K10 W/ 4 speed locks up in gear. Need help...

[THRILLBILLY]

We have a project 85' K10 with a 350/465/208/10B/14FF/4:10s/36"OZ's. Originally a 6.2, the motor was swapped by the previous owner. It has a hydro boost brake system as well.

We finally got around to messing with the truck again and while backing the truck up its like it was against a wall, the tires just spun, and the truck bogged way down. At the time, When you shifted from neutral to any forward drive gear it moved with no hesitation, but when shifted from neutral to reverse it was the same problem everytime. We had to put it 4wd to even get it to move.

So we decided to pull an all nighter and change the calipers since the front wheels wouldn't spin freely. We got them changed, bled the brakes, test drove it, everything was in working order until we went to back it up into the shop then bam, the same problem. Only this time it did it in forward and reverse. Im lost because I have no idea why it's doing this. I don't think a tranny issue because it still will shift into every gear just like butter, although I did smell the clutch last time we go it to move. when it comes to moving it, it just doesn't wanna budge. the front tires will not spin freely again so my guess is in the brake system somewhere. Any ideas what would be causing this problem???

 

[big dan]

If you changed calipers and they are still sticking, my vote is on the rubber hoses that go from the frame to the caliper.

They have a liner on the inside, its kind of like a hose inside of a hose, and if that liner has a hole in it, it will restrict the fluid from going back to the mc and will cause the calipers to hold pressure.

 

[diesel4me]

It could be the master cylinder dont have any free play at the pedal--the brakes can lock up after you have driven awhile after the fluid heats up and expands,if there isn't a small amount of free play at the pedal before you feel resistance when you apply the brakes...Old brake hoses can do that as suggested,act as check valves sometimes and only let fluid flow TO the brakes,but not let it return to the master,holding pressure on the calipers and wheel cylinders..You need to make sure its the brakes that are stuck,not something getting wedged between the ring and pinion or spider gears,the axle u-joints,or the u-joints in the driveshaft,etc...could even be a tranny problem,like two gears trying to engauge at once..

 

[THRILLBILLY]

I agree with the brake lines, these are pretty shot and weather checked beyond belief. I wouldn't think it would be something wedged in the ring and pinion or spiders though, if that were the case i think it should have done it driving and stalled it before the lock up were experiencing now. Only reason I say that is because I've had that happen to me in my ride more than once. As far as the gears in the tranny go trying to engage, I'm not for sure on. Is there a way to check that out? I'm not familiar with a 465. Would that explain the clutch smell it had? Also before it only had this lock up problem in reverse but drive was fine, now it's both ways. Which makes me wonder is it a driveline issue more so than brakes...

 

[m00nBlaZe]

First you need to pin point where your problem is.

Put the front on jack stands and unbolt your front drive shaft. Then try spinning the front wheels by hand.

If the wheels spin but drive shaft doesn't (in 2wd) then the problem isn't your axle.

If the wheels don't spin then pull the wheels off and see if the hubs will rotate.

If they don't then pull the calipers off and try again to turn the hubs.

If they still don't turn then you have narrowed it down to being inside the diff at which point you should open it up and see what is wrong.

Anyone can guess at what a problem is and they have a 50/50 chance of being right. I prefer to know where the problem is before throwing parts at it.

 

[big dan]

First you need to pin point where your problem is.

Put the front on jack stands and unbolt your front drive shaft. Then try spinning the front wheels by hand.

If the wheels spin but drive shaft doesn't (in 2wd) then the problem isn't your axle.

If the wheels don't spin then pull the wheels off and see if the hubs will rotate.

If they don't then pull the calipers off and try again to turn the hubs.

If they still don't turn then you have narrowed it down to being inside the diff at which point you should open it up and see what is wrong.

Anyone can guess at what a problem is and they have a 50/50 chance of being right. I prefer to know where the problem is before throwing parts at it.

Good advice. I assumed you had it narrowed down to a brake problem.

 

[diesel4me]

If you find one wheel wont spin free,and suspect its the rubber brake hose,open the bleeder on that caliper,if its the brake hose ,that will releive the pressure and let the wheel turn freely again--if a caliper is seizing up,you'll have to take it off or at least pry it back to releive the pressure on the pads...I've had u-joints seize up from sitting in my truck once,I didn't drive it in months and the next time I went to move it,it felt like the brakes were stuck on--I gassed it until I heard a loud "BANG" and it broke free--seemed normal afterwards at first,but I soon heard the familiar "cheep-chirp--chhp" sqeaking commonly heard after a u-joint has lost its needle bearings or they rusted away..sure enough,when I got home,I took out the shaft and found only rusty powder in 2 of the cups on the joint!..

 

[THRILLBILLY]

Well we went over the front end and found that pressure wasnt releasing from the caliper because of the brake lines. Replaced those everything works perfectly on the front now. Then diagnosed the back and found out the E-brake had lodged in the drum and wore the drum down real bad and destroyed the pads. Looking into a disc conversion on the back now.

Anyone know where to find replacement e brake cables?

 

[big dan]

Have you checked local parts stores? When I used to work at Oreillys we could get them.

 

[chulisohombre]

i was gona say back brakes e brake locking up.it will be much easier to drive forward than reverse because of the force of the e brake lever pushing against the rear brake shoe and drum.i had that happen on my blazer after letting it sit with it engaged too long.that or as you said the cables getting stuck with rust.i got replacements at local parts store.they had the correct ones that fit my 72 so you shouldnt have a problem.they also have a book where you can look up longer than stock ones if you have a lift.

 

[THRILLBILLY]

i was gona say back brakes e brake locking up.it will be much easier to drive forward than reverse because of the force of the e brake lever pushing against the rear brake shoe and drum.i had that happen on my blazer after letting it sit with it engaged too long.that or as you said the cables getting stuck with rust.i got replacements at local parts store.they had the correct ones that fit my 72 so you shouldnt have a problem.they also have a book where you can look up longer than stock ones if you have a lift.

I think the stock length ones will be long enough. After sitting and pondering for an hour about what could be causing the issue, what you said about the force difference in forward and reverse drive would be if the e brake was locked up finally hit me! He decided he wanted to go the cheap way instead of a disc swap. So we replaced the shoes and wheel cylinders as well as all new brake hardware so the E-brake is all we got left. All is changed up top too, MC, hydroboost, practically a whole new brake system all together, so now at least we don't have to worry if we can or can't stop a 6,600 lb rig!

 

[chulisohombre]

glad you got it.if you have a lift you can add a extention bracket to the original mount and drop the ebrake cable down a lil at the frame before it goes to the drum.i think skyjacker sells them but its basically a thick peice of sheet metal witht the hole in it to run the ebrake line through and put the c clip on the back to drop the bracket a couple inches.i was using stock cables on 4 inch lift.it worked but on heavy articulation it would pull on the cables instead of following the axle.

 

[THRILLBILLY]

Yeah the truck has a 4" lift on it and a 3" body but it's just for mud so there won't be much articulation. When bleeding a hydro boost brake system does it bleed just like a regular system or is there a different way of doing it? Never bled one off before.