I have ran into this issue once before a few years back but for the life of me can not remember what the fix was.

Bought this Recon the other day and like the hundreds before it the brakes weren't operating at all. Pulled both rear hubs disconnected cables and removed brake panel bolts, axle nuts then removed axle from differential. Cleaned everything up replaced tube bearings and brake panel bearings. Put the new shoes on and got it back together.

Once I got everything tightened up the axle wouldn't turn by hand. I can loosen the brake panel bolts and peck the panel loose from the rear differential just a little bit and it frees up the axle. Tighten it back up and same thing hard to turn?

Any help would be appreciated. Been working on this problem for 2 days.

 

Have you tried knocking the ends of the axle with a lump hammer to ensure the drum, and axle are "home" on their splines. I knock it via the socket, before fitting the split pin, to avoid damage to the end of the axle.

 

Thanks for the reply merryman. I finally figured out the issue.

Aftermarket shoes. Had to grind down the cam end of the shoe. Don't understand why tighting the bolts on the brake panel up caused them to expand out, and make contact with the drum but it did.