1984 Winnebago Chieftain - checking/adjusting rear brakes

[bill84]

I recently bought a 1984 26' Chieftain. I would like to check the rear brakes. I jacked up each rear side and found one side turned freely but the other side was hard to turn - felt like the brake shoes were dragging. The parking brake cable on the easily turning side could be pulled about 1/2"; the cable for the questionable side didn't seem to be able to be moved.
I drove it several miles and it seems OK. I checked the drums after driving and the temperature on both was about the same. (I may try driving it again and recheck the questionable side without setting the parking brake after driving.)
This chassis has drums which are also the hub assembly so to remove them I would have to pull the axle. I have experience with auto work but have never worked on a free floating axle rear end. I do see the service manual is available (at $90) on ebay which I would prefer to have before starting this type of work. I am also concerned about the weight of these drum/hub assemblies - they look really heavy.
I'm inclined to drive it to a shop and have someone else check/adjust the brakes but with shop labor at ~$90/hour my doing the work would pay for a service manual.
Has anyone here done these rear brakes or seen this type of issue? Any suggestions?

[salplmb]

we have a lot of manuals here in the resources area. i know that if we have it u can downlode it a lot cheaper than 90 bucks. check it out. also do the search. u will find a lot of helpful posts.
hope this helps a little.
sal

[Stripe]

I'm with sal on this one.  The site has a LOT of manuals available and for way less expensive than ebay.  All you need do is find out the year and make of your chassis see if the site has it here and there you go.

CMM500

[Froggy1936]

Hi This sounds like sticky cables, They can be freed up with a soaking of penetrating oil followed by soaking of motor oil The drums are heavy but manageable by 1 person You will need pics of locations of parts and adj of bearings etc brakes are the same as passenger veh just larger also will need new axle gaskets  Frank

[bill84]

Thanks for the info. I'll continue searching the manuals section. Thanks, Frank, for the pictures and confirmation that these drums can be handled by 1 person and that it is similar to passenger drums/hubs.
Bill

[brians1969]

Clydesdale Kevin did a nice write up with photos when he was working on his 72 Futura. I referenced it when working on my 69 m300. It was very similar.

Here is the link to the album:
http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?action=mgallery;sa=item;id=1674

I'm not certain where the write up is.  Maybe Mark can help.....

[Oz]

The write-up Kevin did on rebuilding his Dodge Futura rear drums & brakes is here:

http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?topic=189.msg189#msg189

Some of the supporting photos mentioned are in his album here:

http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?action=mgallery;sa=album;id=190

I have jsut a few 1980's service manuals which still need to be scanned.  The issue is that they come in a 3 book set.  One for service, one for re-build, and one for wiring schematics.  I wanted to be able to put out all 3 of a set but, it's very difficult to find them that way.  So, I guess I really need to scan what I have and put them out as I get them.  It's better than nothing and will be a whole lot less expensive than having to buy from eBay or Bishko.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Yep!  Thanks to everyone here, me, with at the time virtually no mechanical ability, did the front and rear brakes on the Futura.  Twice, actually...lol!  The first time I tried to repair the leaking wheel cylinders, and it was a dismal failure.

Not too hard at all to get those axles out, which you have to do first before removing the drums.  Take all the bolts off and whack it really hard dead center with a heavy hammer, and they bounce right out.  Don't lose any of the cone washers!  Gear oil will leak out, so have paper towels ready.

Then there will be the axle nut, with some sort of locking mechanism...never did a drum brake Chevy before, but I'm sure the principle is the same.  Remove it all, including the wheel bearing, and pull the drum.  Voila!

I got all my parts from Alretta, since it was an old Dodge chassis...you will be lucky enough to find everything you need at Napa, since the P30 is way more common!  Just don't forget to replace the grease seal in the drum, even if it looks okay...its a cheap part and you don't want to do it twice!  And pack those bearings good with grease when you put them back in.  Yes they are bathed in gear oil, but grease them up anyway...eventually the gear oil will wash away the grease, and it will keep the bearings and races from getting damaged until the gear oil reaches them.

Hope that helps!

Kev

[bill84]

I was able to pull the drums this morning - not too hard. Good thing - the driver's side rear shoe was paper thin and the rivets were starting to groove the drum. (The other 3 shoes were worn, but none as thin as the rear drivers side.)  The passenger side oil seal was leaking and those shoes were starting to get oil on them. The axles came right out - no spacers/shims anywhere.
  The bearing adjuster nut in this is held in place by a square key followed by a a spring clip snap ring. I was able to remove it without the special socket which would have 6 pins to connect to it. I will need to get the special socket to re-install and adjust the bearings. I plan to install new shoes & oil seals, clean up everything, make sure the parking brake cables move smoothly before putting it back together. Then I plan to bleed all the wheels to make sure it has new brake fluid.
  When I try to go to the Member Area - Manuals, diagrams, and tech info page on this web site I get "an error has occurred the page you requested cannot be found" Is it supposed to be working? I was able to find a copy of Chevrolet Motorhome Chassis Service Guide for P30 chassis. It has information on rear bearing adjustment indicating torque to 50 ft/lbs while turning drum to seat bearings, loosen, re-torque to 35 ft/lbs while turning, then back off 1/4 turn and install key and snap ring.
Bill

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

For 84, Chevy manuals are a 2 volume set.  Myself, I purchased a CD ROM version for a lot less than $90 that include the information from both manuals.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1984-Chevroelt-GMC-Truck-Shop-Service-Repair-Manual-CD-Engine-Drivetrain-Wiring-/140815096989?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A1984%7CMake%3AChevrolet%7CModel%3AP30&hash=item20c93bdc9d&vxp=mtr

When I try to go to the Member Area - Manuals, diagrams, and tech info page on this web site I get "an error has occurred the page you requested cannot be found"

I just went there and it is working fine for me.  You do have to be a Full Member to access that area though.

Dave