Sounds like it's too late now to help you diagnose it since it's going to the shop and it's too late and cold for you to look.
You haven't really given any good description of why you think the brake is applied. Do you smell burning brakes? Is it so sluggish? Have you tried to roll in neutral and see if it comes to a sudden stop without applying brakes. I can't imagine it will coast to a stop with the brake dragging so much that you feel it when you're driving.

Taking 5 minutes to shift when? Like from 1st to 2nd gear? Or you mean it would not come out of park?

You're welcome to try giving a better description of what is happening, or why you think it is a brake but if it's going to the heated shop in the morning it may not be necessary to try looking for an overnight result??

 

I'm just taking it to the shop to let it thaw out & praying that's all it is. If by chance it is that I can put a block heater on the transmission. I didn't say I thought the brake was applied just that it felt like it was. I do not smell burning brakes. It feels like I'm towing a tank. As soon as I let of the gas it wants to stop. When you put it in gear it takes 10 times more gas to get it going. I took it to work last night & it was only outside for 2 hours before I came back out, that's when it wouldn't shift. It would not come out of park. I guess what I'm after is things I can check tomorrow while it's in the shop. I'm assuming it's not just the cold (I don't get that lucky) so I'm looking to get some ideas of what it might be so I can check them out. I can't imagine it's good to be driving it while it's like this so I need to get it figured out quick as I do not have a backup vehicle & a family to transport. Thanks.

 

That sounds pretty extreme to me. I haven't been in COLD climates in a very long time, and never as cold as you are describing.

I do know it took longer to engage, as well as longer for it to shift when the fluid was cold. For your sake, I hope that is all it is/was! I don't have other suggestions.

 

I've been here or 19 years & with the wind chill it gets as cold as -100. After it get's below -40 the heavy equipment is not run because cold like that can cause some serious havoc. I've had frozen wheels that feel like they're sqaured, brakes fail, power steering hoses blow but nothing like this. Seems like the newer the vehicle the more trouble they are in cold weather & well just in general. Time to get the **** out of Barrow!

 

Dang, that's cold!

 

Have you checked the tranny fluid level? Does the transmission seem like it's slipping? Check engine light on?

 

I would definitely check the trans fluid and after you drive it, check to see if one or more of the wheels are hot ass ****... Ive have a few calipers stick on other vehicles. Actually I had the emergency brake cable freeze on my colorado last year and it felt the same way. You will be able to tell for sure if thats it by feeling the wheels after you drive it a bit.. if that is it, be careful not burn your fingers!

 

I checked it a few days ago when I fueled up & it was good. It does not feel like its slipping & no lights are on.

 

Is it stuck in 4wd?

If it is you will get some binding in the drive train especially on dry pavement or after making a turn.

I have seen lots of things happen below -20 F on vehicles. I guess you are use to that but cold temps bring out a lot of strange things that seem to go away when the vehicle is warmed up. Oils, especially differential fluids, are quite stiff at those temperatures. Engine and transmission block heaters will not pre-warm the differentials prior to driving so some rolling stiffness is to be expected.

When I was in AK years ago we use to use multi-weight differential fluid cut with some thinner 10W40 or 5W 30 in our manual transmissions, transfer cases, and differentials. during the winner season. GM and others later stated using ATF in their transfer cases and manual transmissions leaving only the differentials to worry about in very cold weather. We also had problems breaking shocks and shock mounts in the very cold conditions.

I suggest you do exactly what you are planning. Warm up the whole truck and go for a ride. If you can jack it up while inside then do so and spin the individual wheels to see what if anything is dragging. Your problem could be 4wd engaged, or a brake dragging (regular or parking), or just very cold lubricants.

Good luck

 

It is not stuck in 4 wheel.
I took it to the shop last night & let it thaw out for about 4 hours. I then jacked the rear end up, put it in drive, & gave it some gas. It hessitated as it did before & you could actually see the axle tighten up & raise up a bit before those wheels finally started moving. I then took the wheels off to get a better view & at first glance all looked good. I got back in the truck & got on the gas again, this time they moved a little better but still slugish & squeeling. I did notice the hubs were wobbling a bit though which is pretty scary. At this point I knew I would need to do more research before I tore into anything so after I got the wheels back on I got on the gas again & not only could I not see any kind of wobble but they more moving 100% better with no squeel. The drive home that night & all day today were great, it's seemingly back to normal but I know it didn't just fix itself. I don't get that lucky. I took video with my phone, if I can figure out a way to get it attached to the thread I will, thanks!

 

OK on it not being 4WD.

This sounds like ice buildup inside the brake drums. This can happen when driving through slush or packed snow or parking in blowing snow.

Did you pull the brake drums off when you had the rear wheels off? Also it could be frozen e-brake cables but I would not expect the cables on both sides to free up and release at the same time.

I'm thinking being inside to warm up plus the added friction of spinning the drums / wheels inside thawed it out. I doubt that you got all of the melted ice out but you might have. Did you by any chance feel the temperature of the drums before you reinstalled the wheels?

If you do remove the rear drums, be aware that the new thickness of the rear shoes is about 1/2 of what you would expect on other vehicles. So do not go ordering new shoes unless the ones you have are over heated and cracked or really worn down. If you decide to run it again with the rear wheels removed, take two lug nuts and install them again after the wheels are removed to keep the drums flush with the axle hub.

Good luck. It sounds like you are close to determining what caused your problem.

I just had one off the wall thought. I have never seen this but do you have traction control? If so, I wonder if it could be screwing up and applying the rear brakes. As I said I have never seen this failure.

 

OK on it not being 4WD.

This sounds like ice buildup inside the brake drums. This can happen when driving through slush or packed snow or parking in blowing snow.

Did you pull the brake drums off when you had the rear wheels off? Also it could be frozen e-brake cables but I would not expect the cables on both sides to free up and release at the same time.

I'm thinking being inside to warm up plus the added friction of spinning the drums / wheels inside thawed it out. I doubt that you got all of the melted ice out but you might have. Did you by any chance feel the temperature of the drums before you reinstalled the wheels?

If you do remove the rear drums, be aware that the new thickness of the rear shoes is about 1/2 of what you would expect on other vehicles. So do not go ordering new shoes unless the ones you have are over heated and cracked or really worn down. If you decide to run it again with the rear wheels removed, take two lug nuts and install them again after the wheels are removed to keep the drums flush with the axle hub.

Good luck. It sounds like you are close to determining what caused your problem.

I just had one off the wall thought. I have never seen this but do you have traction control? If so, I wonder if it could be screwing up and applying the rear brakes. As I said I have never seen this failure.

I did not pull the drum off. I have never done that before so I wanted to do some research first. Any chance you know of a site that has step by step instructions?

I forgot to mention just how hot it was after spinning them, holy **** they were hot!

Maybe that's why it had a wobble to it. Good to know!

I don't believe there is tracktion control as I have not seen anything pop up on my dash when I'm spinning out at a icy stop sign & I haven't seen anything anywhere saying I have it but I can look through the manual again.

Thank you so much for all this information, Looking forward to getthing this resolved. Especially since I paid $1,400 over blue books top price but it's the norm up here. Supply & demand & all that BS. Cost over $5,000 to ship a vehicle up here.

 

Drawing from my previous comment about the rear wheels being hot.. it really sounds like the same issue I had with the emergency brake cable freezing up. By chance, did you grab or pull on the roughly 1/2" black cable attached to your rear brakes?? Once I figured out that mine were freezing up after applying the emergency brake, I could yank on that cable a bit and they would free up until I applied the e-brake again.. that finally stopped working and I had it replaced. Since youre dealing with such intense heat, be very cautious driving it like that!! I know its not a colorado, but one of my first cars was the notorious pontiac fiero and a caliper locked up on it, and I cam out of an interview to find the fire dept putting out what was left of my car... needless to say, I didnt get that job lol. But seriously, it can melt the brake line.. leak brake fluid onto the glowing drum.. and sure enough catch fire. Not trying to scare you, just a word of caution.

 

OK if the drums were hot, then you have a dragging brake shoe or they were stuck out from ice. It has been a while since I pulled rear drums on a Colorado but I do not remember them being any different that any other car I have worked on.

The drums are held in place by being sandwiched between the rear hub and the wheel. If you remove the wheels, the drums should just slide off. If they have never been removed since new then there are are probably two little screw on flat spring nuts on two of the lug bolts. These will need to be removed prior to pulling the drums. They are used to keep the drums attached to the axle assembly during shipping to the final assembly plant. They are not necessary and can be discarded after removal. If the drums were wobbling then they are probably loose enough now so you can just pull on them.

If they are stuck on, usually if you go around them and beat on them with a decent hammer you can get them loose. At the same time you are beating on them pry on the back of the drum with a pair of decent size screwdrivers forcing the drum towards you.

If that doesn't work then you probably have a stick e-brake cable. Let discuss that only if you come back ans say you can't get them off.

Once you get them off, do NOT step on the brakes. Without the drums installed you can blow the wheel cylinders apart. It will probably be dirty inside from brake dust. Feel free to clean up anything you find. Do NOT blow them out with air. Breathing the dust can be very bad for the lungs. Brake shoes use to be made out of asbestos but I do not think OEM shoes are asbestos any more. Brake cleaner or even Simple Green soap and water will clean them up nicely.

Take the drums off and tell us what you see. If they were hot when you had the wheels off in the shop then that definitely is what is causing your problem. You may have burned up the shoes. Look carefully at the friction surface of the shoes for signs of serious cracking. If you find it then replace the shoes. Also look at the drum surface for cracking. A little scoring is OK on the inner surface but see what the inner surface looks like.

Take a look at these 2 videos:

Good Luck

Ken

 

In for updates in case I encounter this problem!

 

Great information.

The assembly of our shoe assembly is different than the video shared here. IF it comes down to replacing your shoes, rent a tool from the parts store made for your truck. It should help, I didn't use it when I did my brakes, I didn't know about it at that time.

 

I knew it was slightly different but I did not want to add too much confusing stuff to the posting. I really wanted him to take off the drums and tell us what he saw.

What is this special tool you are talking about?

 

I can feel your frustration I have a 2007 Chevy Express 4.3 4 speed automatic rear wheel drive was dropped off to me for routine maintenance second as I was driving it it stopped shifting from first to drive Shifty Mozelle regularly I suspected transmission was good had to be something else so after pondering with it it dawned on me that the filter probably is clogged changed the filter gasket new 4.9 quarts started shifting good but like you said it feels like my emergency brake is slightly on once I get going and every gear shifts in it doesn't do it anymore only on take off it feels like my brake is on can anybody out there help us thank you I know your time is very valuable and I appreciate any feedback or opinions comments or Diagnostics

 

You are trying to carry on a conversation from a 7 year old post with someone who hasn't been on the forum since 2013. Good luck with that!

 

I couldn't get the pan completely attached away from the vehicle

 

I know by saying it sounds like your brakes are slightly applied trying to pull out I know exactly what he's talking about my Chevy Express does the same thing I even had to check my emergency brake to make sure it was not engaged and it wasn't just feels like something is holding it back that's probably why we keep saying it feels like the brakes cuz it just does LOL I feel your frustration changed fluid filter gasket 4.9 quartz shift great now before it was shifting from 1st to drive shifting problem fixed sludge in first is not thanks guys