We’ve replaced both rear drums and shoes. We bled the brakes until it ran clear and there were no bubbles. But the brakes are still mushy to the floor and inconsistent. Also, after we did the passenger side drum, the break occasionally locks up while driving! Is there still air in the system and needs to be bled better? Is the master cylinder broken? I can’t see any leakage? I did some tests on the brake booster and every test everybody gave me to try it passed. When the car is off and you put the brake to the floor it sounds like air escaping but when the car is running and you put the brake to the floor you hear nothing.
Did you manually adjust the rear drums when you were done?
Did the master drain all the fluid out of one reservoir while you were servicing the brakes?
Is the master cylinder original? (You didn’t tell us the year or # of miles… you should)
Did you bleed the master first?
Have you ever changed the rear brake hoses?
Are the bleed screws on the wheel cylinders above the brake hoses?
Thanks for the great questions!
Yes manually adjusted, was my first time.
The fluid in the system was never completely empty.
Not sure if it’s the original cylinder. We only had the car 6 months. Comparisons to online videos and pictures, it looks OEM.
Did not bleed the master first. We weren’t planning on having to bleed anything when we started. Took the passenger wheel and drum off and the wheel cylinder crumbled to dust, soooo there was that.
We did not change the hoses but we did change the passenger side hard line.
1999, 215,000 miles.
When we were all done, the brakes bled easily and we topped off the break fluid to the max line. The fluid ran clear and had no bubbles. So I thought we did a good job! This is my third or fourth break drum job in 30 years and was my teenage sons first. So it’s as much about the experience as it is cost savings.
It requires a scan tool to properly bleed the ABS system once the system is opened up.
Tester
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Are they asymmetrical shoes? If so and you mix them up (longer goes to rear), that can lead to them locking up in use. My first thought if you’re new to doing brake jobs- it’s easy to overlook.
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For the lock-up problem, my guess, there’s some sort of problem with the rubber portion of the brake hoses system. If your Sable is equipped w/ anti-lock brakes, the comment above about the need to bleed the ABS unit may also be contributing. Suggest to use the forum search function here to see what others have said prior about the need to bleed ABS units.
One idea, replace the rubber hoses then do a gravity bleed. Takes quite a bit longer, but tends to yield a better result. If that doesn’t do the trick, you’ll have to hire shop to bleed the ABS.
For best help here, suggest to include make/model/year/engine/transmission. configuration.
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