Brakes

[WOODNY]

I Have A 94 Suburban 2wd 2500 When The Weather Gets Damp And Cold The Brakes Lock Up When Aplying As Soon As The Truck Reaches Operating Temp The Brakes Are Fine And No Problems If Anybody Has An IDEA What This Is I Would Really Be Thankful Thank You Bert

[DaveNY]

To the best of my knowledge its a very common occurrence, I dont have a theory but it has been kicked around this site a few times and majority of trucks have the same issues.
Including mine, but goes away after a few stops.
Dave

[Kenneth]

Yeah, my brakes get very touchy when its cold and damp as well. I don't know if that's normal, but mine do it too.

[ToddMeister]

My 95 GMC has the same behavior, especially when damp/humid and
parked for a day or so. First couple brake applies will squeal/skid the back brakes.

Just one of those things...

[WOODNY]

I Think It Has Something To Do With Trans Temp Because Abs For Rear Wheels Are Controled In The Trans Just A Thought

[Hubert]

Fairly common issue.

Manual trans does it too. Sometimes I think its a bit of flash rust on drums that give the pads a little more "sticktion". Once you apply brakes once or twice it rubs off this flash rust and its back to normal.

Also could be some condensation on the drums and brakes are wet so they don't want to stop. So instead of ABS compensation the pads keep pushing out and grab harshly. And the ABS recalibrates of sorts ????

[wfyehl]

I had the same problem with the brakes on my Sub. When I checked the rear shoes, they were heat checked and crumbling. They looked like they were overheated at some point by a previous owner. I changed the shoes even though they had plenty of material left. After changing them, I didn't have that problem again... until now. I haven't checked the shoes again, so I don't know why they are grabbing this time. But like most, it only happens in high humidity conditions, again.

[surfbeetle]

My 97 just started doing the same thing about 2 months ago... but I don't buy the cold theory because it started when temps were 80+ degrees, but the humidity here gets well over 60% during the summer. What I can say is that I did rear brakes earlier this year and went with non GM parts. I have never had this issue before so maybe it's the brake drums and shoes I got from Pep Boys here in So. California. So, if humidity is the culprit, maybe the shoes are swelling up due to the added moisture and then out of adjustment until they are heated up and dry out? Just a thought.

[JohnC]

Some shoes, OEM especially, do it, some don't. It has nothing to do with the trans or ABS or outside temperature. When the shoes warm up the moisture is driven out and the problem goes away

[Robyn]

This is a very common issue with many rigs.

The reason is simple, the brake drums are nice and pollished and when they are subjected to damp weather, the surface will rust just a little even over night and along with the moisture in the air will cause the shoes to grab real quick on the first couple applications.

Here is a QUICKY bandaid to stop the grabbies.

When you go to take off just keep your left foot on the brakes with a little pressure while you first move the rig.

This will warm the drums and shoes and the issue just wont happen unless the brakes are real wet.

Give it a go and see if it helps some.

Hard to look cool when the brakes lock and you skid to a stop at the first light on the way to work :eek:

Picking your coffee cup off the windshield and wondering if it's contents that now resides somehwere down the defroster ducts will hurt anything.

Been there done that. :(

Just one of the bad points of drum brakes.

4 wheel disc are wonderful. :)

[Big Green]

This is a very common issue with many rigs.

The reason is simple, the brake drums are nice and pollished and when they are subjected to damp weather, the surface will rust just a little even over night and along with the moisture in the air will cause the shoes to grab real quick on the first couple applications.


Ok, I'll add my $00.02 to Robyn's....

I've had this problem on a number of cars/trucks. It seems to me that once the drums/rotors get a lot of miles on them the braking surface gets really really hard. As we all know, hardened metal will rust from the moisture in the air, from your touch, whatever.


So, when it gets to be enough of an issue that it's not safe or I'm tired of dealing with it I just replace the offending drum/rotor(s).

Hope this helps.

Big Green