Hey guys, a couple months ago I rebuilt the front drum brakes on my '74 Maverick. New brake hoses, wheel cylinders, shoes, and master cylinder. Afterwards they felt great. Recently though, my passenger-side front brake is grabbing when I press the pedal a bit hard, and if I try to go easy then the brakes are "pulsing" somewhat. I pulled the drums off of both sides last night to have a look and eveything looked fine, and ther was no fluid leakage anywhere. So my question is, what gives? Should I have had the drums turned? Is maybe the passenger-side drum a little warped/out of round? Is there something else that I should look for? Thanks ahead of time. CommieHook
Are the drum brakes adjusted up properly? The shoes should be centered and slightly touching the drums with the brake pedal released. Then, like you mentioned, if everything else looks OK, I would check to see if the drums need machining.
Could be out of adjustment. Go to an empty parking lot or backroad and backup slowly and hit the brakes. Do this several times so the shoes are adjusted and see if it makes any difference. It is also possible the adjusters are not working correctly. I always resurface drums and rotors when replacing shoes or pads.
Hey guys, I checked the adjusters and they seemed fine, and I did the initial adjusting and then the "backup adjusting" as well. No change. Thanks, CommieHook
that's why I went to disc. brakes...I rebuilt my front drum brakes, had them turned and they still would grab every now and then...
If you have the front drums turned, make sure that they are turned to the exact same inside diameter or the car will pull to one side. I also had once, a 15/16" inside diameter wheel cyl on one side and a ⅞" on the other side. These were bought as a set and it took me awhile to figure that one out! One thing I can suggest is to make sure the surface of the hub and the inner brake drum surface ( where it goes on the hub ), are both clean and free of rust. If you get some rust caught between the two, it can cause the drum to wobble slightly, and you'll get the pumping pedal feel. I still have my drum brakes too!
Did you lubricate the slack adjuster threads ? I use Antiseeze for this. I also lube the shoe tip of the adjuster with the same.
Some things that I have learned when doing front drum bakes is this. 1. Turn the drums to the exact same inside diameter. (as close to the same as possible) 2. Have the drums turned while they are attached to the hubs. This gets them as close to round in relation to the center of the spindle. The best way to do this is to take 5 each 5/8s or 3/4 nuts and run the lug nuts down on them and torque them to 100 ft lbs. Then remove the barrings and seals and turn the drums. If after turning you need to separate the drum and hub to install the barrings or clean it up then mark one of the studs and the drum so it will go back on the same as it came off. 3. Ensure that both wheel cylinders are working correctly. Move both sides of the wheel cylinder to make sure that one of the pistons is not sticking. 4. Insure all the hardware is either new or is working properly. If you reuse the adjuster then take it apart, clean it up on a wire wheel. Before re assembly use anti seize on the threads and the pivot cup. Insure that the washer that goes between the adjuster and the pivot cup is installed. (it is very thin and easy to drop and overlook) 5. When adjusting the brakes, adjust them to where they just touch the drum. I do this by turning the adjuster and the drum at the same time. Then you can hear when it touches. After you get both sides to touch then pump the brakes up a couple of times. This will center the shoes on the drum. Then re adjust them to where they drag just a little. This takes some feel to get right. then pump the brakes up again and see if the drag changes. if it does then continue to repeat the steps untill you get them even. 6. Bleed the system to insure that all the air is out of the lines and cylinders. This is a good time to bleed them till clear fluid comes out. Brake fluid is probably the most overlooked fluid to be changed. Brake fluid is much like desiccant, it absorbs moisture so it needs changed every 2 to 3 years. It also gets sediment out of the system. I use this same procedure on the back also. I had a 71 Maverick drag car with drum brakes and at 114mph at the traps when I stepped on the brakes it stopped straight as an arrow. Good luck with this. You will get the hang of it after a few times. P.S. Switch to disk brakes as soon as you can and if you can. Just safer all around.
I had the same type of thing happening before I switched to disc brakes. I had never thought to check the shoes when I bought the car. I had my drums turned and it did nothing for me. I then replaced the shoes just as they were when I took them off the car. That is where (MY) problem lied. Whomever did the brake job on the car before I got it put them on wrong. There is a large shoe and a slightly smaller one. I believe the larger on goes towards the back of the car. That completely fixed my issues. Id check there.
Hey guys, I had the drums turned and made identical, put it all back together and it's smooth sailing again. Thanks for all of your advice, it was very helpful. CommieHook
