1990 Ford Taurus. 82k. Auto TX. I had rear brake drums, shoes and cylinders replaced on the rear. Front brakes check out OK with miles to go. At town speeds 25 mph, I noticed car was braking itself (grip-release -grip-release, etc). Then it went away and has not happened again in about 30 miles of driving in town only. The cylinders are new, so being stuck is probably out. I put on emergency brake and released repeatedly while sitting still just to see
if that thing was rusted up and not moving. Don’t know enough about over over-adjusting adjusters? Anyway. I would like to drive this thing on a 100 mile trip. Since it now seems OK, am I good to go? If yes, what to watch for or check on trip? If it makes any difference, the rear brakes were replaced because one cylinder had ruptured and soaked the drum and the shoe. It was all bed properly at the end.
Is this a DIY brake job? A friend of mine done job? Or a professionally done brake job? Rear drum brakes aren’t too difficult, but there are some common mistakes. The brake shoes are leading and trailing shoes. Sometimes they are put in the reverse of where they should be and that will cause problems including sticking brakes. Also the emergency brake hardware can be trouble due to rust and bent parts. It is often a good idea to replace a lot of the emergency brake hardware to make sure all works smoothly with nothing hanging up.
Finally those adjusters should be cleaned and lubricated. If they are not working smoothly they should be replaced. If the adjusters are working you don’t need to over tighten them manually. They are supposed to adjust themselves when you make a number of “strong” stops in reverse.
If the job was done by a shop I’d take it back for a check before your trip. If it is a DIY and you feel it was done right check the heat of the your rear wheels after a 15 to 20 min. drive. If you feel a lot of heat the brakes could be dragging and should be checked out.
Everything UncleTurbo said plus one more thing. There are six pad on the backing plate that the brake shoes ride on. These need to be cleaned and a little grease put on them when new shoes are installed. But it possible that the initial adjustment of the brakes was a little tight and the on/off behavior is typical for that. If so, you will be OK to go.
If new drums were installed without cleaning the anti rust coating such problems can occur.