Im new to my 65 novas full drum brake system. Ive bled the brakes with all new wheel cylinders and pads springs etc all new. But im having a problem... When i push the brakes while "Trying" to stop the front passenger side pulls hard to the right, like hard enough i have to rip the wheel to the left to stay on the road any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
Did you adjust the shoes correctly? Drums need to be adjusted prior to use. Its also possible that you put something together wrong. How old are the soft lines? One could be collapsed and causing the problem
does it pull all the time or just when you brake? did you mess with the wheel bearings? they may be to tight.
Did you arc the new shoes to the drums? Cut the drums? Put the short shoe on the wrong end? Put the chineese puzzle of springs back together right?
The Drums move like they should, the bearings arent bad they spin smoothly. How do i need to set them? It only pulls when i push the brakes,Rides smooth until i push them.
Let me throw another scenario out there that has happened to me in the past,,so you have new wheel cylinders,brake shoes and know all the springs and adjusters are correct and it's pulling to one side when you apply the brakes. What did you over look? Odds are the car still has the original brake line hoses and over that many years the rubber deteriorates and dissolves resulting in the inside of the hose collapsing. What ever you do,,replace both of them and I feel pretty sure your problem will be corrected. HRP
I had the same problem in my F100 one time. All four corners were drum and any time I stepped on it, it would just whip left. Turned out the problem was one of the shoes on the left side was cracked. I don't know how or why it grabbed as hard as it did when I applied the brakes, but sure enough, after I replaced both sets, the truck stopped straight and true. I'm not saying this is necessarily your problem, but do take a close look at your shoes for any signs of weirdness.
Take the rubber flex hose off the wheel that doesn't seem to be working. Blow through it. If it's ok, try running compressed air through it. If it passes air alright, pull the front brakes apart. Make sure the parts are all there and the short-shoe goes towards the front of the car...long one to the rear. You'll find it.
I would try adjusting them properly first. Turn adjusters out while spinning wheels by hand until even resistance is felt on each wheel.
What was the reason for tearing into the brakes to begin with? Did it pull before? What condition are the drums in, smooth or rough?
Did you get the shoes in the correct location, a friend that should have known better put both leading shoes on one side and the both trailing shoes on the other, had a somewhat similar grabbing problem.
Could be primary and secondary shoes backwards, The short primary shoe goes towards the front and secondary longer shoe goes to the rear. There could be grease or oil on the lining . Out of round or mis matched drum diameters. It was mentioned to arc the shoes. We used to do that years ago but something about asbestos dust blowing around put an end to that. There could be some old timers that still do it though. Brake shoes are cam ground from the factory but could have been done incorrectly. Pull the front drums and look at the wear pattern on the shoes. They should be wearing towards the center and little to none on the heal and toe on a new set of shoes. Pull the drums and post a couple of picture of both sides and we can help you out.
Had same problem some years ago on my F100 though it was the rear brakes.Everything was new hoses,cylinders,shoes and drums but still not working. Tored it apart severel times trying to figuer it out what was wrong but couldn´t find anything. Got the advise from an old fart to flip the drums side to side and it helped. Don´t ask me why couse I can´t answer but the brakes was perfect. Even had a drum on my Voyager which got full of brakefluid caused by a leaking cylinder and it never worked properly again, had to replace it.
How about your brake hoses sometimes they can swell up and close the id of the hose down and cause erratic braking. If they are old or you don't know how old they are get new ones.
Also check for a warped drum. When adjusted, do you get a pretty even scrub or more of a tic tic tic? If it pulls right when stopping, that doesn't necessarily mean the problem is on the right side either. Wheel offset has something to do with it as well as wet shoes.
^^^^ Pulling to the right more than likely means the left isn't working, and that's where to look first.
The Jalopy Journal
