bogged down like the brake is applied

[woodyg]

I have a 2006 awd vibe. I bought it about 3 months ago. It is my wife's car I don't drive it much. I drove it the other day and it feels like the brakes are on. I took it for a spin this morning. it shifts thru all the gears. doesn't make any unusual noises. the brakes are a little soft and they vibrate some when applied while going over 30mph. the front brakes( pads and rotors) probably have 7000 miles on them. the po had them done, the rotors are prob cheap and they are warped. I thought that there might be leak in the brake system. but i have been watching it and it seems ok. The car does not pull to one side. I initially was thinking that i had a stuck brake or a leaky wheel cylinder that is making the shoe stick( I have not ruled this out and will try and check them today) but now i am not sure if it is the brakes. So here is my question. On my test drive it appears that any where over about 30 moh when i put the car in neutral the bogging down goes away considerably. when i put it back in Drive it feels like the brake was slightly applied. Could i have a transmission issue or is this just how these cars are. does the extra awd gears just bog the car down. I like the car a lot and i don't care that it is slow I just want to figure out if i have an issue or is this just how the car is. sorry for the ranbling but i thought it best to geto get out as much info as possiblew

[keithvibe]

when you say bogged down... after speeding up to your cruising speed and you let off does the car drop speed drasticly?or does is slow down slowly?For example you speed up to 45mph... let off the gas and how quickly does it take on a flat roadway for the speed to drop to 35mph?

[woodyg]

I have it on jack stands right now trying to pull the drum off there was a post on here that said to use 5/16 x18 bolts to pull it but those bolts are the wrong size so i trying to figure out how to get it off. once i can drive it again i will see how long it takes to drop down to 35 it is not drastic but enough that seems weird to me.

[joatmon]

I saw where someone said it was 5/16 but if it was they'd be the only english threaded holes in the entire car. In http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=35675 vibecrxsi240sxse tags them as M8-1.25However, if you say the bogging down becomes insignificant when you are in neutral, then I don't see how it could be the brakes. You probably want to to check the rear drums anyway, but it could be that the what you are feeling is just the level of engine braking normal int he AWWD. I have a 5-speed manual, and have never driven an AWD, so I don't know how much they slow down when you let your foot off the gas. How much is too much somewhat depends on what you are used to driving.

[yangiant51]

Try using the spare tire hold down stud in the rear drum holes. Someone said that it will work in removing the rear drums. Alternate it back and forth between the two holes.

[woodyg]

I think the bolt size is a 7m I do not know the thread. I was able to get the drum of relativley easy by hitting in with a rubber mallet and then wiggling it off. I took the drum to the local hardware store but he had every metric size but 7m and i think that is what it is. home depot was to far so I just put the drum back on.I inspected everything there are no leaks and a little less than 3/16" on the shoes. I cleaned off and lubed up the shoes the whole area and sanded and cleaned the drums put them on adjusted them. while i was there i changed my diff gear oil. then i pulled the front tires off and used brake cleaner on those. inspected them. the pads look brand new. the rotors are a little scored i am not sure if they are new. i took it for a quick test drive the brake pefel is spongy and travels a little to far I am queesing they need to be bled. The bogging down is not terrible but it is noticable when I put the car in neutral. I am going to test drive and see how long it takes to drop and the post. thanks for your help. I didn't know if maybe there were any common issue with the tranny ie. vauum thing etc..