There seems to be a lot of threads on here regarding rear brakes, but none that have my particular symptoms.
Car i a 2000 Sunfire- 2.2, auto. Ever since i got the car the rear brakes have given me problems with locking up, but lately, the problem has been getting worse. First off, if i just gently ease on the brake, i can physically feel the rear brakes grab long before the fronts start to work. I am somewhat of an aggressive driver- but im no maniac- and unless i am very careful, and brake very gently and slowly, the back brakes will lock up and go into a slide everytime i come to a stop- its really scary if im on any kind of loose or wet surface. The ABS attempts to compensate(abs light is not on, abs function is normal), which just makes the situation worse, it takes the car twice as long to stop as it should. Compounding my frustration, is the fact that i have a severe vibration/shudder all the time(more noticeable at highway speeds), that gets exponentially worse when braking. The front of the car has about 5000 miles on new pads and rotors. The rear drums look ok, and the shoes have at least 1/2 to 3/4 wear left on them- i(mostly my dad, lol, hes better at working on junk than i am, hes been doing it for a long time) changed the wheel cylinders, thinking that they might be the problem, and nothing. WTF?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Dunno about the other stuff but have you tried simply loosening the star adjuster on the drums a couple clicks?

Is your ebrake cable up at all, or is the cable messed up?

I know that before I replaced my brakes, I would pull the e brake up slightly and the rears would bite a little more when I stepped on the pedal.

Do the wheels rotate freely when they're off the ground?


"A car just isn't a car without a little blood, sweat, and beers." -- Shadowfire

how do the shoes look? you said around half life, are they wearing evenly? are there any cracks in the linings? it could also very well be a drum out of round.
i was having similar issues when i first bought my car ('05). it would kinda pulsate when braking and occasionally the rears would lock up on cold mornings. i replaced shoes once due to cracked linings and it helped a bit. but every so often it would still lock the rear end up. it was only really bad in the rain or on damp mornings. i just dealt with it for like 3 years, then one of my wheel cylinders blew out about a year ago. i said @!#$ it and did a total rear brake overhaul. new drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, hardware kit and cleaned off all the caked up brake dust off the backing plates. haven't had any issues since.

Mine have been doing similar things. Im being told its a wheel bearing going out. I have a bit of a burning smell from the set I suspect is the issue.

It really sounds like that the brake shoes are adjusted way to tight. You also may want to check all the hardware and what not to make sure nothing is bent and is in place. I have always has problems with my rear brakes locking up on cold or wet/humid mornings. Once I use the brakes a time or two they usually work great for awhile.

When you go to adjust them adjust them out with the wheels off the ground and go until u can hear the shoes drag on the drums just a bit. Then back the adjuster off a couple clicks and you should be good to go.

Take the e-brake bar out,useing a die grinder notch the bar out more on the little end make the notch deeper this sure take care of the problem.I'seen this problem often

I chased this same problem for over a year. My resolution was installing Delco shoes. It seems to be a friction material issue since the install and adjustment was exactly the same for 2 other brands of shoes.


2.2 97 Cavalier......the "Crapalier"

black sunshine wrote:It really sounds like that the brake shoes are adjusted way to tight. You also may want to check all the hardware and what not to make sure nothing is bent and is in place. I have always has problems with my rear brakes locking up on cold or wet/humid mornings. Once I use the brakes a time or two they usually work great for awhile.

When you go to adjust them adjust them out with the wheels off the ground and go until u can hear the shoes drag on the drums just a bit. Then back the adjuster off a couple clicks and you should be good to go.

The drums are self adjusting. That shouldnt cause any issues as far as Im aware.

Just came out of similar problem by just turning the drums on a lathe (even though they where new) they were not perfectly round thus the vibration when braking btw you can try just applying the e brake a little going some 40 or 50mph and see if the vibration appears, that way you will know it is caused by the rear brakes. I had also to turn the front rotors because still had some vibrations when applying brakes and just replaced all pads and shoes while at that.

did not read EVERYONES post. but if you would like, im selling a rear hub bearring assebly. it has the ABS plugs, the backing plate, the hub, and full set of good drums. if you want, you could buy these, and bolt this whole hub assembly to your car, came off the same year, same engine tranny combo. and the brakes on them are basically new. PM me for more details/pictures and such

When I had this problem I tried new drums wheel cylinders new shoes the only thing that fix my car when the rear brakes were locking up was when I changed the hardware kit , you know all the return springs . they do get old and weak .

Thanks for all the replies guys. Im going to try drums first, and if that doesnt do it, then new shoes and hardware. i hope i get them fixed before winter, between college and work i really dont have any time to put into my car.

I have been told that even tho these are self adjusting, there is a way you can manually adjust them. I was told, drive the car in reverse about 2-5 MPH and pull the E-brake up and down a few times, and that should adjust them. I know when i had my girls car in my garage for 3 months, when I pulled it out to do the first test drive after rebuilding her LD9 her rears would lock up crazy. I drove it down my alley pressed the brakes about 4 to 5 times, and each time, boom, lockup. Drive it in REV and yanked the e brake a few times, and it took care of the issue. And since then it hasnt locked up. And her car sits outside all day everyday. I would say give that a shot, since it really couldnt hurt at all. Goodluck!

i havent read all the posts yet but i am (was) having the exact same problem with it locking up like crazy..

i live in an apartment building and the driveway is long, and it would lock up and the end of the driveway only in the rain (during rain.) any other time when i stop, just before it stops or after i take off, you can hear them POP, its also grabby when stooping quickly or aggressively
My e brake works but does not hold the car very well.. Brake shoes have lots of meat and are even, not sure of the condition of the e brake shoes.. thinking i have bad wheel cylinder plus maybe the ebrake issue

I cant wait for the winter lol i should have it fixed by then though

I would try replace the wheel cyl's. They could be causing brake binding up. Also the rear brake lines could be colapsed.

So today, i just bit the bullet and put on new drums, shoes, and hardware, in addition to the wheel cylinders i did a couple thousand miles ago ... and ... Presto!!! Completely better. Brakes dont grab or lock up, and not even a hint of a vibration up to 80mph.

The brake lines are new on mine, it did it before they were replaced though..

i have yet to bite the bullet, but im glad you did.. its good you did a follow up!

Tried something new with the rear brakes the other day. Took the drums off. Took a wire brush, a screwdriver, and a rubber mallet. Use those tools to clean out the groove in the drums. The when I have all of the rust build up and junk out of there I filled the groove with a layer of grease. Seems to be doing the trick as of now but only time will tell. Im just trying to get by until I can get my rear disks done.