This is an intermittent problem that is getting worse. When stopping at a light and then going forward the rear wheels are locked up. Sometimes they pop free right away and other times it's more of a struggle. No previous ABS light on until last night, but I think that it detected this lockup. ABS light is out this morning. I have the right rear drum off but nothing looks unusual. The vehicle has 130K and I'm going to replace the drums and shoes. E Brake cable looks fine. Has anyone experience this with their XL-7?

is it just the rear wheels? the master might not the letting go after you release the brake, if that's the case, the front should be locked up as well.

the e brake cables wont stick on while driving from stop light to stop light, this is either abs or master related.


since the abs light came on, i would recommend getting it scanned to see what code came up for it.....it might help point you in the right direction

-lance

Yes, the problem is with the rear wheels or/wheel. Occasionally when you first get in the car to drive forward it would be locked up and then "pop" loose and the car would move.That's how the problem origninally started.

I'm surprised how clean the interior of the left drum (not right drum previously stated) appeared after removing it. The shoes and springs look fine with no signs of rust. I'm going to check the operation of the E brake and shoe/adjuster movement today. The ABS came on once and I suspected it logged a speed sensor fault. It did not log a fault ? I suspect only one wheel is locking up. My son stated it happened to him one snowy day recently. The car started to move in a circle and one wheel felt locked.

Although the brake springs look fine, I'm going to replace them along with the shoes and drums. I'm hoping to see something when operating the ebrake and foot peddle before disassembling. Maybe a bad wheel cylinder? I just got the parts today but it's -10 degrees outside and my garage is not heated. It's slow going here in Minnesota. Thanks for the advise, I'll keep this post updated.

I had a similar problem on a different vehicle, it was an out of round or bent
brake drum, as it rotated it would catch, but the ABS thinks it's locked and
starts to modulate the pressure really causing the problem to be worse.

The problem was only there when coming to the last 10 or 15 feet of a stop

Is there any high speed brake pedal pulsing? that could be an indicator of
the out of round or bent drum.

Wild

interesting...... or is it a freezing problem?  i have had  brake shoes actually freeze to the inside of the drum after it sat for a while with the e-brake on, when the temps are quite a bit below freezing.


also, the rubber brake hose can brake down, and start to clog up, so it will act like a 1 way check valve and not let fluid return after you let the brake go,    ive never seen it on anything other than a 30 year old vw's, but i guess anything is possible hahaha

Went out in the garage yesterday morning to snap a picture of the brake assy. I hate drum brakes with all the springs etc. When I started to disassemble the brake I noticed the adjuster lock lever out of position. I don't know if I caused this problem when removing the drum. It's a spring tensioned lever that rest against the adjustment nut to prevent movement. It's back together and I'm going to drive around today and see what happens. After 130K the brakes show minimal wear. I'm starting to think only the left rear wheel has this problem. The wheel cylinder actuates and releases when applying the brakes and Ebrakes. If the problem continues I think I'll replace the wheel cylinder. If that doesn't work it might be ABS related. I ran the brake shoe inside the drum thinking possible warpage but it fit perfectly. Everything looks normal at this point. I don't think it's a freeze issue because the weathers been nasty and the problem is more prevalent after driving for a while and in stop and go situations. The car is used everyday. Initially, I thought it might be a freezing issue.The interior of the drum/brake housing is dry and clean as factory new. The right wheel has much More brake dust/dirt. Weird..

After repairing the brake adjusted spring tensioned locking clip everything is going well. I've driven the vehicle everywhere for the past few days in very cold weather with no problems. I'm not 100% convince yet but things are looking up.

I have an 02 XL7, though I haven't had any issue in the rear brakes, I have also noticed minimal wear. I've towed nearly 2500#s with it across 3 states (KS, MO, IL) couple of times, have driven it daily for several years, have 112k miles on it now, and replaced for the 4th time, the front disc pads. I think I need a rotor(s) now as there seems to be some out-of-round effects in the steering and a little pumping action on the brake peddle while braking. I know one rotor is scared some.
I still buy rear brakes and compare the new ones to the old one, but it doesn't look like any wear. They have to be working as the surfaces are not rusty.

Well my brake problem is gone and I guess that's small lever/clip I found out of place was the problem. Thanks for everyone's suggestions. Have a good New Years.....