Help!! Rear Brakes Locking Up!

[badnova]

Hey, I am new here and need some serious help. I recently installed new brake shoes and components on the back of my wifes Durango. They had pretty much come apart inside the drum so I had to replace the shoes along with springs, adjustors, etc. Well she drove it for a couple of weeks and then it started making noises and began smelling. I took it to a garage this time and the rear brakes had come apart again. Springs and other parts were floating around inside the drum and wreaked havoc. They did another brake job on it and basically wrote it off to me not doing the brake job correctly (yeah right). Well went on vacation and by the time we got home the brakes were in the same shape again, this time having damaged the drum seriously. After some experimenting I've discovered that the brakes are locking after they have been engaged. This apparently has been the problem all along. What would cause this. Could it have anything to do with the ABS module. I'm at a loss. Maybe a proportioning valve? Any help would be greatly appreciated, I reallly can't afford to take it anywhere. Thanks.

[DurangoDave]

First of all, even if the failure after the first rebuild was due to "you not doing the brake job correctly", the failure after the second rebuild (by the shop) certainly was not. Seems like they should be explaining to YOU why THEIR work failed.

Anyway, did any of the brake jobs include rebuilding the wheel cylinders?

If not, sounds like it could be sticking wheel cylinders, and I would look there first.

Keep us updated.

Dave
Westminster, MD USA

[badnova]

Durango Dave. thanks for the input. I finally found the problem. A line that runs behind the gas tank was collapsed and correded. I couldn't see it in my garage. I took the car to a friend who has a rack and got the Durango up in the air and finally after much inspection we found the line. Had to take the gas tank off just to get to it. Well the brakes work now and my wife is happy to get her ride back but it would sure have been nice to have found the problem back before I spent all the money on parts and labor the first two times. Thanks again for your interest. I'm sure I'll have more questions as the Durango wears down.