brake grabbing solution needed

In the past few months, we have had not one, but two Fords (51 and 53) give us fits with a grabbing brake.

Both cars had the left front wheel grabbing causing a hard pull to the left.

We bled, adjusted, replaced hoses, replaced wheel cylinders...and never did get to the bottom of it.

One guy suggested we may have had the shoes on wrong...front on rear and rear on front. But we did not have the opportunity to make the switch.

both cars HAD been just fine, then went into storage (over one year) and when they emerged, we had the problem. So it is likely related to a long term storage situation.

any ideas, suggestions, solutions is appreciated!

 

sounds like a coincidence to me. did you pull them apart to see what they looked like?

 

I would have bet the brake hose flaking off inside keeping fluid from flowing back to MC. How about the return springs? Have you replaced them?

 

Just my two cents, but i don't think that I ever drove anything with drum brakes that didn't do a little 'yankety yank' one way or the other. I am going to watch this thread because i want to know what i have been missing all these years.

 

I ran into this thread:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=714087&highlight=brake+hose

it has lots of good info and numerous suggestions.

perhaps it can help us all.

 

Have you looked at the right front brake? Sometimes if a piston sticks on one side it pulls to the opposite side. Just a thought.

Dave.

 

Blocked right front brake hose will cause the pull to the left.

 

You need to "arc" the brake shoes on both front wheels....there is a machine built by Aamco that will do this often overlooked proceedure on drum brakes...it literally grinds the friction material off of each brake shoe to precisely match them to the curve of the drum.....when the shoes are installed without doing this, there is not 100% contact between the shoe and the drum....one shoe may have 60% contact and the opposite shoe may have 85% contact...not an ideal situation...arcing the shoes guarantees 100% shoe/drum contact immediately.....sure, if you drive 30,000 miles the shoes will wear themselves in to a 100% contact pattern....but you need that now....ask around the old brake shops or old time mechanics...they will know exactly what you mean....hope this shines some light on your drum brake issues.

 

Had a similar issue on my 56 Pontiac. Turned out to be the RIGHT front wheel cylinder. The thing looked like it was packed with mud after being rebuilt only two years prior. A new kit on that wheel cylinder and system flush solved it for me. Sure came as a surprise! Applied brakes at a traffic light and almost hit the concrete median! Mine only did it about a quarter of the time and never knew when it would happen. Good luck!
Johnny

 

thanks for the suggestions and for sharing your experiences