slight knocking in rear drums on 2002 windstar

[schadd1971]

hi....this one has got me stumped....put new shoes and drums on back of windstar and when I would brake kinda hard... medium to hard I could hear a slight knocking.....so I replaced the brake hardware ( springs and adjusters )also replaced the wheel cylinder...yet the noise is still there....anyone experience this before....I torqued the lugs thinking that the drum was shifting with the play it has with the stud holes and the lug studs....I wonder, could it be the autozone brake shoes chattering...maybe they are a thinner cheaper shoe..?????? I have checked and rechecked and rechecked the hardware for proper installation and for safety reasons.....other than that it brakes wonderful and rides great....I did have quite a time getting the old drums off.. but have replaced nearly all parts in case you think something might be bent...but hey,,I open to any thoughts or suggestions....

[wiswind]

I had an experience with NAPA drums. Van would shake from 45mph and up.
I tried many things, moving tires around.....having all 4 tires spin ballanced.......checking this and that.
Finally, I re-installed the old drums and all was fine.
So in my particular case, the new drums were out of ballance.

SO......maybe try putting the old drums back on.....see if it changes anything.
The least you will do is eliminate the drums as the cause of your problem.
A slightly out of round drum could sure cause your problem.

Another thing to check....make sure that the seating area on the hub is smooth....that some rust bump is not making them slightly not true when they seat.

[schadd1971]

ok will try it......what the chances I damaged the bearings trying to get the old drums off..and if I did why not any other bearing noise?

[wiswind]

Most likely, you did not damage the wheel bearings.....although they DO require an occassional repacking with new grease.
Rear drums typically hang up on a thin ridge of rust that forms on the inner edge of the friction surface inside the drum......where the brake linings do not rub.
So....when you were pulling away......it was the brake linings (or shoe) that was catching on that ridge.
The way to help get them off, if they are really stuck......is to remove the small oval dust cover on the backing plate....and back off on the self adjust wheel......you have to release the clip that keeps the wheel from turning in the loosten direction and turn the wheel to loosten the brakes......
Of course......remember to NOT set the parking brake before trying to remove the drum!!!!!

[schadd1971]

returned drums and got new ones ...I have narrowed the knock down to the pass side rear....any chance it is the shoes....or perhaps the wheel cylinder.....could the shoe thats sloppy in the slot of the wheel cylinder pin cause the shoe to chatter....am totally stumped....thinking of returning shoes and wheel cylinder.....any ideas?

[Fran D]

I know this thread is over a year old, but I am interested in whether the original poster ever solved the problem. I have the same exact issue with my 01 Windstar after rebuilding both drum brakes. The knocking only occurs when applying the brake and upon inspection both sides look gorgeous. Both wheel cylinders move freely and there is no binding that is visible with the drums off.

Did you ever solve the problem?

[Black_Blade]

I also have just recently replaced my drums and pads on my 2002 and while it doesn't knock, I can hear a slight rubbing sound as I move along the street at low speed. The rubbing sound stops when I brake but returns once I release the brake pedal and roll forward. Was thinking maybe I didn't adjust them enough (ohh what a pain to adjust that star wheel ...you would think they could have made that procedure just a tad easier to do)

[12Ounce]

... also made sure the brakes are well-bled. The smallest air bubble will cause a small oscillation to be amplified.

[Fran D]

Yes, the brakes are well bled, so I don't think that is the issue. I've cruised around the internet and there seem to be some of the same symptoms with other cars that turned out to be a warped drum ...even though it was a new drum. That would really tick me off if I have to break the car down ...again... to drag that drum back to Advance for a replacement.

I'm going to swap the drums and see if the noise follows the suspected part. If so, then I guess it's back to the parts store.

Black Blade, it sounds like you have a slight drag with your brakes. You may want to adjust them away from the drum. It's easier to take the drum off and adjust it until you have just a light contact. The star wheel is a PITA when you want to adjust away from the drum.

[Black_Blade]

The star wheel is a PITA when you want to adjust away from the drum.

Isn't it though!! Small little slot opening and you're supposed to fit two screwdrivers in there, blind, to feel around and hope to push on the right spot and turn the other...you would think that a better adjustment system could have been thought up!

[schadd1971]

my brake shoes were warped...autozone shoes....they rest on three flat spots on the backer plate and the shoes would only hit two of them....rocked to hit third....eye balled them and you could see they were bent....took them back and got new ones and it stopped...new parts were the problem.....schadd1971

[Fran D]

Yeah, I swapped drums and the sound followed the drum. That's the first time it's happened to me, but cruising the internet, it doesn't seem like a rare occurrence. I would even had paid to go up a grade, but the Advanced store near me only stocked the single brand.

[billdolicious]

I just had the same knocking noise on my '01 Windstar. The noise was really bad and I thought that I needed a complete rear brake job. I took it to a shop and the mechanic called me back 2 hours later and said it was done. He said my shoes were glazed and he sanded those and machined my drums which were out of round. Only charged me $70 and the brakes dont chatter or knock anymore, feels like a new car !

[northern piper]

when I'm doing rear (drum) brakes I always "arc" the pads, which was a little tip that an old guy taught me a number of years ago. Essentially you place the shoes into the drum and make sure that the arc of the shoe matches or is a tiny bit smaller than the arc of the drum. I use a fairly rough cut flat (make sure it's flat) file. Don't blow the dust from the shoe away etc etc and knock the corners of the shoe off just a little extra. When this is done the shoes sit much nicer in the drum. Now granted it does take a small amount of the pad off but they're wearing away with every push of the pedal so no biggie. Granted this does nothing for the out of true drum but having arc'd shoes for the last several years I've had way fewer problems ..fwiw, my 2 cents