Sounds like the emergency brake isn't really releasing. You might first check the cable just forward of the rear wheels, perhaps on the left side, where there's a linkage/ adjuster. It might be inside its own little plastic housing with a bottom that snaps out.
To manually contract the brake shoes in the drums, look at the bottom of the inboard side of the brake backing plates for a slot that may be covered with a plug. If there, it's for adjusting the brake shoes. With a flashlight, you'll see a toothed wheel, the adjusting star.
Get two screwdrivers, one medium and one small (or a brake adjusting tool and a small screwdriver). With the small screwdriver, push the self-adjuster on the outboard side of the star out, away from the star, so you can turn it with the bigger screwdriver or adjusting tool upward (I think). This will shorten a bolt that separates the bottom ends of the brake shoes. A third hand to hold the flashlight would come in handy about now, eh? You'll need to pull the brake drum off and find the source of the problem. The fact that it's both wheels, however, would seem to implicate the cable.
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Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 AT 3:39 PM
