After Panic Stop car now pull to left under braking?

Guys quick question. I have rebuilt the brake on my 51 tudor coupe. Everything is working much much better then it was before, IE the front brakes actually work.

So during my testing I did a few panic stops, after some normal driving, to see how true the car would stop.

Car stops beautifully figure I would try it one more time from about 55 or so car stops nicely but a crunching noise this time. Next time I try and stop above 5 mph it pull the steering wheel hard to the left. Stopping backward it pull hard to the right on the wheel.

Drives down the street just fine, straight and true. Wheel is dead ahead straight and no weird noises.

Pulled everything apart, checked the drum adjusters everything is correct. Car still stops it feels like it is skittery almost like one wheel is not working. It has new brake lines and rubber so my usual brake line collapse rule is not it.


Any way to track it down to what wheel is causing this

 

You did replace both front flexible lines ,right? HRP

 

First thing I did.

 

I'm stumped. HRP

 

Me too. I have had the whole system apart twice looking for something wrong. No leaks, no adjustment issues.

Any chance that somehow the hard breaking got air in the system. Or knocked a bubble loose.

 

Are both wheel cylinders working free and correctly?

 

They seem to be, car does not drag at least up in the ramp after release the brake pedal everything rolls freely.

 

I would check the suspension components. Maybe something is loose or broke when you were panic stopping. I know you said it still drove fine,but I would still check the suspension components.

 

When you redid the brakes did you turn the drums? Did you rebuild the wheel cylinders or replace with new? Also did you arc cut the shoes to match the drum diameters? Sometimes the little things can be the cause of the problems you describe. Also have you thoroughly inspected ALL front end components i.e. tie rod ends, ball joints, idler arm, control arm bushings?

 

Are the wheel cylinders new? HRP

 

New Drums, new shoes, everything arced. Not my first rodeo.

Like I said its been driving fine up until the panic stops.

 

Make the primary and secondary shoes are in the correct position on both wheels.
The short shoe should go to the front.

 

Pulls left in forward, right in reverse, I would suspect something in left rear brake assembly. Just a quick thought.

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This may sound odd, but how worn are your backing plates?

I once had a situation with my Astro daily where a rear shoe would wedge and struggle to release after brake application because there were deep notches worn in the backing plate where the shoe contacted it. Welded and ground the shoe contact points on the backing plate, problem solved.

 

No ones questioning your ability's just asking questions.

Have you pulled the drums and checked the rear brakes? and did you replace the flexible line to the rear brakes. HRP

 

That is what I was thinking. Has anybody gotten bad rubber brake hoses out of the box.

 

Unless another steering component was loose enough to shift while hard braking.

I saw a Mustang II upper control arm shift, we cought it because you could see bare metal as it slid..... Not sayin you have a M II buit perhaps something shifted...

 

First thing, are all the shoes all installed correctly, with the short linings forward?

Look closely for cracked or loose linings, and/or a cracked drum. Also make sure the adjusters are still located correctly on the bottoms of the shoes.

If all the above check out, it's possible you cooked some of the lining. Go back out and rebed/burnish the brakes by performing 15-20 medium decel stops from about 40 MPH, with approx. 1 mile intervals, watching for smoke or other abnormal behavior. If the brakes feel better, cool them down and try more aggressive stops, but don't overheat them!

By the way, your avatar always cracks me up!

 

I had a similar problem recently with one of my o/t rides, after inspecting the shoes carefully I found a small crack in one of the linings, little crack big problem!

 

Check all the brake drums for what was called heat checks (small hard spots on the drum).

 

I have used a pinch tool looks like vice grip with no teeth. To pinch off each front wheel and the rears one at a time to track down similar problems. I know you can't isolate your rears one at a time in your application, but if pinching off the fronts doesn't isolate the problem you can probably determine it's in the rear.

 

I have to deal with this issue a lot...and it isnt always the brakes at fault. As was mentioned before have you checked the steering/suspension components? Something worn up front can indeed cause this. Also just because it is "new out of the box" doesnt mean it works. I would suspect a bad rubber brake hose. Had a corvette in the shop last week with the exact same issue...brand new calipers, pads, rotors, and hoses...with it up in the air hit the brakes and the passenger front wheel kept spinning. Threw another new hose on it and boom...problem solved. The trick is to start out small before you assume worst case scenario. Just because it is new out of the box doesnt guarantee it actually works...

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One time I had an off topic daily driver start pulling (quite violently) when I applied the brakes. There had been no panic stop involved, but in short order it became almost impossible to steer during braking. Turned out one of the bolts that holds the upper A-arm mount to the frame had broken, so the outside end of the control arm was moving about an inch during braking.

 

had same thing with a chevy pickup, ubolt holding the lower control arm broke

 

I bought a '57 Ford that pulled hard to the right when braking. Guy I had purchased it from said the brakes had less than 500 miles on them. After diddling around a bit, it turned out that the inner wheel bearing was coming apart. The drum would wedge sineways under load but turned ok when you jacked the wheel up and spun it.

 

Not to double quote these last two posts...but you need to check out the steering/suspension on your ride. Jack it up under the lower control arm so the suspension is "loaded" rather than under the frame where it is at full flex...grab the tire at the 3 and 9 and give it a shake...then grab it at the 12 and 6 and do the same...


Let us know what you come up with!

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Find a gravel road and get someone to watch the wheels. Hit the brakes and see which one slides.

 

So hopefully this is it.

Pulled everything apart again. First three wheels perfect.

Rear passenger brake drum now has a weeping wheel cylinder and a spring with a crack in it. Had a hell of a time getting the drum off, I had to use a puller this time. Nothing else would get it off.

Not quite sure how this is causing what I was seeing but man I hope so. Wheel cylinder will be here tomorrow, I have no idea where to get the spring, but hopefully I can find a few at the big three swapmeet tomorrow that will get me back on the road.

I unloaded the front suspension, no problems that I can see.

 

Put new shoes on too- if the old one is wet it'll grab-

 

OK it is so not the brakes. I fixed everything to book, no braking issues that I can see. Car still pulls on the steering wheel when braking. Locked off the front brakes from the rear and it still happens, lock the rears out and it still does it with the front brakes.

At this point I believe it has to be suspension related. i have had both sides of the car up in the air but I cannot see what is. If I had a lift it would be easier but I can only feel a bit of play in the front wheels from the steering rack with it unloaded. Nothing else.

Its not as bad now and the car is still very drivable its only a light turn of the wheel every time but its a 180 degree rotation.


Also is the Alliance membership a one year thing or perpetual. I have my plaque from a few years back?