Hmmm--right rear wheel doesn't want to turn.now WTF!!.

[diesel4me]

Drove my 82 K20 today--figured I'd better not let it sit too long,or the batteries will go dead!..The right rear wheel was dragging like the brakes were on--it skidded on a dirt parking lot,and when I take off,it feels like something is stuck,or holding the truck back!--I had to give it quite a bit of throttle to get it to break loose and move,and the 3 mile ride I took,it felt like the brakes were dragging..

The strange thing is,after driving it home the same distance,and it "locking up" every time I stopped,the brake drum and backing plate were cold when I felt them--so it can't be the shoes dragging! I'd think it would be red hot and smoking by then--I hear no unusual noises from the rear end or wheel bearings either,and I don't think its a brake spring or hardware problem eithrer..WTF??..
I doubted it was the rear brakes,for one thing,the master cylinder is junk,and the rear resivouir is empty--so I don't think the rear shoes even apply when I step on the brakes--(A new master is on the shopping list-it actually stops pretty good just on the front brakes,but I dont drive it fast or far that way!) but first I want to make sure I dont need a rear end first!..

Is there anything in a Gov-Loc diff ,or posi that can make it do that??--I guess tomorrow I'll have to pull the tire and drum off and look--if nothing is wrong there,then what??--I'm going to make sure its full of gear oil (it was last time I looked,and no leaks!)..I pray its not the differential or tranny,or transfer case..but again,they all sound normal..Its almost like a wheel bearing is siezing up--but GM trucks have the "log roller" style ones,not a sealed one,as far as I know..and its not noisy!..I hope this isn't going to be expensive--I am nearly flat busted,and don't need this crap now! any ideas???

HERE IS WHAT I FOUND....
I took off the tire and the brake drum--lots of rust and brake lining dust in the drum,and gummy pieces of lining stuck to inner brake drum surface..I sandpapered the drum clean,and blew out the dust,and all seems well again!--If I remeber right,the shoes had some gear oil on them when I first bought the truck 3 years ago,and I just sprayed them off with brakcleaner--the axle seal must have leaked while the truck sat--it hasn't leaked since,but the gear lube must have softened the linings and got them gummy...

I couldn't believe how hard the wheel was locking up for it just being rust and dust in there!--I was expecting carnage in the differential it felt so bad!..I'm glad I can spend the money on the master cylinder it needs now,and save up for new rear brake shoes,and I should get new hardware too...

 

[350k5]

Uhm... after reading your post this probably isn't the problem but you could give it a try. After my 84 sat for a few weeks the rear drivers wheel was locked up. The truck wasnt running at this time and I only realized the problem when I tried to move it. The brake line was cloged up I guess and after a little jiggle it came free.

Yours sounds like it could be bearings though, the 'log roller' ones can kind of fall apart and cause something exactly like what your are saying. Sometimes one of those logs could be out of place which locks the wheel up. Then after giving it some gas it works its way back into place until you stop and it locks again. Could be internal but I would start with the bearings. Just my two cents.

 

[4wheelattitude]

That would be the first place I would look if it wasn't the brakes. Ya can't drive em and you can't leave em sit either!

 

[jarheadk5]

My K5 used to do that occasionally, back when it was my DD. I was able to fix it by driving in Reverse (about 10mph or so) and braking to a stop 4-5x. Dunno what caused it though...

 

[BadDog]

Brake fluid or gear oil in the drums will cause it to lock up hard when you touch the brakes, like an on/off switch. First time I ran into that it blew my mind, having the opposite effect than what I would expect. For me I had never really noticed it in lighter brakes, but the first time it happened with the big 1 ton drums you KNOW something is wrong.

 

[diesel4me]

Post updated..

I posted an update as to what I found,at the bottom of the original post..! (don't know if you saw that part!)...

I still find it hard to believe that just some dirt and rust in the drum could lock the wheel up like that--it would go forward about a foot,and bind up and skid!(without touching the brake pedal! ).--Backing up, it didn't seem to do it .the part that baffled me was the drum being cold after driving it 3-4 miles at 45 mph!..and it feeling like the brakes were dragging badly the whole ride..

I'd think that powder grinding up in there would have created SOME heat(and noise too-but not a peep!)...But it seems ok now,--so I'm going to get a new master cylinder to replace the leaky one on it now,and get some rear brake shoes in the near future..they are getting close to the rivets..

I might have to change the axle seals too--but I hate too,I have bad luck with the spider gear pin bolts breaking off on GM diffs.. --they aren't leaking now,so I might just let them slide,but it would be nice to know what gears are in there though,and it should have new gear oil anyway....truck wont be driven very far,only plows my yard mostly..my wallet will determine how many new parts it gets..right now,only absolutely nessasary stuff gets replaced!..