Hey Jean, being I'm in Conway, it makes us kind of neighbors. As far as this problem you are having, seems a lot of the guys don't understand the situation. Take the thing apart again and knock out the seal, clean and look at the bearings and race's for damage. If ok. then I would look at the shoes for damage also, the drum could be warped or out of round or a stuck wheel cylinder piston etc. Just a few items to consider, as far as disc brakes being a must deal, golley! Andy, Goober don't think so. Drums worked fine for close to 40 yrs on em and if maintained and such, will stop the Mav's and Comet's just fine, even though they did put some on later models. Disc's are great on race cars and newer vehicles as from the factory, but for everyday drivers such as yours, not so. If you were to get up here in the mountains, yeah maybe a good idea but with the percentage of high paying jobs down here, we make due with what we can. I have never used a torque wrench on those buggers either, own several for other applications but always run the spindle nut up snug and back off till drum turns free. Kind of a feel type thing for a lot of us old country mechanecks. Wish I was closer, would gladly help out anyway I could. Keep at it and don't give up, it will all work out.
Earl, Thanks, and yeah, you're right. Just seems sometimes I'm swimming against the tide.... Thanks for the kind words. Jean My72Mav
Howdy neighbor Thanks, and I wish you were closer, too, though it's nice to see someone else from our fine state on this board. My grandparents kept a cabin at Palarm Creek Landing on the lake for years, and my aunt uses it as her vacation spot now. Maybe when I get the Mav moving under it's own steam we'll drive up and have our own mini-meet. Funny story about the brakes on this car.... I drove this car through four years of college at Louisiana Tech University in the mid-80s. One day I was driving down the street and hit the brakes to avoid a little old lady in a crosswalk and they didn't want to stop. I called home. My dad, ever the practical one, told me: "Go to Napa, buy some brakes and a book and fix it." So I did. One Chilton's manual and some new brakes and I changed them out in the dorm parking lot. I was 19. Now I'm almost 40. That was a long time ago. A girl can forget a lot in that time. Thanks for the encouragement. Giving up is not an option. Jean My72Mav
I'll have to agree with old guy, I make a livin working on cars and thats the way I was showed how to do it. If you knocked out the racesmake sure they are fully seated. The sound from the punch will change when the bottom out in the hub.Just somthin else to look at. You'll get it sooner or later, hopefully sooner than later. Ercil
Hey I didn't mean to sound like I was "talking down" to you. Sorry about that. I am the last person who would try to discourage you in your efforts to fix up your Maverick. I am pro-Maverick all the way, and I know all too well what it's like to hear people bad-mouth my dedication to restifying mine...
"Old Guy", I have the utmost respect for you (as does everone else here) and would never argue with your experience, but I drove my '73 for far too many years with the drum brakes and I know of that which I speak. The difference is like night & day. I got tired of having to replace them every year or so, and tired of the car not stopping after driving through a puddle of water, and tired of pulling to one side when applying the brake pedal, and tired of excessive brake fade when they got hot. I'm not saying that she cannot get her current brake system to function as it was designed, but again, I cannot stress enough that a disc brake conversion is the single most important upgrade to an early model Maverick not so equipped...
jean, keep on working at it. i know what you mean about the pride in doing it yourself. i wish i had started about 20 years earlier to learn about this stuff. as far as gals that want to work on there cars, more power to you. everyone should have at least a basic knowledge of mechanics. my wife is a retired nuclear electrician, on submarines, and she's usually the first one i go running to for help. she's definitely got more sense than i do and can figure out a solution for just about anything. hang in there. p.s. i 've never used a tw for the wheel bearings but if you get one remember there are in/ pounds and ft/ pound wrenches.
Keep on wrenchin Jean and keep the faith and then one day when you finish you can make all the non-believers eat there words. Keep us updated on your progress and good luck. If the drum is warped I have one you can get for shipping only. . Later Tim
OK, check the bearings as Old Guy says. Once they are confirmed good, install them the way you've alwaya done. I always snug them up till all the play is gone, then about another quarter turn. Its more of a feel for me. If they are new bearings, just a little tighter than that. To adjust the brakes, start cranking out the adjuster untill they start dragging. Then hit the brakes to recenter the shoes. Keep repeating these 2 steps untill you have smooth drag with full rotation of the wheel. I like to tighten them up untill when I spin the wheel as hard as I can, it will do about 1 revolution on its own before it stops. They must drag or your pedal will be extremely low. If properly adjusted, drum brakes will work just fine.
I guess the point was to get the problem fixed with minimum investment. I think discs are the best improvement too, and would recommend them for safety, but is not an option for all people. Have got discs on all our race cars and even when the Mavmans was running his drums, never had a real problem till he reached the 116mph slot in 1000ft. As far as torque wrenches go, I had a bad experience with a 95 F150 pulling the Mav home from the track. Seems Ford had a recall on the lug nuts coming loose but never got the work to all owners. Running at 70 +mph home, for 60 miles, felt a strange movement in the trailer etc. Got off on my exit and pulled in to station, had one lug nut holding right rear wheel, rest were laying in wheel cap along with several broken studs. Got home and sent the truck to dealer next day for new wheel and all new studs and nuts. Believe me I now torque all wheel nuts to 100lbs on each tire rotation etc. Even us old guys need an awakening to reality now and then.
The lugs did the same thing to my mothers E150 a cuple years ago so off came the mag wheels and the old steel wheels went back on .
That's one heck of a scary story, Dave. I sure am glad that last remaining lug stayed on until you pulled over....
The reason the spindle nut torque specs are so low (inch lbs) is because the bearings will expand slightly when they heat up under normal use. If they're too tight they can bind or overheat and be damaged. As mentioned above, spin the wheel while you turn the nut just snug enough to seat the bearing in the race. I usually use a pair of pliers and a light touch. Back the nut off till it's loose then just make finger tight. If the cotter pin doesn't align with the castle nut, always loosen the nut to make it align, never tighten. Once you do one and get the feel of it they're easy. Good luck.
