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1971 Dodge pickup. Drum brakes. Rebuilt system 3 yrs ago. Has been fine. Drove from N. Ca. To Columbus Ga

2yrs later squealing from left front and back brake while truck is in motion. Tap brakes stops noise for 30 sec. Adjusted brakes fine for a week. Adjusted again did no good but stops good. Took it to a brake shop today and saw that shoes were not even half gone. Replaced anyways.

Now,no squeal but hard brake pedal and takes quite a bit longer to stop. Any ideas before go back to the shop? Did not change the shoes myself because I am in the middle of a Lupus flare and arthritis flare up. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

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  • Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair! It sounds like they didn't get them adjusted correctly ... you might also check to ensure the vacuum line is attached to the booster. Hard pedal along with less stopping pressure makes this a possibility.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Apr 13, 2021 at 21:22

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Possibly your slack adjustors aren't working properly.

Usually if they fail to advance, you lose brake power back there. But if they advance when they should not, they can wind up tightening and even dragging the brakes. I just had to fight that last week, as a joint supposed to hinge had frozen up.

The giveaway, aside from unduly hot brake drums, (or unequally hot brake drums), is excessive difficulty removing the drums.

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