattles, moans, groans, or grinding noises, you should be fine. If it is a concern for you, then pulling the diff cover and getting a look at the condition of the gear oil would and inner workings of your gearset would not take long, or cost much either.

5Rangers

The axles are stout .. Im thinking 1.5" from memory when I had mine out. 30 spline as well.
I put over 2000 lbs of deer corn in mine.. wont do it again but it handled it.

dsmit99

rtabish...did you fix the problem yet? I have the same issue with my 89 F150. The left rear brake locks up after sitting for a while. I replaced the wheel cylinder and still same symptoms. Please update. Thx! Doug

nmanley80

On top of the wheel cylinders I would change out the springs and clips with a hardware kit. The kits useually run between $8-$15 for both sides. Just think of it as cheap peace of mind. Note though that if you live in a place that uses salt on the roads try not to chip the coatings on the springs as they will rust fast. A set of drum brake tools can be picked up at harbor freight on the cheap.

Another thing to check would be the drums themselves as they could be out of round. The reason i think of this is that the wheel cylinders didnt fix it. keep us updated.

rtabish

i have found that if i don't apply the E-brake, i don't have a problem. this kinda tells me that there might be "stickage" issues, possibly related to the emergency brake cable. i haven't been driving the truck much lately, and when i have, i have not used the E-brake....instead, simply shutting off the truck and leaving it in gear.

i need to take the truck to a car wash and use the high-pressure water to wash down the rear end and undercarriage...while it is still warm outside. and see if simply cleaning off the built up crud from around the axle doesn't help, and then pulling the rear wheels and actually looking at the brake assemblies to see if there is anything gummed up in the drums. there is a lot of oil [the engine leaks oil profusely] under the truck as far back as the rear axle.

i would like to take the time to thoroughly go through the truck and actually fix all of its issues, but real life is demanding that i pay more attention to other matters, right now. i simply don't have the time to spend on working on a truck that is the victim of a previous owner who flogged the heck out of it. i really appreciate the suggestions made here, and i am sure this advice will help when i finally have the time to get under the truck and start doing something with it.