brakes lock up at slow speed

[AnnaLee]

Just bought a 1998 T4R 2WD with 256K miles. When pulling into or out of a parking space, wheels lock up and have a clunking sound. I give it a little gas..same thing, 3x. It stops that if I put it in reverse then drive again BUT I can't do that in the middle of a road with cars coming at me. What the heck is wrong??????? Please advise. Scared to drive it.

 

[nissanh]

Does your wheels (rims) get really hot after a drive?

 

[nevada]

rear brakes may be very worn, and/or way out of adjustment.

time to pull the drums and take a look.

 

[BlackCat914]

are you actually trying to use the breaks, or are they engaging on their own? A little clarity goes a long way. :tongue1:

 

[mcaz5]

I have a similar issue to this, but only my front right brake does this.

 

[AnnaLee]

98 T4R 2wd brakes lock

are you actually trying to use the breaks, or are they engaging on their own? A little clarity goes a long way. :tongue1:

Hi, thanks for answering. Yes, I am using the brakes, as in pulling into a parking place and putting my foot on the pedal to stop the car. I have never used the parking brake. I've only had the car a week and feel like I made a bad mistake buying it. They smell a little hot after driving for about 1/2 hour. The left front and left back wheels were pulled by a mechanic friend to look at brakes and he said they looked fine. He drove it and it didn't do it for him. Of course it does it for me all the time. when I'm driving, I try not to use the brake when coming to a stop, like just a very, very soft push on the pedal and usually I'm okay. But going into a space, parking at home, or coming out of a parking lot onto a road is when they lock up. I discoved putting it in reverse and back in drive will release them. I hope these clues help. THANKS!

 

[gmv4k]

I'd a similiar problem when first got my 1998 4runner. When I first get in and put it in drive it wouldn't drive forward, but reverse was fine. At first I thought it was a tranny problem, but the problem went away after a few minutes, only happened when cold. Then I noticed the rear brakes were grabbing at low speeds, in traffic. Also at this point my e-brake didn't work, I could pull all I wanted nothing was happening.

After some research I decided to take apart the e-brake assembly. The problem was the bellcrank was rusted frozen, locking up the rear drums. (search for 4runner bellcrank) I had to order some parts online and I did the rear drums brakes too while I was there too. I ended up breaking a bolt bc of rust (so PB blast it good) but this solved my problem. No more brakes problems (except I still need to bleed them better) and now my e-brake works great. It took me 5 or 6 hours to do the e-brake and rear drums the first time. I bet I could do in under 2 hours now. Probably under 1 hour if rust wasn't an issue.

After doing the tundra brake upgrade up front and new rear drums, stopping is almost a joy (once I bleed it).

 

[Gerdo]

Fronts, rears or both?

I have a F250 that the rears would lock up. I had the drums turned and now it's fine. The drums were egg shaped.

Use your parking brake. It keeps the rear brakes adjusted. Also your vehicle can roll down hill even with the trans in park. If one wheel is on something slick (ice) the open diff will allow the wheels to spin in opposite directions and the vehicle will roll effortlessly down hill. I have seen it and it looks like the vehicle is in neutral.