Hey all,

I'm having a repetitive clunking noise coming from my rear right wheel, in and out of gear, low and mid speeds. Also there seems to be a slight hopping from the right rear wheel.

I jacked the car up to check the axle/u joint for any play, and couldn't budge them in any direction. Also the right rear wheel is very stiff, like something is dragging pretty bad. I have to have the wheel on to turn it, even then there is lots of resistance. The parking brake seems to be functioning normally, at least the cable position is the same on left and right wheels. There is some brake fluid leaking from where the metal line connects to the rubber line next to the strut.

Suggestions??

Edited August 10, 200915 yr by vling
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Check your brakes, they may be stuck and/or need to be adjusted. Also, when you have the drum off verify the ebrake cable is not sticking.

It was the brakes dragging. Thanks gotswap.

The final step for replacing the shoes/drum on the haynes manual is to pull the ebrake repeatedly until the adjustment knob stops clicking. I tried that, and the drum got stuck before the knob stopped clicking.

I redid it but now I haven't pulled the ebrake because I don't want it to get stuck again. Does this make any sense/ is that normal?

btw the axles move freely now and there are no noises at all, I'm just afraid to use my ebrake anymore.

Edited August 10, 200915 yr by vling

Pulling the parking brake repeatedly is fine for the final adjustment, but you should get the adjustment close before doing this. You'll need to manually adjust that wheel using the star wheel. You service manual should have the directions.

Side note—the rear drum brakes on an S30 are self-adjusting, but the self-adjusting mechanism (as noted here) is in the parking brake. Regular use of the parking brake (every time you park it, ideally) is necessary to keep the rear brakes adjusted properly. A good habit to develop, if you don't already do this.

Hmmm....I got it as close as possible (shoes slightly dragging on drum when I put it on) Then after pulling the brake a few times the drum was stuck tight. Is this supposed to happen?

Is it a matter of pulling the brake too many times without driving it? I had been using the ebrake alot to work on the car without running it (The car was a fixer upper)